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FEATURE
Chalo! Chalo!
By Prachi Shah
This is the first time I joined a medical delegation from San An- security officers directing passengers, people trying to steer their
tonio to India. It was spearheaded by my dad, Dr. Jayesh Shah, who loaded carts, the constant honking of horns; despite standstill traffic
was at the tail end of his term as president of the Bexar County Med- sometimes for 30 minutes. Chalo! Chalo! In Hindi meaning “let’s
ical Society (BCMS), and inspired by the sister medical society re- go” became all too familiar as the guides and the drivers kept our
lationship with the counterpart in Chennai in South India. I have group moving.
visited India several times with my parents as I was growing up; this
visit made me look at the motherland of my parents from the per- The delgation visited two Union Territories — Delhi and
spective of a tourist in the company of 19 delegates (9 physicians Pondicherry, three states — Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan and Tamil
and their family). Nadu and historic cities like Agra, Delhi, Udaipur, Mount Abu,
Chennai, Pondicherry and innumerable smaller cities and towns.
In late December 2016, the Indira Gandhi international Airport Each place had its own charm and variety, from landscape to
in New Delhi was as busy as Kennedy or O’Hare in U.S. The mo- weather, from culture to traditions, and from clothing style to
ment we stepped out I felt the difference. The organized chaos — food type.
26 San Antonio Medicine • May 2017
