An Ode to a Friend

An Ode to a Friend

I first remember Shashank Panchabhai from a cycling trip to Dive Agar. It was also Giri’s first long trip. We had to cycle more than 150 km – and started very early at 5 am. This was Panchabhai saab’s first long distance trip – and he promised to cycle for as long as he could. He cycled well and he was in Mangaon before most of us by 1500 hrs. Pinki, my better half, took a ride to Dive Agar from Mangaon – but Panchabhai saab soldiered on till the next ghat.

His tenacity was amazing. He had a very practical wisdom that comes from worked in a large diversity of companies and situations. He worked for a few years with my friend Vijay. Vijay can be difficult to get along with for most people, but Panchabhai saab managed to win respect and trust in a very short time.

I first sensed something wrong when Panchabhai saab’s cycling speed started coming down. I started shifting gears down to be with him. He was falling short on stamina and was worried about it. It took some time for us to realize that the it was the lungs. Panchabhai saab worked for some years in a plywood factory in Zambia. He did not realize it then, but the sawdust inhaled into the lungs caused a fibrosis of sorts. His stamina was going down, because the lung capacity was down – there was not enough oxygen going to his blood.

Ironically, Panchabhai saab’s son, Tanmay, is a doctor based in the US, who specializes in pulmonary disease. It was during his visit to his son that the final diagnosis was made. Panchabhai saab approached this health with the same tenacity as any other project that he had undertaken. He researched oxygen concentrators – and got two of them, one for the car and one for home. He trained his driver on handling the use of one. He engineered a long tube which would allow him to move around the house with the tube attached. When MSEB failed him for 24 hours and his inverters were running out of energy to feed the oxygen concentrators, he organized for oxygen cylinders. He continued to work – getting a wheel chair which allowed him to move around the factory easily.

We talked to him about lung transplant – but he had done his math. Given the investments and the risks, it was not worth it. Tanmay did his bit – he booked a new house on Prabhat Road for his dad where he would not have to negotiate a staircase anymore. Alas, the move did not happen. Panchabhai saab passed away on the morning of 14-Jul – thankfully at home.

We will miss our friend. We will miss the intelligent conversations and his wise advice.