Behind the Mask:
Who Heals the Healers?

The man behind the day — Dr. Bidhan Chandra Roy

Every July 1, India pauses to honour the men and women in medicine. The date is not arbitrary. It carries the weight of an extraordinary life — a life that began and ended on the same day, 80 years apart, and that changed the landscape of Indian healthcare forever.

Dr. Bidhan Chandra Roy trained at Calcutta Medical College before travelling to England, where — in a feat of determination rarely matched — he simultaneously earned his MRCP and FRCS qualifications in under two years. On returning to India, he became both a celebrated clinician and one of Mahatma Gandhi's trusted physicians during the freedom struggle.

As Chief Minister of West Bengal, he channelled his medical instincts into governance. He founded the Chittaranjan Cancer Hospital, established the Jadavpur T.B. Hospital, and helped create modern cities like Kalyani and Bidhannagar. He co-founded the Indian Medical Association (IMA) and played a key role in establishing the Medical Council of India. Medicine was never just a career for him — it was a form of nation-building.

The Indian Medical Association proposed National Doctors' Day in his honour. The Government of India officially declared it in 1991. Since then, July 1 has been India's annual moment to say: we see you, and we are grateful.

Understanding the 2026 theme: Behind the Mask

This year's theme — "Behind the Mask: Who Heals the Healers?" — is perhaps the most honest theme National Doctors' Day has ever had. It does not celebrate doctors from a distance. It looks inward and asks a difficult question: in a profession built on caring for others, who is caring for them?

The 2026 theme is a call to action for patients, hospital institutions, policymakers, and the broader medical community. It asks everyone to recognise that the doctor sitting across from you has a life, pressures, and a need for care — just like their patients do.

At its core, this theme is about sustainability. A healthcare system is only as strong as the wellbeing of its practitioners. Supporting doctor health — through reasonable working hours, peer support systems, destigmatised mental healthcare, and genuine appreciation — is not separate from patient care. It is patient care.

What a doctor's day actually looks like

Most patients encounter their doctor for 10 to 20 minutes. What they do not see is everything that happens in the hours before and after that appointment — the preparation, the coordination, the learning, and the weight of decisions that last far longer than the consultation itself.

• Early morning
  Ward rounds and pre-operative prep
  Hospital-based specialists begin their day checking on admitted patients, reviewing overnight developments, and preparing for morning surgeries. For a urologist performing RIRS or PCNL procedures, this means reviewing pre-operative imaging, lab values, and briefing the anaesthesia team.
• Morning
  OPD consultations — the visible work
  The outpatient clinic is where most patients meet their doctor. A busy urologist in Mumbai may see 25–40 patients in a morning session — each with a different presentation, different anxiety, and different expectation of what those 15 minutes should accomplish.
• Afternoon
  Surgeries and procedures
  Elective surgeries — kidney stone procedures, prostate operations, laser treatments — are scheduled through the afternoon. Each case requires full concentration regardless of how many have already been completed that day. Surgical performance cannot waver.
• Evening
  Documentation, calls, follow-ups
  Post-operative patients need to be reviewed. Test results reviewed and communicated. Patient queries answered — often via phone or message late into the evening. Medical records maintained. Referral letters written.
• Night / Weekend
  On-call and continuing education
  Medical knowledge evolves constantly. Staying current with journals, attending conferences, and acquiring new surgical skills is an obligation, not an option. For many specialists, weekends are dedicated to both family and continued learning.

Dr. Anand Utture — 27 years of healing Mumbai

On National Doctors' Day, it is only fitting to introduce the physician behind this blog to those who may be meeting him for the first time. Dr. Anand Utture is one of Mumbai's most experienced and respected urologists, with a career spanning over 27 years, international training across four countries, and a clinical legacy measured in thousands of lives improved.

Beyond credentials, what defines Dr. Utture's practice is his philosophy: that every patient deserves a full explanation of their condition and the reasoning behind their treatment plan. He is known for speaking to patients in language they understand, spending time on education, and making himself accessible for follow-up questions — the hallmark of a doctor who sees the person, not just the pathology.

He was among the earliest urologists in Mumbai to adopt flexible ureteroscopy with laser lithotripsy (RIRS) as the gold standard for kidney stone management — and continues to lead the city in the volume and success rate of these no-cut, no-stitch procedures.

How patients can truly honour their doctor

On National Doctors' Day, expressions of gratitude flood social media, clinic reception desks receive flowers, and appreciation messages are shared widely. All of it is welcome and meaningful. But the most powerful way a patient can honour their doctor goes beyond the day itself.

Here are the gestures — large and small — that genuinely matter to the physicians who care for you.

National Doctors' Day is also a reminder that the relationship between a patient and their doctor works best when it is a partnership — built on honesty, trust, and shared commitment to a health outcome. The doctor brings the knowledge, the skill, and the years of training. The patient brings their history, their compliance, and their trust. When both show up fully, medicine works the way it is supposed to.