Not long ago, when a few achievers of Gujarat were felicitated by a voluntary organization of Ahmedabad, Dr. Pratibha Athavale, stood out. While other award-winners, including a litterateur, an architect, an educationist, a sportsman, etc., had done exemplary work in their respective fields, she had made a mark in as many as three areas-dentistry, mountaineering and social work.

   Athavale, who has earned name and fame as a popular dental practitioner, has also been an expert mountaineer since 1990 and has been offering free treatment to the poor villagers in the NorthEastern states of Assam, Meghalaya, Manipur and Nagaland for the past 16 years. During summer and Diwali vacations when countless adventurous people head for the Himalayas to create records, she packs her bags with essential medicines, rushes alone to the remotest corners of the countryside in the North-East and sets up a month-long camp to offer her services gratis to the....