Gen Z: A Ludhiana dentist passionate about social reforms and photography | Chandigarh News
3 min readMeet Dr. Shubhkarmandeep Singh, a dynamic individual with a diverse range of interests and experiences. From his roots in Ludhiana to pursuing a post-graduation in Public Health at Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai, Shubhkarmandeep’s journey is a testament to his resilience and determination. This is his story of balancing medicine, photography, and a passion for social reform while navigating the challenges of a medical profession marked by caste biases.
I, Me, Myself
I am Dr Shubhkarmandeep Singh . I was born and brought up in Ludhiana, currently I’m pursuing my Post Graduation in Public Health from Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai. Prior to this I worked as a dental surgeon in a clinic in a small town Nadala, Near Kapurthala. During my formative years I got inspired by cinema of Mrinal Sen and other stalwarts of parallel cinema and this made me realise my passion about filmmaking and photography.
I studied from Tagore Public School in Ludhiana and then went to Government Dental College & Hospital, Amritsar to do my Bachelors Of Dental Surgery.
How Punjab has shaped me
I feel indebted and fortunate to have grown in the land of Gurus, Sufis and Warriors. The path of resistance against oppression laid by sikh gurus and followed by every Sikh is my inspiration. The spirit of every Punjabi individual to live happily in every phase of life, whatever adverse situation might be has also been a great inspiration for me. Basically the idea of Chardhi Kala.
My Journey
My journey till this time was full of ups and downs. There were hard times when many things around me shattered away but now things seem to be on track. I feel this is the real face of life that all of us have to go through. I have now shifted from Punjab to Mumbai to pursue my higher education and also follow my passion of Photography.
My Passions apart from being a doctor
I’m very passionate about Cinema especially the parallel cinema, literature and Indian Classical Music. I’m a sitarist & flautist but consider myself a student always. I have a big collection of rare Soviet Books in my library which has around 1800 titles in total.
My Accomplishments
I have did my solo exhibition of my photography in Indian Academy of Fine Arts, Amritsar which is one of the oldest Art Galleries & institutions in our region. This work was titled “Pathogenesis : Life & Times in a Dental College” and was focused on depiction of student life of a dental surgeon.
I have joined prestigious Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai for my Post Graduation. I’m pursuing my Masters Of Public Health from there and it is considered top institutions for Public Health & Health Research.
Challenges that came my way
Most Read
India vs South Africa, World Cup 2023 Highlights: Kohli’s century, Jadeja’s fifer help India beat South Africa by 243 runs
When Gulzar sat silently with Tabu for one hour, offered her Maachis after that: ‘This relationship impacted my life the most’
The main challenge I face is how to balance between medicine & photography. How should I distribute my time, resources & energy and stay true to both my research work and Artwork equally.
Coming from a Dalit background I had to face some obstacles at times because Medical profession is inherently elitist and is not safe from the Caste Biases. But I have always strived to resist back.
Reforms that I Want in system
The biggest and most important reform that is required in present day India for enhancing growth of the nation is ‘Annihilation of Caste’ We need to smash and shatter the caste system and uproot it as emphasised by Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar whose work has always inspired me.
Stress Busters
Reading, eating tasty food, and watching good cinema.