NEW YORK: Bala Murali Ambati, a New York-based Indian-American,
staked his claim to become the world's youngest doctor when he
graduated last week from Mt. Sinai Medical School, two months
before his 18th birthday. The New York state legislature has had to
pass a special exception allowing Bala to practice medicine because
he is still far below the required age of 21.
Bala is now headed for an internship at North Shore University
Hospital and will be moving on to the Massachusetts Eye and Ear
Infirmary at Harvard Medical School for residency in ophthalmology next
year.
Asked how they felt about the achievement, while Bala responded
with a subdued 'I feel very good,' his mother, Gomathi, was more
emphatic in her joy. 'We had a plan. We did it!' she said with a
proud glance at her son.
Interestingly, while Bala's achievement has attracted global media
spotlight and the family has been receiving phone calls and letters
from congressmen, senators and all kinds of well-wishers over the
past week, no Indian or Indian-American association has even
acknowledged Bala's feat.
Bala received an award for excellence in communication of science
from the American Medical Association for a book on AIDS he co-
authored with his brother when he was just 11.
Bala has been a student-in-a-hurry ever since his elementary school
years in Baltimore. He completed his school curriculum two years at
a time and was done with high school by 11. His family then moved
to New York and by 13 he had completed a BS in biology from New York
University.
Asked whether the excessive work load got the better of him at any
point, Bala maintained, 'Schools in America are as it is easy. I
still had time to play.'
Bala, like any American boy his age, loves going to the movies with
friends and watching his favorite shows like ER and Star Trek on
TV. He enjoys playing basketball, chess and table tennis.
And like most Indians today, he is an avid fan of Mani Rathnam --
his favorite film being Nayakan -- and loves listening to the songs of
Roja.
The Ambati family is the archetypal south Indian family with a
zealous pursuit of academics and a strong belief in God. Dr. Ambati
Rao, Bala's father, has a Ph.D. in engineering, Gomathi a master's
in mathematics, and Jaya Krishna, Bala's elder brother, is also a
doctor. Incidentally, Jaya Krishna, too, was already studying
college courses by the time he was 9.
Each time the family visits India, they make it a point to visit
Sri Venkateswara temple at Tirupati. The Ambati home in Queens, a
New York borough, is living proof of family priorities. In every
possible nook and corner of the living room are squeezed in dozens
of photographs of the family members, their trophies and pictures
of God and Sri Venkateswara temple.
Bala, who is fluent in both Tamil and Telugu, hopes to have one
foot in the US and the other in India once he begins his practice.
He wants to continue with research even after he begins working.
Bala has always had far older course mates and has learned to
adjust. Yet he says he does not feel an oddity within his own age group.
Asked what he treasured most about his Indian background, the quiet
underplayed Bala shot back immediately, 'The value for family.'
he is in guiness:
http://www.guinnessworldrecords.com...?recordid=46017
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16-08-2008, 10:16 PM
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