For Charudatta Patil, nicknamed Charu by his peers, the trouble began when his health insurance company rejected his plea for reimbursement of the medical expenses he had incurred for the prescribed physiotherapy treatment of his back. The excuse: non-inclusion of such a remedy in the International Insurance policy subscribed by him. "Treatment, massage, examination prescribed by a doctor", reads Charu straight from the policy document reiterating the ethical correctness of his stance. Repeated requests, inquiries and plea made to the insurance venture, the international office at the UT and the Personnel Department at CT have hardly been of any help to him.
An academically bright Charu, armed with a bachelor's degree in chemical engineering and a 3-year stint with the biggest Indian petrochemical venture, Reliance Industries Ltd., came to the UT in August 2000.
"The medical centre in the university refused to register me but admitted some of my colleagues who went later", complains Charu expressing his scorn at the arbitrary behaviour.
Given a chance, Charu would like to usher loads of sunlight into the Netherlands while on the other hand, he wishes to import the omnipresent trustworthiness among the Dutch into his home country. Savouring the informality existing in the teacher-student relation here, unlike back home, he adds, "The teacher and the student value each other's time, which is great." Having gained insight into industrial functioning in his previous job, he aspires to work in the same field after his doctorate.
Coming back to his insurance crisis, Charu asserts, "Indians, like the Chinese, should form a union that can answer the grievances of its members by co-ordinating with the university." A weary struggle that bore him no fruit has made him look at things more objectively now. It was torturous on all fronts: mental, physical, professional and monetary. Post-crisis, he claims to have become smarter and least of all, he has finally decided to change his insurance company. One thing Charu learnt from his experience is to question the reliability and credibility of insurance companies. He suggests that every new international student should be given proper guidance in the areas of medical registration and insurance. Help in choosing the right insurance policy for each person may prevent other people having to go through what he went through.
Hometown: Kolhapur, India
Languages: English, Hindi, Marathi
Favourite Food: Spicy fish curry with grated coconut
Favourite music genre: Pop
Favourite movie: As Good As It Gets
Favourite sport: Cricket
Favourite place in NL: Utrecht
Best part about living in the NL: Global environment at the UT
Worst part about living in the NL: Being far away from family and friends
Dream destination: New Zealand
