Cardiologist Dr Cyrus Wadia received the World Organisation for Scouts Movement award for excellence for the Asia Pacific Region (APR) to thunderous applause at their annual conference held at Rohat in Pali District, Rajasthan between January 4-10, 2023. With seven decades in the scouting movement, the 78-year-old medico, who is consulting cardiologist at the Jaslok Hospital, received the award at the valedictory function of the conference from Niranjan Arya, state chief commissioner of Rajasthan Scouts and Guides. The APR is home to the largest number of scouts in the world with over 220,000 adult volunteers.
Wadia joined the scout movement as a cub in 1951 and, at the age of 11, took the oath to become a scout. "I was a student of Campion School where Principal Rev Fr E. F. More was also my scout master… He was one of the finest scout masters of all times… He molded us, using scouting as a way of life to produce disciplined adults,” conveyed Wadia.
Dr Cyrus Wadia (l); felicitations for the long-standing scouter (r)
When the young Wadia attended a national jamboree in 1956 in Jaipur, he recollected "sleeping in a large pandal (open tent) and covering ourselves with mattresses to save us from the bitter cold... There were no tents or bathing or toilet facilities. Yet it was very enjoyable meeting scouts from various parts of the country.” After More left Campion School, Wadia took over as scout master. He tried to emulate More who had influenced him greatly. To advance his knowledge as a scout master, Wadia undertook training and became a leader-trainer.
Recognized with the coveted Silver Elephant award in 1993, Wadia was appointed to an APR task force to help in framing the training tool in 2001, and later as a member of the advanced training team, on which he worked for a decade from 2007 onwards. "This gave me the opportunity to assist in various courses held in Japan, Hong Kong , Bangladesh, South Korea, Indonesia, Sri Lanka, The Philippines and Cambodia,” recalled Wadia. The senior scouter was awarded the Asia Pacific Chairman’s Award, the second highest award for the region in 2012 at Dacca, Bangladesh.
Despite a busy career in interventional cardiology and teaching as an honorary professor of medicine at the Grant Medical College, his passion for scouting remained. "I have enjoyed my life in the scouting movement… It has been a way of life for me… one that I still enjoy… I believe in the saying of Lord Baden Powell, the founder of the scouts and guides movement ‘Once a scout, always a scout.’”