A second career after retirement
Dr. Maya Tandon’s story is an example of a second career in public service that begins after retirement. Her official Padma citation records her as an anaesthesiologist, a road-safety advocate and a pioneer of emergency life-saving training.
She completed her MBBS in 1961, went on to higher qualifications in anaesthesia and gained experience through a paediatric anaesthesia fellowship in the UK. In her clinical career she was a senior academic and administrator in the SMS Medical College and J.K. Lon Hospital system in Jaipur.
An idea from the UK
In the UK she saw ordinary people being trained in first response. It gave her an idea: before a doctor can reach an accident victim, ordinary citizens could learn the steps that keep someone alive. After retiring in 1995 she set up a charitable trust, which later became Sahayta, focused on road safety and Basic Life Saving training.
Medicine as a public skill
Her model trains laypeople, drivers, police, students and community responders in the practical skills of emergency response. The Padma Shri in 2024 recognises this long effort to turn medical knowledge into a skill the public can use outside the hospital.
In an emergency, trained bystanders matter, and professional knowledge can serve society in more than one way. The quality of training matters more than numbers alone.
Sources
- Padma Awards 2024: official citation
- Sahayta: official site
- Sahayta: About
- MyGov: profile video
- padmaawards.gov.in/Document/pdf/CitationsForTickets/2024/2024124.pdf
- sahaytatrust.org/
- sahaytatrust.org/about
- youtube.com/watch?v=FnyRtr_vRmY