by Ali Gripper
He knocks loudly on the side of the vehicle to let the driver know if he can proceed or not. In some cases, it looks like
there is only one, or maybe two centimetres to spare.
Despite this unnerving procedure, and the hair- raising
bends which leave one of the nurses doubled over on the
side of the road with motion sickness, the scenery is breath-
taking. Amid the forest are waterfalls, rushing rivers and
streams, dramatic rock formations, and small timber homes
with pitched roofs. It looks like an Asiatic version of Swit-
zerland; the houses could be alpine chalets except they have
highly ornate windows carved out of timber, and the roofs
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are decorated with prayer flags. Nestled inside the ledges of rocks on the sides of the road are thousands of kutzups, tiny Buddha- like statues fashioned by monks out of the ashes of
the recently departed.
There is a saying in Bhutan to ‘take the best from the West
and leave the rest’, and each of the last five kings of the Wangchuck dynasty has done exactly that, implementing the best
of modern life as they cautiously opened up their kingdom
to the world. It’s not perfect, but it’s hard to find fault. In 1907, the first king, Ugyen Wangchuck, united the warring
tribes, encouraged trade, built roads and set up the first non-monastic schools. The second king built bridges and medical
facilities. The third established an independent judiciary and had a telephone network installed. But it was the previous
king, ‘K4’ as he is known, the son of Her Majesty the Queen
Grandmother, who pushed Bhutan into the world’s conscious-
ness by famously declaring that ‘gross national happiness’
was a more accurate measure of his kingdom’s progress than
amassing material wealth through gross domestic product. He
also brought in hydro- electricity, social media and high- end tourism, allowing a privileged few to explore the kingdom’s
temples, forts, monasteries and wildlife for US$250 a day.
There’s an appealing timelessness about Thimphu. Many
of the locals still walk rather than drive to their destinations.
They seem completely at ease wearing the national costume
as they go about their daily business. The women wear kiras, slim- fitting, ankle- length tunics, worn over silk blouses, set off with an ornamental clasp on the shoulder. The men look
equally polished in ghos, knee- length striped gowns, with long socks and leather dress shoes. The ghos are ingeniously 257
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practical; the entire lining above the waistline is an enormous pocket in which men keep mobile phones, papers, glasses,
wallets and even iPads.
Every morning, hundreds make their way before dawn
to temples or chortens, large white bell- shaped monuments topped with golden spires. Many perform prostrations on
wooden boards inside the temple grounds, complete with
hand and knee pads to protect themselves from splinters and
blisters. They do these as unselfconsciously as a group of
people doing their morning exercises or attending boot camp,
and it is unfailingly moving to watch such open- air devotion.
‘You can see why I have great respect for Bhutan, and
the royal family,’ Ruit says. ‘It’s in a precarious situation, bounded on three sides by India—and the other [side] by
China—but they have such a strong sense of unity because of
the royal family, and they seem to keep getting it right. There is a great reverence for the monarchy by the people because
they, in turn, are truly devoted to the people. It’s hard to find too much that is negative. You hardly see any beggars, and
education and health are more or less free.’
As the Australian writer Bunty Avieson puts it her book,
The Dragon’s Voice: How modern media found Bhutan, ‘The way the Bhutanese speak about their kings, they sound like
a cross between living Gods and benevolent uncles who are
very much part of their lives.’
By Ruit’s side on this trip is his 26- year- old daughter
Serabla, whom he affectionately calls ‘The Boss’. After returning home from Kuala Lumpur with her business degree, she
had been quietly assuming the role of her father’s unofficial manager. She runs his new private clinic, which he moved to
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after his previous clinic of more than 20 years was destroyed by the earthquake. She also runs the Kathmandu office of
Wen Giving, the charity set up by Mei and Chiu Chi Wen,
who, in turn, affectionately call Ruit ‘Dad’.
For Serabla, sitting in on the meetings to discuss the
building of the new hospital in Bhutan—some of which are
robust—is part of an unofficial apprenticeship.
Ruit treasures his relationships with his three children.
Sagar graduated from medicine and was accepted to do his
postgraduate ophthalmic degree at Tilganga (the Tilganga
Institute has classrooms, a lecture hall and offices for 25
surgical fellows to use during their training.) Satenla, a third-year medical student at Manipal University in Pokhara, is
following in the footsteps of her elder brother. But he has
drawn particularly close to Serabla since she returned home
and says she is a great comfort to him when he’s on the road.
‘More and more, I’d like family around me,’ he says. ‘There’s always an outlet when things get stressful, isn’t there?’ he
says, looking at her. ‘I get comforted when my daughter is
here. She cools me down. All I have to do is look at her face and I get total relief.’
