An Inspiring Life

We all have two lives, and the second begins when we realize we only have one. – Confucius



Each one of us is gifted with many talents – Some of us have a flair for writing, some are good as a musician or singer, some enjoy dancing, some are natural painters, poets or actors, and there are many more. Very often, what we do for a living is completely different, and our special talents remain hidden inside us. We should discover our special talent and nurture it, as this can really give us a deep sense of satisfaction and inner happiness. I know you are thinking, “You don’t know my situation. I already have a challenge coping with my stressful job, and it is so hard to devote the required time to family and friends. Where do I find the time to nurture my talent? I have only 24 hours in a day”

I understand the stress and challenges of modern living, and that’s why I am going to use this post to introduce an inspiring person and a wonderful human being, whom I am just beginning to know. I am talking about Dr. (Prof. ) Santanu Chaudhuri, an eminent cancer specialist of national and international repute, who is the Chairman, Centre of excellence for Oncology at Nayati Healthcare, Mathura.

Right from a young age, Dr Santanu had an amazing talent for singing and writing, but since he chose medicine as his career, his attention got fully focused on his area of specialization – Oncology that deals with treatment of Cancer. I can write pages and pages about his accomplishment as a doctor, here are some examples of his outstanding work:
  • Worked in senior positions in many reputed hospitals such as United Hospital Dhaka, Tata Memorial Hospital Mumbai, Regional Cancer Hospital Nagpur,
  • Founded Snehaanchal Palliative Care Centre in Nagpur, the only hospice for terminally ill cancer patients in Central India.
  • Has several National and International publications and written chapters in books related to Cancer Research.
  • His contribution to Cancer research has been recognized with many National and International awards including Mahatma Gandhi Peace Award, Atish Dipankar Gold Medal and Mother Teressa Award. Has been honored with several fellowships from U. K, Europe, Asia Pacific, Australia and U. S. A.
  • Steering Committee Member and Principal investigator of different projects of DAE, ICCN, WHO and ICMR. Has been the Vice President of Association of Radiation Oncologists of India.

It is obvious that Dr Santanu has an outstanding track record of research and medical practice, and is a well recognized expert in medical fraternity. We know that a doctor’s life is very demanding, and you can imagine the hard work he must have put to attain such great heights in his profession.

Still, in the midst of his hectic schedule at work, Dr Santanu manages to find a few moments every now and then to nurture his passion for music. He has taken pains to learn classical music, and spends time doing riyaz (music practice) whenever he can. The pursuit of music provides him such a sense of fulfillment that is hard to describe in words. He has taken his love for singing to a level that he has produced a few albums, and has also shared his recordings on Youtube. Before you go further, just listen to him singing a Jagjeet Singh Ghazal in this video below. It was appreciated by none other that the legendary singer Jagjit Singh himself in a function at Nagpur! No doubt this is an achievement which may be the dream for any singer.




The story is not yet over. Remember I told you that Dr Santanu is a good writer? He manages to nurture his passion for writing as well. He has recently written a book titled “The Fourth Sun Sign”, which has been published by Bloomsbury publishers. This book is a collection of real-life human stories about his experiences as a Cancer specialist.

I read this book with a keen interest – it is a unique book of its kind that manages to remove the feeling of dread in people’s mind about this disease – and can be a very inspirational material for anyone who reads it. Also, the book also gives you a close insight in Santanu’s life as he brings it out in bits and pieces in the stories. Funds collected by the sale of this book are utilized for the benefit of poor cancer patients. He is so passionate about it that he personally told me the following about this book:

“At last one of my numerous dreams got to see the light. This book is a collection of true stories of cancer patients  who proved themselves as heroes in my life. It deals with life, happiness, expectations and   psycho-spiritual interactions of my heroes, the cancer victors, to whom this book is dedicated to.”

Now, here is a doctor with extremely busy schedule, who knows the importance of following his dreams. It is really inspiring to see that he not only manages to devote time to be a singer, and writer, but he excels at them; a perfect example of the following age old wisdom:

If it is worth doing, it is worth doing well.

Are you and me more occupied than him? How does he find time to do all this, while we struggle with a perpetual lack of time? What is his secret? Is it one of the following? I do not know, but I am very eager to meet him to find the answer.

  • When you really want to do something, you can find time to do it. Time is not a real constraint.
  • Is it due to his self-discipline, that helps him cut time wasters from his life?
  • Is this his quest to find real meaning in life?

Whenever I think of Dr Santanu, I get inspired with the following message in my head:

Life is for living, not just merely existing. When you can seize your potential and truly feel as if you are doing your best in this life, you are living. So, give up all your excuses, escape your comfort zone, and do more in life. 

Create the life you want.



If you want to know more about Dr Santanu Chaudhary, please visit the following links, and If you are interested in supporting his cause of poor Cancer patients, you can help by purchasing his book.