EPISODE 1: DHRUBA PODDER

October 23, 2024

INTERVIEW BY Srinidhi Gadula

Edited by Priyanka Gera

Photo by Liora Rafailova

Tell me a little bit about where you are from. What’s your hometown like?

I’m from Jericho, NY, which is on Long Island. I think one of the best parts of my hometown is how close everything is. I've been living there for upwards of 10 years now, so I have a nice set of friends there, my family, and there is a deli that I always go to on Sunday mornings.

What's your order at that time?

Oh my God, probably an egg and cheese on an egg, everything bagel with salt, pepper, and butter. But that's probably my favorite thing about living on Long Island. The beaches are in close proximity. So that's where I am for most of the summer, right?

That's nice. Where'd you live before there?

Before there, I lived in New Hyde Park–also on Long Island. That was for my elementary school years, and I had a really good time there as well. But yeah, most of my life has been spent on Long Island. I just really love it there.

Well, I'm glad. So how do you like White Plains in comparison?

Honestly, it’s much more hilly than I expected, but I really enjoy the kind of peace and quiet that we get here, while also having so many great things in close proximity. I'm still getting around to exploring Tarrytown and White Plains, but I can't wait to try more restaurants, check out new bars, and just like, explore the entire area.

Yeah, it is kind of really nice around here. What'd you do before medical school? Did you take any gap years?

So I took one gap year and I worked in Manhattan, in Greenwich Village. I worked at a pain management practice, and I got to see a very diverse set of patients, and I think it influenced me a lot in my specialty choice. So far I'm thinking about pursuing anesthesiology, just because I love how hands-on and procedural the work that the doctors of that practice did.

I think you mentioned that one of your parents was a doctor. What type of doctor are they?

So my dad was trained as a neurologist, and now he's also in the field of pain management, which has also influenced me a lot, but I've seen him practicing over many, many years, and I see the way he interacts with patients, and I think that influenced me a lot in my pursuit of medicine. 

I'm glad to hear that. So is he the only other doctor in the family?

My grandma was also a doctor back in India, she was an OBGYN who treated underprivileged populations, and she had a free clinic where she worked for so many decades, so I think she was also a big influence on me pursuing medicine.

What about any siblings?

I have a younger sister who is now 19 years old. She's a sophomore in college. I still see her as a baby, to be honest, but she's also pursuing the same path of medicine, and I've been trying to help her out with organic chemistry and everything around the medical school application process. But I don't think she really takes my advice that much, but I'm trying my best.

Does she want to come here?

I think she does, but that's years in the future, so we'll see if that happens. But yeah, she's a very fun, very motivated individual.

Are you guys close?

We are. So earlier in life, we weren't that close, but when I was in middle school and high school, we got a lot closer. We spent a lot of time together. She loves the beach just as much as I do. So she and I go paddle boarding pretty often during the summer. But yeah, I really miss having her close by because she's at college at Emory in Atlanta, so I don't get to see her as much anymore, which isn't great, but I think I'm trying to plan to get out there to Atlanta in the next few weeks, hopefully. 

Oh, that's fun! How'd you guys get into paddle boarding?

So I feel like it was a natural thing living by the beach. There's always these Paddle Boarding and Kayak rental stands and when I tried it, in high school, it just seemed like so much fun. I used to just like, sit on the paddleboard and watch the sunset. And when my sister got a little bit older, she started joining me at the beach on the paddleboard. And the last few years, I bought my own, which is very convenient. I used to inflate it in my car and just go and paddle into the ocean.

Wow, that's honestly really cool. I haven't heard of many people who are into paddleboarding on the East Coast. Do you have any pets?

I do not. I've always wanted a dog, but my parents tell me that if I can't take care of it fully independently, they won't be supportive of it. And honestly, we don't have that much time here in medical school.

Do you think later on, maybe you might get one?

Absolutely, when I get more time. I think after residency, when I have a more regular schedule, then absolutely.

And this is the million-dollar question, do you care what breed the dog would be?

Yes, I've always wanted a golden retriever. But I think other than that, I wanted a small dog/big dog dynamic, so maybe like a Corgi and a Golden Retriever. I think it would be very cute.

Any other hobbies you like to do in your free time?

So I used to love cooking until I befell a recent accident with a knife, but I still do enjoy cooking. I've just been completely unable to do it recently. But the last thing I made was a potato leek soup, which led to this injury.

So you’re kind of a chef. Don't normally hear about potato leek soup.

Yeah, no, I made a bunch of leek stuff for last Thanksgiving. I made, like a potato leek casserole kind of thing. And I think that's where I started using leeks a lot more in cooking.

Would you say you're kind of a picky eater?

I wouldn't say I'm a picky eater. Honestly, I eat pretty much everything, but I think I'm picky about what I cook. I'm always someone who enjoys savory flavors, so typically I don't bake, because I've never been one to follow a recipe to a tee, but I love cooking anything savory. I haven't really done anything sweet like any time recently, but maybe at some point, I'll explore later.

That’s cool. I'm gonna ask you a fun little question. So if you're in an alternate universe and you weren't here at NYMC, what profession do you think you would pursue?

I've thought for years that I'd like to start a restaurant. I'm not sure how feasible it would be, but I saw an article in The New York Times a couple of years ago about a physician who in his off time works at his own restaurant, and I thought that would genuinely be the dream: to have your own restaurant.