Serabla is travelling with her father and helping out at the
camps along with his team members, who have been with
him for twenty years. Occasionally it rankles her to be known as ‘Dr Ruit’s daughter’, but most days, she says, it is much
more of a blessing than a burden.
So, did the three of them feel any pressure to be successful
because of their famous father? ‘My brother probably feels
a bit of pressure, mainly because he’s the eldest,’ she admits.
‘But Mum and Dad never made us study anything we didn’t
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like. They always felt we should make careers out of what we
enjoyed the most. Dad actually tried to talk Sagar and Satenla out of doing medicine, but they both really wanted to do it.
They’re strong- willed, like Dad.’
Between Ruit’s feet on the floor is a small black backpack
in which he keeps his passport, wallet, glasses, two mobile
phones, sunglasses, cloth cap and fleece jacket. In the small zipped pocket at the front is a compact silk pouch containing lucky charms from two of his gurus. He pulls out the contents for closer inspection. First, he unfurls a wad of prayers printed on long rectangular strips of paper, given to him by the Tibetan Buddhist teacher Chatral Sange Dorje Rinpoche, who died in
2015 at the age of 104. ‘I carry this with me everywhere,’ he says, before quickly returning it inside the pouch.
Also tucked carefully inside is the preserved cataract of the H
indu saint, Yogi Naraharinath, who died in 2010 at the age
of 92. ‘I operated on him, and we used to have wonderful
talks. The sense of him is still there in that little piece of him.
He used to tell me that real leadership is like being inside a glass box, meaning that I needed to be transparent. If you
want to be a leader then you have to be seen by everybody.
Around the clock, even in your dreams. You need to set a good example both in your personal and professional career. He
used to say he didn’t know if there was a real God, but there are a lot of good people. The important thing about a belief
in God is that you become accountable to somebody. He also
said to steer away from too much material wealth because
you can’t take anything with you when it’s time to go. What
you take is your character and your good deeds; what you
have done to help others. Both teachers really understood the 260
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value of my work. They both used to say restoring sight is
just as important as saying prayers and mantras. They used to say the measure of a truly successful life is how many people you have helped, especially marginalised ones.’
Through Her Majesty the Queen Grandmother’s patron-
age, Ruit and Tabin have been able to make an impressive
dent in the backlog of the blind in the kingdom.
Ruit’s voice drops into a reverential whisper as he describes his first meeting with Her Majesty in 1990.
‘I was invited to lunch at her palace and was struck by how
kind she was. She was so thoughtful, asking many questions
about my work, and was concerned that I’d had enough to
eat and drink. Over a period of time, I have developed a very interesting chemistry with Her Majesty. Somewhere I have a
feeling that I could talk to her the way I talked to my own
mother. Every time I come to Bhutan, I get totally inspired
and energised. It’s difficult to explain but I get this very
strong feeling of great strength whenever I visit her. Every
time I return, she says, “Doctor, I pray for you and your work every day.” And who says that sort of thing to you, apart
from your own mother, hey?’
Ruit was forthright asking for her support for his ambi-
tious project. ‘I said she would have to be our guiding force throughout and she said, “Of course doctor, of course!” You
can see why I have a great respect for Her Majesty and a great love of Bhutan, can’t you?’
The Queen Grandmother’s home, Dechencholing Palace,
is a handsome sandstone residence in the lush foothills
seven kilometres north of Thimphu. Around it is a rambling
garden, which in the drizzling rain seems reminiscent of the
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English countryside. The Buddhist lama Dzongsar Khyentse
Rinpoche, who visited often, adored the ‘wild element’ to the garden—recalling that on one of his visits he saw two bear
cubs running around.
After being ushered up the wide stone steps by her aide- de-
camp, a former paratrooper in full military uniform, guests
are ushered through the grand entrance hall into the ground
floor sitting room. With its plush silk sofas, expansive views of the forest, and side tables stacked with history and poetry books, it’s a room that exudes great charm and in which
visitors could happily stay for hours. The pale yellow walls
are covered with photographs or paintings, each one with a
story or special meaning.
One of these is a photograph of her main teacher, Kyabje
Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche, the spiritual giant who was the
Dalai Lama’s main teacher. He lived in Bhutan for more than
30 years, after fleeing Tibet. She was his lifelong devoted
student and patron; Rinpoche lived in Dechencholing Palace
for some time, and his presence is still strong. She looks up to the photograph several times when talking.
