Like many in the pandemic, Dr. Sakti Das (Western Section AUA) took up a new hobby in lockdown – in his case, painting. His work, shared with the Didusch Center along with his words below, reflects his well-known humanitarian concerns.
"Dear Tupper, You have requested me to write something or send one of Tagore’s poems. I can do that but it will be helpful to know in what context."
"You probably have noticed my constant desire to address ‘Injustice and inequality’ on which we did our beautiful and powerful exhibit at AUA."
Here is Tagore’s beautiful poem that is so appropriate in our present day mayhem:
Where the mind is without fear and the head is held high
Where knowledge is free
Where the world has not been broken up into fragments
By narrow domestic walls
Where words come out from the depth of truth
Where tireless striving stretches its arms towards perfection
Where the clear stream of reason has not lost its way
Into the dreary desert sand of dead habit
Where the mind is led forward by thee
Into ever-widening thought and action
Into that heaven of freedom, my father, let my country awake
-Rabindranath Tagore
Thank you. Stay safe and get the vaccine.
Sakti Das
Sakti Das, MD, FACS, a member of the AUA since 1984, served as the AUA historian from 2006 to 2010. He was awarded the AUA’s William P. Didusch Art and History Award for outstanding contributions in urologic art including award winning photography, motion pictures and videos, and for dedication and commitment to urologic education in 2004. He received the prestigious Albert Schweitzer Teaching award from the Societe Internationale d’Urology in 2012 as well as the 2012 AUA Presidential Citation for dedicated service to international urologic medical missions and humanitarian efforts in promoting literacy in the developing world.