WHEN asked about the most important thing he’s learnt in his 72 years, Dr Jay Sadhai looks deep in thought.
Reflecting on a journey that has spanned three continents, two medical colleges, four children, medical practices in Melton and Bacchus Marsh and now a book, he pauses before answering: “Dignity.’’
‘‘My father instilled in all our family its importance,’’ he says. ‘‘When you treat people with dignity, they return it.”
Australia’s GP of the Year in 1995, Dr Sadhai is a great example of words being backed up by actions.
An impassioned worker, he continued writing Bala’s Hill and Beyond despite falling ill with pulmonary hypertension in July 2011. The book details his experiences growing up in an influential Indian family in South Africa during apartheid.
“I had to make sure this important part of history wasn’t bypassed, as this particular story has not been told by anybody,’’ he says.
‘‘My dad was the chairman of [South Africa’s] Indian congress. Nelson Mandela spent three weeks living with us, which is when the freedom charter was written.”
Part memoir and part reflection on the nature of racism and the prejudicial forces in South African society, the book begins in 1942 in a small sugar cane village on a hill that was named after Dr Sadhai’s father, Bala.
The Sadhais were part of an Indian minority caught between the white and black worlds. Dr Sadhai witnessed the brutality of the regime after his father became a freedom fighter.
Dr Sadhai later travelled to Dublin, Ireland and became a doctor after studying at the Royal College of Surgeons.
His philanthropic nature led him back to South Africa, where he cared for political prisoners after interrogation.
“While I was working there I collected money for the freedom fighters to give to people who had nothing. However, one of my patients, who was working for the secret police, told me my name was on the terrorist list, to be interviewed.
“These interviews were brutal. Anyone who went never come back. So I took [my wife] Roshnee and our two children and left for Australia.” Arriving in 1977, he opened medical clinics in Melton and Bacchus Marsh.
“It was a brave and risky move at the time, but I had the experience and was well trained.”
His community work with minority groups has continued, privately and professionally.
“One of my patients, an indigenous elder, would keep me informed about the issues facing their community,’’ he says, pointing to an Aboriginal painting over his mantle. ‘‘She also made me that picture, with the four spirits signifying four generations of women I looked after in their family.’’
Dr Sadhai had a chance to meet Mr Mandela when he visited Australia.
“The first thing I asked was whether he remembered my father. And he said, “Of course, how could I forget?”
Bala’s Hill and Beyond will be launched at Lerderderg library in Bacchus Marsh at 2pm on Saturday.