‘It was through Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche’s grandson,
Rajam Rinpoche, who has a monastery in Kathmandu, that
we heard about Dr Ruit,’ she says, making sure that afternoon tea is served meticulously with a fine bone china teapot, cups and saucers, sugar bowl and milk jug. Her voice is mesmeris-ing—so soft, almost a whisper, so that you need to bend your
head close to hear. At 86 she is still beautiful, her emerald silk gown setting off large black eyes that shine with intelligence and warmth.
‘Everything that’s been transformed in eye care in Bhutan
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we owe to Dr Ruit’s kindness and help,’ she says. ‘He is so
full of love and compassion, and he has brought great bless-
ings and joy to our country. He’s my hero. We loved him
very much as soon as we met him. Thanks to him, many,
many people are able to see our beautiful country again,
enjoy their lives again. We feel so proud that he is from the Himalayas and he has helped so many people by giving the
gift of sight in places like Tibet, Bhutan and India. He works where people need him so badly. My daughter goes to his
camps. He has helped train lots of our doctors, and he sends
equipment, everything we need. We feel very fortunate to
have met him.’
Her patronage—as well as the financial heft of the Hima-
layan Cataract Project—resulted in a dramatic transformation
in eye health in the kingdom. When Ruit started working in
Bhutan in the 1990s, there was only one ophthalmologist,
Dr Kunzang Getshen. Today, more than nine eye doctors
have been trained at Tilganga and more than 3000 Bhutanese
patients can now see again.
As usual, Ruit is setting a cracking pace. On this trip, plans are being shored up to build Bhutan’s first eye hospital, which will open in 2018, with 45 staff, and see more than 200 patients a day. It will be a replica of the district hospital Tilganga has already set up in Hetauda, in south- west Nepal, with an inbuilt cost recovery system whereby the operations will be free for
those who can’t afford it, paid for by those who can.
It will be the first of its kind in Bhutan—and the first of
what Ruit hopes will be at least 30 similar district hospi-
tals throughout the world; Nepal, India, China, Indonesia,
Myanmar, Bhutan, and many parts of Africa. As HCP’s
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Job Heintz puts it, the community hospitals will ‘replicate
Nepalese ingenuity around the world’.
‘It’s very, very exciting,’ says Ruit. ‘It will set an example for other medical specialities to catch up to. The whole idea is to translate decades of our experience into a physical structure and to take it as a model that we will take to the developing world.’
In a quiet alcove of the lounge of the Hotel Druk in Thimphu, Harvard- trained architect Sanjay Bahadur Thapa and local
Bhutanese architect Pem Gyaltsen have their heads bent low
over a coffee table, poring over the sketches. In keeping with the rest of the town, the exterior of the three- storey structure will be built in the traditional style. The upper storey will be timber, with decorative window frames; there will even be
an attic in which patients’ families who have travelled from
afar can store food, clothes and bedding. Inside, the screening rooms and operating theatres and recovery wards will gleam
with modern hospital fixtures and cutting- edge technology.
For the unassuming Sanjay, whose portfolio includes five-
star resorts and Indian universities, the Bhutan hospital, and the others to follow, are a ‘lifelong’ project, carried out for no payment, simply because he was inspired by Ruit’s example.
‘I’ve wanted to do my bit for a long time, and finally
I found a way to do it. Dr Ruit has the ability to bring out
the goodness in each of us. He provides the platform where
all of us have been able to meet, interact, work together
and feel good. It’s an opportunity to give back. He seems to
energise people from all over the world in a common cause.
It’s a true privilege to be associated with him and his work.
He empowers people, he drives them, brings out the good in
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them. He’ll give you his input but he doesn’t interfere. And he has this uncanny knack of choosing exactly the right person
for the right job to help him achieve his vision. I guess that’s why I’m here.’
During this week of often tense discussions, Ruit calmly
does 70 operations a day at the Thimphu National Referral
Hospital, which looks more like a medieval fort than a medical facility. Ruit often works in picturesque places, and this one is breathtaking. On the mountain behind it, as if benevolently
observing his every move, stands a 51- metre- high bronze
Buddha, one of the largest of its kind in the world. All around in the emerald green slopes of the Thimphu Valley, thickets
of long white prayer flags—‘messages on the wind’—flutter
jauntily, as if every day in the valley is a cause of celebration.
Inside the hospital, Ruit’s team gown up in their dark
green hospital scrubs and share a meal together of local red
rice, curries, chicken dumplings, ema datshi, the local curry made with signature chilli and cheese, a local flat bread, and glasses of milk or tea.
Patient 31 this morning is a tall elderly woman with broad