Do you think that you would later on in life?

I think that it's a distinct possibility, if I get the time and I find something I'm passionate about in the restaurant scene, then maybe I'll get into it.

So what's something else in your bucket list that we might not immediately know when we look at you? Something fun and weird.

On my bucket list, I've always wanted to go skydiving, but I haven't gotten around to it. I just feel like the feeling of free falling from a plane is one of those things that I've always wanted to do, but I'm excited to do it sometime in the future.

So are you one of the few that's not scared of heights?

I am scared of heights. But I think it would just be one of those, like, freeing feelings. But I'm definitely scared of heights.

That's definitely a hot take. So I want to know how you would deal with that.

I think I just enjoy, maybe not in the moment, but confronting my fears. It's like when you come across something that you've been afraid of for a long time, and you finally do it. In hindsight, it seems like less than what you anticipated it to be, but I think it would be pretty fun to face that fear.

Are you speaking from experience? Was there anything in the past that you were scared of that you kind of jumped headfirst into?

Ooh, maybe. I think that pursuing medicine was one of those things that for most of my life I'd been maybe not afraid of, but I understood what a great endeavor it would be because I've seen so many doctors in my family and elsewhere. I was just amazed by how broad the scope of their practice was and I think in some part of my mind, I was scared to pursue this, but I couldn't be happier than I am.

I'm glad to hear that. And it sounds like you're really close to your family, right?

I am.

So what's your favorite holiday tradition with your family?

I would say- even though we don't do gifts for Christmas- I do enjoy Christmas in my household because my parents do get very festive. They bring out their boxes of decorations, and my house becomes kind of like a winter wonderland. So I think that's one of my favorite traditions because we all set up the house, we set up the tree, and we all do something together with that. Yeah, I think that's probably one of my biggest family traditions that I enjoy.

And I know a lot of people debate this, but when do you think the Christmas tree goes up and when do you think it needs to come down?

So in my opinion, I think you can go up right after Halloween- very hot take. I guess, like midway through January is when you take it down. But I feel like we never get around to it. It's one of those things where, like the year starts, you get busier and busier, and then next thing you know, the trees up until February. But yeah, my hot take I think is that Christmas starts the day after Halloween.

So is Christmas your favorite holiday?

I think so. Yeah, I definitely got straight into Mariah Carey right after Halloween.

So we know after October what you're going to be listening to.

Yes, every single day.

On that note, who's your favorite artist?

Then my favorite artist. I think in general, I'd say Travis Scott, which is a ways away from Mariah Carey. But I've been a big Travis Scott fan for the last couple of years, at least.

Do you like any other hobbies, like reading?

I haven't read a book in a while. I think the last time I read was like last winter, but I think the only thing I'm reading nowadays is RX Bricks. That's all I can really say.

So what else do you do besides cooking when you're at home?

I returned to rewatching How I Met Your Mother, just because it's been a couple of years since I watched it. So that's been consuming a good amount of what little free time I have, but probably one of my favorite shows in the world. Other than that, really not much.

Who's your favorite character?

Hot take with Barney.

Surprisingly, I’ve heard that a lot. So, I don't know if it's really a hot take.

Maybe not, I don't know. I feel like it's mildly controversial, yeah, but I'm definitely a big fan of Barney. 

So one more random question. What's one thing you want to have at the age of 90 that you're doing right now?

Well, given that my joints still work at the age of 90, I’d love the freedom to paddle board, just because it's one of those really freeing things. It's a great stress reliever, and I always enjoy watching the sunset from the middle of the ocean.

That is nice. Have you ever been out overnight or during the night at the water?

I have not. I think I've the longest I've spent on the paddleboard was like, four or five hours where I think I fell asleep for a few of them, but it was right after I finished my gap year job, and I had finally had a little bit of freedom, and I was on my paddleboard from like, 10 am to 3 or 4 pm but no- nothing overnight yet. I don't think I plan to.

That's nice. So I feel like we know everything about Dhruba and what he does in his free time now. So let's get a little bit more philosophical. Where do you not want to see yourself in 15 years from now?

I think I wouldn't want to see myself in a field of medicine where I don't feel fulfilled or satisfied. So I think it's important that I enjoy interacting with the patients and doing the specific procedures. Or just whatever I'm treating I hope to really see myself immersed in it, hopefully in the next couple of years. But yeah, I think it would not be great if I found a field that I end up not being that passionate about.

Yeah, I definitely agree, and that's a good outlook to have. What's your life philosophy then?

Ooh, I think if I were to boil it down, it would probably be work hard, play hard. I really enjoy spending my free time doing stuff and having fun with my friends and family, but when it's necessary, I'll lock myself in the library for 12 hours.

Any little fun fact or tidbit you want to add at the end? What's something about you that nobody else really knows?

Oh my God, for most of my life, including now, I've loved filet-o-fishes from McDonald's. It's something that I don't typically reveal because I get really nasty looks about that. But I love filet-o-fishes.

Now we know something else about you that we didn’t know before! Before we end today, what's one piece of advice you’d give to a future M1 coming to NYMC?

I'd say, be kind to yourself and listen to your brain and body when it tells you that you need to eat or take a break.

Contact Druba at dpodder@student.nymc.edu.

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