Unsung Hero
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“ There was a doctor , an assistant surgeon , who had come to Leh when I was a child . He always had a stethoscope around his neck wherever he went . After this caught my attention , there was no looking back . I wanted to become a doctor ,” recalls Dr Landol .
“ Even though I ’ m 74 today , I still serve because it ’ s part of my duty ,” she adds .
Born into an agrarian household in Leh district where no one had undergone formal education , Dr Landol was one of six siblings in the family .
After finishing primary school at Moravian Mission School , she pursued her matriculation from Government High School , Leh .
“ There was a doctor , an assistant surgeon , who had come to Leh when I was a child . He always had a stethoscope around his neck wherever he went . After this caught my attention , there was no looking back . I wanted to become a doctor ,” recalls Dr Landol .
“ But there was a lack of quality science faculty at my
school . We got to learn English alphabets only from Class VI onwards . Other than English , we had to study classical Tibetan , Hindi and Urdu . All the textbooks were in Urdu . At the matriculation level , the questions were in English while the chapters were in Urdu . It was quite difficult ,” she adds . However , she soon made her way to Srinagar , where she studied at the Government Medical College , specialising in obstetrics and gynaecology .
In hindsight , she credits her father for encouraging her interest in women ’ s health .
“ My father , Rigzin Namgyal , was a farsighted man . At the time , there was a lot of superstition surrounding childbirth . Even family members
10 Legacy India | June 2019 www . legacyindia . in