About the Author
Dr. S.P. Kalantri
D r. S.P. Kalantri is a physician, researcher, teacher, and lifelong student of medicine.
An alumnus of Government Medical College, Nagpur (Class of 1973), he came to the Mahatma Gandhi Institute of Medical Sciences (MGIMS), Sevagram, in the summer of 1982—and stayed. Over the next four decades, he grew from a young teacher into the Medical Superintendent of Kasturba Hospital, while remaining, above all, a doctor who belongs at the bedside.
He believes medicine works best when it is honest, careful, and humane. He avoids unnecessary tests and treatments, questions “more is better,” and tries to protect patients from the harms of overdiagnosis and overtreatment. For him, good medical care is not only about machines and medicines, but also about listening, explaining, and using sound judgment.
His work has ranged from high-stakes emergencies in the Intensive Care Unit to the quieter, deeper work of palliative care—where the goal is comfort, dignity, and peace when cure is no longer possible.
He lives in Sevagram, where he continues to teach, care for patients, and write about medicine in a changing world.