Conquering the odds

Maniki Deep 

On a sunny April morning, I had the pleasure of meeting Dr Kanwal Vilku. As the sun shone over us, she recounted her days on the ice sheets of Antarctica. “I went on the expedition two decades ago and it is all still fresh in mind,” she said, as if longing for a gush of cold wind. At 52 then, she had become the first Asian woman to have set foot on a scientific mission to Antarctica, spending two summers and a winter on the frozen continent. The reason, why even after 20 years, the feat should be raised a toast to.

Antarctica, the loneliest and driest land mass on Earth, is scarcely touched by humans. Known for its breathtaking landscape, it is dotted by a handful of scientific research stations of different countries. Dr Vilku arrived in Antarctica by a German ship from Cape Town, South Africa. She was excited at the prospect of her mission and stay in the unusual environs. 

The team she was a part of, landed by a helicopter at Maitri, the Indian mission station near Priyadarshini Lake. She, along with another doctor, was part of the 24-member team. A specialist in transfusion medicine, focusing on the effects of environment on the human body, ECG changes and deterioration of mental condition, Dr Vilku’s job was to keep a tab on  crew’s health.

Initially reluctant to have a female member on board, the team gradually realised that what mattered was competence. She exhibited her calm temperament when she treated an injured penguin. “I picked up the blood-stained penguin and carried it to my cabin, administered medical aid and  bandaged the affected area."           

Inspired by the Aurora Australis, dancing lights in green, blue and orange, she picked up a paint brush to make the moments eternal. “I studied fine arts for a brief period after completing my MBBS and MD. I never thought that little education would come in handy in Antarctica.” 

In this while, her health did suffer. She lost almost 22 kg. “But I wanted to focus on all that I gained.” She carried home a treasure of rich experiences of the adventure and returned to grand receptions, felicitations and honour and was awarded by the President of India. 

She was widely covered by the national press and television and figured in the Limca Book of Records as the first Asian woman to have stayed in Antarctica on a long mission.           

She returned to her job as Chief Medical Officer of the Central Government Health Scheme in Delhi. 

Another adventure she was a part of was serving in the Intelligence Bureau as a medical officer. She was posted to challenging terrains like Kashmir, Ladakh, Himachal Pradesh, especially Lahaul and Spiti. She also served as a medical officer in Assam, Mizoram, Arunachal Pradesh and Meghalaya. “Wherever I went, I served with compassion and that made even the challenging situations a cakewalk for me.”

One such difficult time was when she and her husband witnessed a bus accident near Aizawll. She was travelling to Shillong to appear for the interview of medical officer. “It was 4.30 am when a bus ahead of us swerved off the road and fell into a 200 metre gorge in the forest. We somehow managed to inform a nearby primary health centre, which later sent help.” In the meanwhile, she started examining patients as there was no time to waste. “We referred some to a local dispensary and the serious cases were sent to a hospital in Aizawl.”

She missed her interview at Shillong. But the news of the accident had spread by then. When she finally reached Shillong, the officers stationed there informed her that she had been selected as medical officer in Aizawl without an interview. 

Her indomitable spirit helped her cruise through tough times with ease and that makes her life a lesson in courage and compassion.