I was born and grew up in the historic temple city of Chidambaram in South India. As a young medical school graduate in my early 20's, my travels brought me to the North East in 1999 in pursuit of a career in surgery. Northerners lived up to their reputation of being friendly and welcoming. I joined the Wallsend (now Cramlington) cricket club, which allowed me to continue my childhood passion for the sport. The Paul O'Gorman building in Newcastle plays a significant role in my life; firstly, it is where I undertook prostate cancer research, but secondly, and more importantly, it is where I met my beautiful wife, Pallavi. Fifteen years later, and we now have three handsome Geordie boys and have made Newcastle our happy home. We have found that over the years, although the appearances of people and places have changed, the tremendous Geordie spirit hasn't. With all the support from my colleagues and trust of my patients, I am now able to contribute to the Tyne and Wear community by providing prostate cancer care through robotic surgery.

Paul O'Gorman Building, Northern Centre for cancer research, University of Newcastle