In the early morning of January the 14th we took off in our jeep to the township of Siwana in Barmer district. The word Siwana means beautiful, lovely or attractive in Marwari and it is indeed so. The town is known for its historic Gadh Siwana fort, annual Kalyan Singh Ka Mela fair, and Haldeshwar Mahadev Temple amidst the Aravali ranges. Its historic fort, Gadh Siwana, a Rajput stronghold since the 11th century, is situated on a hill and offers a panoramic view across the town. The Gadh has seen many a bloody battle [with Sher Shah Suri, Allaudin Khilji, Akbar to name a few] and is a prominent feature of the town.

It is here that we had a free eye camp in collaboration with the Ranka Bhawan Trust. It was a busy day and our volunteer Dr Joseph Keenan and I screened and treated 841 patients. We admitted 42 patients for surgery and bussed them back to Jodhpur for surgery. Two of them had an opaque lens from a previous surgery and underwent an IOL exchange procedure while the rest underwent cataract surgery. Have a dekko at the photos from this camp. White over-ripe cataracts which make a patient so blind that they can differentiate only light from dark, are still commonly seen in this part of the world [last photo] because the laity does not understand that waiting so long is risky.

Recognizing this gap, we have taken the initiative to bridge it by organizing a free eye clinic once a month at this hospital. On February 14, 2025, our dedicated team, led by Senior Optometrist Mr. Anjesh Srivastava, held a clinic at the government hospital. During this session, we provided on-site treatment to 56 patients and identified 4 patients requiring immediate surgical intervention. These patients were promptly transferred to our base hospital, where they underwent successful operations on the same day.

It is therefore natural for many villages in Rajasthan to be named in honour of this sacred tree. One such village is the village of Khejariali, 47 kiloneters east of Jodhpur. It was here that we were invited to organize a free eye camp on February 11, 2025. Our team which included overseas volunteer Dr Joseph Keenan, examined and treated 184 patients on-site. We brought 21 patients with cataract to our base hospital and operated them free of charge the same evening. Here are some photos from the camp.