Manbir Singh was born in Indore, Madhya Pradesh on November 27, 1955. “My mother tells me I was born prematurely at home – a very tiny, little baby. She says I was a difficult baby to be born – she did not get a chance to go to any hospital, nor were there any doctors. She was helped by a midlevel nurse at home. My mother had a tough time raising me. I have a brother, Satnam Singh and three sisters, Urminder Kaur, Mandeep Kaur and Surinder Kaur.”
He was sent to the Bal Vinay Mandir, when he was two-and-half-year-old. “It was very hard to get admission into that school at that time but I was lucky. I remember the Principal, Mrs Padmanabhan, very famous for her good work. She didn’t allow the concept of punishments in the school, she arranged lunch for students in school. She made us students sit on the floor every gathering – I don’t know what was her idea behind it. Other than my parents, I learnt traditional and moral values there.” He studied there till grade 11, after which he went to pre-college and then completed his BSc in Biology from Holkar Science College. “I was afraid of math, especially geometry, and also there were not many options available at that time.”
As soon as he got into college, he realized that the US was the place for doctors to flourish. “My goal was to be a physician. The reason I wanted to be a physician and I wanted to go to the US—it was my dream.” His maternal uncle, who was settled in the US, was received by around 40–50 people whenever he came to India. Manbir was dazed by this warmth, his status, communication skills, etc. “He was my role model. When I asked him how I could be as successful as him, he suggested that I become either an engineer or a doctor. ‘If you become a doctor, I will help you come over,’ he said.”
Manbir decided to sit for medical competitive exams, which were attempted by around 15,000 and only 300 were selected. Another challenge was that there were just a handful of medical colleges. He was 17 years old when he cleared the competitive exam – it was no less than a celebration in the family. But when he was assigned a college not in his city, Indore, but in another city, Rewa, there was not as much happiness. He studied at Rewa Medical College but six months later, he transferred to the college in Indore.
While he was busy studying, his mother was busy searching for the perfect girl for him to marry.
“After around four years of studies, we had to do an internship, which was more of a hands-on approach. We were made to put our theoretical knowledge to practical use. Part of the internship also involved training in rural areas, after which I got my MBBS degree. I then told my uncle I was now a doctor and I was ready to fly to the US.”
While waiting for his visa and tickets, he started teaching at the Mahatma Gandhi Memorial Medical College in Indore and also started his own practice. He was young, full of energy and bursting with ideas to do a lot of things.
He was 26 when he finally got his visa. “And thus started my American journey and I am here since.”
First Reaction
He landed in the US and fell in love. “My uncle picked me up at Pittsburgh airport and then drove me to his home in Warren, Ohio, where I had taken admission. I felt I was in paradise... tall buildings, brightly lit streets, all the razzmatazz glittered in my eyes. But I was a bit nervous too.”
His uncle had a lot of friends and soon Manbir was visiting them. His focus, though, was firmly on studies. “I used to visit the library nearby and spend a lot of time there. I took the TOEFL examination but that was also not easy because I had to learn a lot of American slang and words.”
He also sat ECFMG exam and was declared certified as it was a compulsion to get into residency and also to get a license to practice as a physician.
“Finally in 1985 I started my residency in Youngstown for $700–800 every two weeks and I became financially independent.”
All this while, he, however, had managed to bypass his mother’s wish for his marriage. But now that he was earning, she ensured that he got married. “They sent me a girl’s photograph and one fine morning they told me they had committed to her family.”
Now that the decision was made, Taran and Manbir had started writing and talking to each other. Six months later, she visited her brother in North Carolina. “Telephones were a costly affair back then, letters were not. Also, reading, re-reading and re-reading the letters has its own sweetness,” he gushes. “The first time we met was at our engagement! We got married in January 1984 in a small gurudwara in Albemarle, North Carolina. Only our immediate families attended – we wanted a very intimate gathering.”
The couple has three wonderfully talented children. Son, Balmeet, is a technology recruiter; daughter, Anit, has studied social work for her master’s and is a social worker; and Keerat is a family practice resident in Fresno, California. “My father had a timber business in Indore but once I settled here, I got my parents to stay with me. They came in 1989 and stayed the rest of their lives here. Watching our kids grow up with their grandparents made us confident parents.”
The Other Side
Manbir has tried his hands at acting too. “I have acted as a judge in a movie, The End. That was the only role available and so I took it up,” he says chuckling. He loves gardening and spends about two to three hours every day in his garden. “I am 68 now and so I don’t have many career goals. I work part-time and the rest I do social service and community service.”
The year 2019 was very rewarding for him. “I had gone to Indore to receive the special award given by Mata Gujri College. As soon as I came back, I was awarded the Grand Marshal of the year title.” As the year ended, he was selected among the first 50 prominent Sikhs of America.
What makes him go is always his intense interest in medicine—and that is his advice to every youngster. He believes there can’t be a successful career if there’s no or little interest in a field. “Do not decide your field for money. It is the same advice I have given to my children.”