I did not know Iran had a Gandhi Hospital. On a Gandhi Street in Tehran. I discovered it only after it appeared in the news this week. Shattered by war. The damage appears severe. The building stands hollowed out now. Its skeletal frame showing gaping blackened holes where walls collapsed and windows shattered. Debris lies scattered through wards that must once have been filled with doctors, nurses and patients. In the photograph, an Iranian woman walks past the wreckage, almost ghost-like. That is what war often does to people. It drains something essential out of them. Leaves them hollow, stunned, moving through the day mechanically. Numb is perhaps the closest word.
Until recently, this had been among the most advanced hospitals in the region, practicing nuclear medicine since 2008, rising 22 floors with specialized clinics, operating theatres, and residential suites for families of patients. At its entrance stood a bust of Mahatma Gandhi. I found myself wondering how a street and a hospital in Iran came to bear his name. Gandhi stood for non-violence, civil rights, and human dignity. His presence here now feels strangely poignant.
War, wherever it unfolds, rarely observes the neat boundaries drawn in law books or treaties. Hospitals, homes, schools, markets and heritage sites often find themselves in its path. The bombardment across parts of Iran has been intense. But it is also important to remember that suffering rarely belongs to only one side. What we see in this photograph from Tehran could, in another moment, be an image from Tel Aviv as well. Destruction, grief and loss travel in both directions.
Someone once observed that the brutality of war extends far beyond the explosive moment of violence. Its deeper damage lies in the slow, long-term unravelling of lives, communities and memory. Homes become ruins. Streets fall silent. People are left without shelter, water, medicine or certainty about tomorrow. The humanitarian and environmental costs will take years to measure. The suffering, however, lasts far longer than the moment it takes for us to look at a photograph like this and then turn away. The ruins will one day be cleared, and walls rebuilt. But the silence that war leaves behind in human hearts takes far longer to mend.
About Mark Manuel
The above thoughts/content has been proudly copied from the wall of Sir Mark Manuel. Being interviewing almost every role model of this country and going stronger each day. Mark Manuel is a respected Mumbai editor, writer, and columnist.
With over three decades of journalism in leading publications. This includes the Free Press Journal, Times, Dainik Bhaskar, Mid-Day, and Afternoon. He is famous for his brilliant pen interviews. He himself is a TEDx speaker.
Further
His interviews have featured in several leading media houses. They include the Hindustan Times, Huffington Post, BBC, and Network 18. Almost every famous person has been interviewed by him in the country from Mother Teresa to Muhammad Ali. His first book is just out. It’s titled Moryaa Re! It is a crime thriller that is perhaps the country’s first police procedural. He began his career covering crime. And in a tribute to his experience and knowledge of this beat.
Several distinguished officers of the Mumbai Police and its Crime Branch collaborated with him to make this book possible. Amitabh Bachchan wrote the forward in a statement of friendship for Mark Manuel and admiration for his work.
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