FROM HEALING HANDS TO LENS AND LAND

The Incredible Journey of Dr. Sharad Khot

- By Gauri Ghadge

There are stories that begin in a city and chase ambition; and then there are those that begin in the soil and return to it, richer, wiser, and more grounded. The life of Dr. Sharad Khot belongs to the second kind. Ayurvedic physician, farmer, biker, and photographer-he embodies a rare harmony between tradition and modernity, intellect and instinct, science and soul.

ROOTS THAT RUN DEEP

Born and raised in Belgaum, Dr. Sharad Khot's story begins in the heart of a farm that still stands as the family's ancestral home. His grandmother hailed from Mapusa, Goa-his spiritual anchor-and family lore traces their ancestry to the very community that helped shift the famed Shri Mangesh Temple to its present site. Among the heirlooms discovered in the ancestral house is a time-worn watch awarded to his ancestor, Shri Mangesh Rao Khot, once a member of the Portuguese police force-a relic linking past and present with quiet pride.

His grandfather, a respected Vaidya, was a man revered across villages. Twice a week, on Sundays and Tuesdays, people travelled miles seeking his herbal remedies. So enduring was his influence that the local bus stop still bears the name Khot Bungalow Stop. "He was an expert in herbal medicine," recalls Dr. Khot, "and he treated everything from cancers to chronic ailments-with the same compassion.

" Growing up amid medicinal herbs, early mornings, and long commutes to school instilled in young Sharad a discipline that would define his life. "Our day began at 5:30 a.m.," he smiles. "We'd walk quite a distance to catch the 7 a.m. bus. Evenings were for farm work. Looking back, that routine taught us persistence." His sister went on to become an Executive Vice President at Capgemini, a journey he describes with brotherly pride.

A RELUCTANT HEALER'S RETURN