Indah
“Today is the first day of your life. You are where you are supposed to be. The knowledge, and experiences, and hard work you have done have brought you here, so what are you going to do next?”
Indah’s fortitude began at a young age. She went to school in another nation when she was a young girl, far away from her family. However, she stayed committed to her studies and drawn to science. Years later, Indah would attend medical school. During this time, one setback caused everyone to doubt her ambitions, but she didn't give up. As a result of her hard work and devotion, Indah is now a practising general surgeon. She is a determined trailblazer and a STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) leader. She is someone who has dedicated her career to saving lives. Meet Indah. This is her story,
P: Please introduce yourself!
I: Hi, my name is Indah Jamtani and I am a general surgeon. I have many other names other than Indah. One of my exes used to call me “the girl with too many names”. He had also mentioned that he suspected I was running away from FBI or CIA or other intelligence agencies, since I had too many names :D
My formal and legal name is Indah Jamtani. Indah means beautiful in Bahasa Indonesia. I am an Indonesian and a third generation Sindhi living in Indonesia. Sindh is a small village in now Pakistan, with majority Hindus. My Grandfather had left Sindh for Indonesia before the India-Pakistan partition and the family followed after the partition. And we have been here and legit Indonesian citizen since then. In Indonesia however, us Sindhis, are called Indian-Indonesian instead of Pakistan. I think this had to do with the history that at the partition, most of the Hindu Sindhis sought out refuge in India, and thus, more Indian than Pakistani. And all this preamble is an introduction to my second name, my Sindhi name, Indu.
Indu means one of the constellations or one of the Moon’s shape, I’m not really sure, but both meaning suits me well. I like the name Indu, even in the Indian community, it is not a common name, and I like it because it is unique. And then I have my alter ego: Sherry. I gave myself the name Sherry when I was secretly working as a radio announcer, and I use it mostly in the social settings outside the hospital and the Indian community. My friend would comment “There’s Sherry” everytime I meet a guy and start flirting. She noticed that I used “Sherry” to introduce myself whenever I intended to flirt. So I created a line “Sherry, as intoxicating as the drink” as a pick-up line when I introduce myself.
I use Gypsy Jamtani as my IG handle as I am a Gypsy. When you read the history of the Romanian Gypsies, you would find that most of the gypsies originated from northern India, i.e. Pakistan, and if you indulge yourself deeper, some text mentioned Sindh as one of the origins. We, or rather our ancestors, the Hindu-Sindhis, were driven away from our land and sailed and moved and settled in every other parts of the world. We are the landless winners, the people without the land, the gypsies. So, to always remember my roots, I choose Gypsy.
And that is my long introduction and the history of my names.
P: Describe or define yourself in your own words.
I: I am a Indian-Indonesian, agnostic, overthinker, female surgeon in a majority Muslim country. I am proud of my profession, and more than that, I am proud of myself to have reached here. I am mostly an overthinker, and used to dwell in the past so much that the first thing I did in the morning was think about what happened the other day and what could I have done differently to have a better outcome. That thought would stick and I would miss the present and not to mention feel depressed. So one day I decided that had to stop. And I created a mantra “Today is the first day of your life, with all the knowledge you learned previously, what would you do today?”
I would repeat that mantra every morning until it became one with my soul and I started living everyday as the first day of life. I do not just cast away previous experiences and failures, but use them as guide and stepping stone for a new beginning. Then recently, when I was placed in a situation I had no confidence in and kept doubting myself, I added another sentence to that mantra: “Today is the first day of your life. You are where you are supposed to be. The knowledge, and experiences, and hard work you have done have brought you here, so what are you going to do next?” And it worked, It calmed my anxiety and made me more focused on the present and the steps ahead instead of dwelling in the past and worrying for the future.
Today, every time I look at myself in the mirror, I love the person looking back at me, and for all the heart aches, the wounds, the failures I went through, I would not change a single thing. I am who I am today, I am here today, is because of all that had happened in the past and for that I am grateful. And my mantra reminds me of that everyday.
Perhaps this anecdote is not the best way to describe myself, but I have no other or better way to do so.
P: What is your favourite thing about yourself?
I: My face… oh what a vanity. But seriously, I like my face early in the morning when I had just woken up from a good night sleep. Something about a relaxed, well rested face, with no worry lines yet, just makes my heart goes warm and induced a smile. It is not often that I see that face though, but when I do, I love it with all my heart.
P: Tell us a story. Have you had an experience that has defined you or made you stronger?
I: This is a hard one because every part of my past has taught me something and in all collaboration had defined me as who I am today. And of course every step back, every pain, every heart ache, every loss, has made me stronger.
The two instances I could think of right now are:
When I was 11 years old, I attended an all-girls boarding school in New-Delhi, India, for two years. I think being away from home and comfort zone to a whole different country and culture, as early as 11 years old, had taught me to adapt quickly to every change and every situation.
The second one was that I had failed my first year of medical school. And for years it was so taboo to mentioned it. My parents reminded me again and again how it was an embarrassment for me and for the family and should be covered up and not spoken about ever. But over the years, as I grew, and now have reached where I had aimed, I felt silly to be ashamed or not to be able to talk about that one set back. In fact, I really do believe that it was that set back was what I needed to go on and peruse my dream to be a doctor. When I had failed my first year, a few of my closest people, including my parents, had told me to re-think if medical school was really what I wanted. They had tried to get me out of medical school, thinking perhaps studying medicine was not the best choice for me, but I was persistent. And look at me now… That failure thought me not to give up on my dreams, to work hard for what we want, and most importantly, not to let one set back throw us off our course.
P: What is one piece of advice you’d give your younger self?
I: Don’t take life too seriously. Life goes on, flow with it. People forget and forgive, even if it takes a little longer. Always, always be flexible, nothing is set in stone.
(I know too many sentences, but it is basically the same advice)
P: What does being a woman mean to you?
I: It is a privilege!
P: Who is one woman that inspires you? What would you say if they were here now?
I: Marie Curie: she is my ultimate female scientist idol. She succeeded in science and in love. She faced discrimination and judgement about her personal life but she held her head high and carried on and faced the male-dominated world of science and won the NOBEL PRIZE!! The first female to won the NOBEL PRIZE. Not only that, she won the NOBEL twice and won the NOBEL in two scientific fields. She and her husband Pierre, who had supported her scientific carrier more than his own, were the first ever married couple to won the NOBEL PRIZE together. She had proved that carrier and love worked hand in hand, all you need is understanding and support. She has not only paved the way for all the women in science today, but has shown that you don’t have to choose between career and home when you know how to work together.
If I could meet her, I would say thank you.