Dr Chidanand Kumbar, who lost his mother at an early age and whose father is a landless agricultural labourer in Mudhol taluk’s Ranna Belagali village in the district, stood first in all-India rank in gastroenterology and liver hepatology. At least 20,000 doctors from across the country wrote the examination.
The Kumbar family comes from Ranna Belagali in Bagalkot district, about 475km from Bengaluru. The village is named after Ranna, one of the early Kannada poets born there.
Dr Chidanand, 29, told TOI over phone from Delhi: “I’ve decided to opt for DM (doctorate of medicine) in gastroenterology (digestive system). Once I complete the three-year course in a Delhi college which I’ll choose after counselling, I’d like to join a European fellowship in endoscopy. After completing my super-speciality studies, I want to return to Karnataka and serve the poor in North Karnataka.”
The National Board of Examinations in Medical Sciences conducts NEET Super Speciality every year. Dr Chidanand studied at Government Primary School and at BVVS High School in Ranna Belagali before joining PU (science) at BLDE College in Jamkhandi taluk in the district. “I didn’t find difficulty in switching from Kannada to English medium in college. When I scored well in SSLC exam, many in my village advised me to join science stream. After standing first in PU exams in the college, my villagers encouraged me to join MBBS. Scholarships by the government and a few organisations helped me a lot,” he said. He studied MBBS at KIMS, Hubballi, and took up MD (general medicine) at Guwahati Medical College. He enrolled for MD in anesthesia at AIIMS, Delhi, but quit after three months as he was not too comfortable with the elective.
“I’m extremely proud of my son’s academic excellence one after another, though I don’t know what he has achieved now. All that I know is he’s been doing good and will continue to do good for society and this country. My only contribution is meeting his educational needs from time to time,” said his father Kallappa Kumbar.
Chidanand’s elder brother is Paramanand, who could not complete schooling, and younger sister is Renuka, who is married with two children. Kallappa lives in his sheet-roofed house in Ranna Belagali.
Minister Govind Karjol, who helped Chidanand during his MBBS days in Hubballi, called him an icon for rural and government schoolchildren.
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