Published on: June 30, 2025

How does a corporate lawyer in training find themselves in the social sector, advocating for palliative care and improved access to opioids for medical use? For starters, a global lockdown, courtesy of COVID-19, helps. Add a random opportunity—a place in a fellowship program at a “palliative care NGO” run by an absolutely enigmatic group of people—and my interest was piqued.

In late October 2020, I (virtually) walked into a meeting with the founder of Pallium India, Dr. M.R. Rajagopal. I was nervous because a quick Google search had referred to him as the “Father of Palliative Care in India.” I had only just begun to understand what palliative care was from that same search, and here I was about to meet its pioneer. But as anyone who has had the opportunity to interact with Dr. Raj would vouch, I had no reason to be nervous. The good doctor instantly puts you at ease with his calm demeanour and lovely smile.

I paint this picture to convey the tone that Pallium India set for me from the very beginning. I would soon meet other team members who shared Dr. Raj’s infectious passion for delivering care in a world that often seems interested only in curing. We discussed pain, death, the unfortunate state of the law, and access to healthcare in our country. As a recent law school graduate, young and confused, I was fully subscribed to the cause.

Four and a half years later, life has taken me on other journeys, and I have landed at university once again in pursuit of a Master’s in Development. Though I had left Pallium India some time ago, the cause was always at the back of my mind – a driving factor in my growing interest in policy and public health.
A chance internship opportunity brought me back to Pallium this year. After spending the last 45 days with them in Trivandrum, my resolve has only strengthened.

The majority of my previous association with Pallium had been on the facilitation, research, and education side. So, the first thing I wanted to do during my internship was to experience their demonstration model—specifically, the homecare visits. Over the course of a week, I observed the homecare team perform their duties with an ease and concern that, on occasion, left me dumbfounded. Seeing the joy and relief on the faces of patients’ family members as the Pallium India vehicle approached their homes was a deeply emotional experience.

In university, we learn about the strength of community volunteers in tackling complicated social issues; here, I saw it in action. The volunteers, mostly retired individuals with a renewed purpose, brought a certain added energy. Wherever a volunteer led the team, there was a noticeable boost in the morale of both my colleagues and the patients and their families. The volunteer would ask about the well-being of the entire family, catch up on last week’s gossip, and find out where a secret, frowned-upon cigarette had been hidden. My colleagues were thoroughly professional, showing the care that one would expect, but the volunteer was a neighbour and a friend, allowing us to deliver a level of holistic care that we all strive for every day. Their sense of renewed purpose was like a light at the end of the dreary tunnel the world seems to be in these days.

A renewed purpose is what brought me back to Pallium, and I found Pallium itself in a similar state—identifying its own renewed purpose. Pallium India, as I observed it, has become a significant Civil Society Organization engaged in a wide range of activities across disciplines, recognized by national and international organizations. This growing reputation and responsibility have resulted in an expanded team, fighting on all fronts to help the world understand that palliative care isn’t simply a branch of medicine but an integral backbone upon which both health and care should be delivered. I am thrilled to be associated with Pallium in its era of growth and am excited to contribute and learn more. While no proper definition exists, especially not for the global south context, when I think of palliative care, I often think of these words that Dr. Raj likes to say – Cure sometimes, relieve often, comfort always.

Ashwin R Nambiar
(A lawyer, currently pursuing his MA in Development from Azim Premji University, Bangalore.
When he isn’t buried under course work, the NDPS act and morphine equivalence, he’s probably thinking about cars)