The Selfless Healer

Dr Rao calls Australia home. All his friends are here and a majority of his life has been spent in Australia but he does not forget his roots

Dr Janardhana Rao moved to Australia in 1968 as a young man of 29 when the White Australia Policy was on its last legs. He had completed his MBBS and Masters in Surgery from Madras and came here with qualifications that were recognized by the UK government and therefore by Australia. In this respect, he was luckier than most but how do you say that to someone who lands in a new country with less than $10, a young family and finds that his only contact is not available.

“My wife Vimala and I landed in Melbourne on a weekend and found that the person whose house I was to go to had gone for a drive. I had to spend the entire day at the airport till Dr Kishnan came back. He immediately told us to take a taxi to his house,” says Dr Rao recalling his first few days here.

“Life was not meant to be easy,” Dr Rao quotes George Bernard Shaw. “I started looking for work in all the major hospitals of the time – Royal Melbourne Hospital, Prince Henry’s Hospital, St Vincent’s Hospital but I never got past an interview with the secretary,” says Dr Rao.

Finally, as he started playing with thoughts of going back home, Dr Krishnan suggested that he try the private practices. That is how he came across a group practice that required a surgeon. Private practice meant a lot of work. “When I was not doing surgery, I was required to do a GP’s work.”

This meant that he was doing long hours. It was usual for him to leave home at 7 am and come home well past 10:30 pm. He was working such long hours that his son’s teacher expressed concern that the child only talking about his mother.

It was after this that he started looking for another job and joined the Sacred Hearts Hospital in Coburg (now known as John Fawkner hospital). In the initial stages, doctors were not referring patients to him and he had to go to the US to learn the latest technology in his field so he could get patients.

Another highlight has been his appointment as the Honorary Consul General. As the President of the Indian Association Dr Rao had interacted with the then Prime Minister of India Indira Gandhi on a few occasions. So when Melbourne required a Consul General, Dr Rao was an obvious choice.

As Honorary Consul General, he did the work of a career diplomat but without the pay. This included issuing visas (about 25,000 a year), hosting parties, meeting and entertaining visiting ministers.

When Dr Rao first came here there were around 45 families in Melbourne. “We knew everyone at the time and we used to meet every second weekend.”

Then domestic problems were a big issue. “I remember this lady who stayed with us for about three months as she had nowhere else to go. We had to contact her family and make all the arrangements.”

As the community grew, Dr Rao saw the need for an umbrella organisation that could represent the issues of the community to the government. That is how the Federation of Indian Association of Victoria or FIAV came into being in 1989.

Intially, Dr Rao and a businessman friend funded it but today it gets a certain amount as grant from the government. “That was a big step forward when we got government funding,” says Dr Rao. “I feel unity should be the ideal. There is a lot more that we can do. As Indians, we have the numbers and the money but no voice.” He looks to the structure of the Jewish community as an ideal but the Indian community has failed to replicate the model.

In the last two years, there has been a lot of unrest within the FIAV and the courts have been involved. “Parliamentarians are saying that India is important to Victoria but they have no one to deal with.”

One suggestion has been that all people involved in the current structure step aside and a new group start things again on a clean slate. Another has been that a steering committee be formed which will guide the association through this difficult time. However, finding a solution has not been easy and negotiations are still on. “I am hoping that common sense will prevail,” says Dr Rao, sounding a little disheartened.

As an elder in the community, what are the problems that they face? “I feel that the Indians should get together to form retirement communities the way the Maltese and the Italian have done. These are independent units within a community. That way, we can meet up with friends, have some Indian food and maybe watch an Indian movie. That is how I would like to live. The next step can be a nursing home.” Right now there are many Indians who are forced to live in nursing homes with Anglo-centric culture.

Another problem that Dr Rao is concerned about is the community’s lack of access qualified Indian counselors to help with troubled marriages. “I feel that within a cultural context, such counselors would try to make the marriage work.”

Dr Rao is aware of the different issues faced by the community. “No one wants to do selfless work,” says Dr Rao, a believer in the saying “Service to humanity is service to God”. Dr Rao does extensive charity work in India – donating both time and skills. He spends a good part of the year working at the Sir Ivan Steadfast Hospital run by the AMM charities.

But his heart lies in Australia. “I keep going back to India but I feel I am a stranger there. All my friends are here. My home is here,” Dr Rao says, upbeat while contemplating his retirement when he can spend some quality time with his three grandchildren. However, there is little doubt that he will continue to play a big role in shaping the community leadership.