Four doctors of Indian origin have been featured in the list of 50 most influential family physicians in Britain by a magazine, and among them is Dr Krishna Vardhan Kasaraneni from Andhra Pradesh.
The Kasaranenis are well-known in Guntur and almost everyone in the family is a physician or a surgeon. Dr Krishna’s grandfather, Dr Kasaraneni Sadasiva Rao, was a famous surgeon, a philanthropist and an elected representative to the State Legislative Assembly.
“I did my initial schooling from Vignan High School in Guntur and moved to the UK when I was 15,” says Dr Krishna adding that it was his parents’ decision to move; he recalls that it was the only time he had seen his grandfather cry.
He graduated in medicine from the Leicester Medical School in 2005 and was elected to the chair of the General Physicians Trainees Committee in 2011. “As the chairman of the GP Trainees Committee, I represent 10,000 doctors in the UK. I was elected to this position in 2011 and was re-elected last week,” he says.
This is no small responsibility. He says, “Being responsible and accountable for that many doctors is by no means an easy task and takes up most of my time. It is a great privilege that comes with immense responsibility.” Although medicine was almost like a family profession, Dr Krishna was still given the freedom by his parents to choose whatever he wanted to do. “I was given a free rein by my parents. All they ever wanted me to be was good at what I did,” he recollects.
Though it has been 17 years since he left Guntur, the memories are still fresh. “It was a small town and I still remember the day Guntur was declared a city and elected its first mayor, Dr Kolli Sharada. I loved everything about the place, my family, friends, the streets, the vendors, the colours, and so much more,” he says.
So now after the experience of medicinal politics in the UK and his grandfather’s legacy in Guntur, does he think of a political career in the state? “Politics in India is way too complex. I believe in unity and equality — this doesn’t seem to be the flavour of the political scene in India and particularly AP at the moment,”he says adding that he, however, still dreams of coming back to India.
Comments