In June, PGI Director Prof Vivek Lal issued a letter to doctors, asking them to use Hindi as much as possible to converse with patients in OPDs, give instructions to patients and even write prescriptions and make public awareness videos in Hindi.

Panditrao in a letter to the PGI Director, however, pointed out that as per the Official Language Act 1963, in Chandigarh, all official boards, signages, and nameplates should be in three languages: Punjabi, Hindi and English.

The professor pointed out that Punjabi is the common language spoken and used by most patients coming from Punjab and Haryana, and as the language is not widely used in the institute, patients find it difficult to communicate with doctors, find it tough to find their way on campus.

Now, as per a new order by the PGI Administration, besides Hindi and English, Punjabi will be used in wards, OPDs and other areas of the hospital. “I even sent a cheque for Rs 35,000 to the Director for creating all signages here in the three languages, but he politely refused to accept the cheque and assured me that soon all boards would be in the three languages. I am very happy that my request was accepted for the benefit of many patients,” Panditrao said.

Panditrao says his journey with Punjabi has been both eventful and impactful, with the professor recalling when he began teaching sociology in 2003. “It was in English, and I soon realised that 70 per cent of students came from Punjab, and thus I needed to understand and speak Punjabi to be more effective as a teacher for students to understand the subject better,” he said.

“I took the help of some students near my home, who taught me the Punjabi alphabet and then I began seriously learning the language on my own, enjoying its sweetness and lyrical quality. In a couple of years, I started speaking, writing and reading Punjabi.

I have translated the Gurbani into Kannada. I have constantly been learning and researching, and passing on what I know to others,” Panditrao speaks in chaste Punjabi to display his acumen.

As for his teaching experience at the PGI, Panditrao recalls about five years ago, he met his friend Dr Anil, who was from Karnataka and was working at the institute. “That evening, his duty was in the Emergency. I noticed that Anil was having difficulty communicating with a patient who was from a village in Punjab and had to call another doctor to give him instructions.

I told him that I would help him learn the basics of the language, and that’s how it all began,” shares Panditrao, who since then has taught many batches of resident doctors hailing from southern states.

There is a tried and tested method that Panditrao used to teach doctors, starting with teaching them the alphabet, and then making them memorise the essential conversations that most would need to use with the patients, giving them notes they can refer to. “The focus is on how to interact and speak with patients so that there is a comfort level for both.

I observed that they are eager and quick learners, as they memorise all dialogues in two days, and come back and speak with me in Punjabi. Most doctors spend time with me as soon as they start work, as after a few weeks they get very busy and it is an enriching experience for us,” sums up Panditrao.