They are doctors with a difference as besides using their medical expertise to save lives, they use their musical talent to perform and raise money for worthy causes!

Meet the Doctors Orchestra for Charity and Social Service or DOCS in short, which raises funds for worthy causes and have already performed in more than 15 cities in the world.

Based in Pune, Maharashtra, the group began in 2001 and has more than 200 performances under its belt with the latest one scheduled to take place on May 8, World Thalassemia Day.

Among the 17-member group are the lead playback singer who works as a consulting radiologist, bass guitarist who is an oral surgeon, and a rhythmist, who is a paediatric surgeon.

According to the President of the Pune chapter of Indian Thalassemia Society, Dr. Nita Munshi, music has a twin objective for these doctors – it acts as a stress buster while enabling them to showcase their talent and skills and also raise funds for charity.

The doctors through their stage performance have raised money for causes including suicide prevention, environmental protection, breast cancer, and Tsunami relief, while their trust uses these funds to also help patients who are economically at a disadvantage.

Till now the group has raised more than Rs.2 crores. `

The group during their performance also deals with social and medical issues. Talking about this, Dr Kamlesh Bokil, bass guitarist who is a cancer surgeon informed that the general theme for each show is to have an audio-visual presentation and songs interspersed with suggestions and messages about health and other issues.

The group has presented shows with actors like Jackie Shroff and Amol Palekar and renowned artists like singers Yesudas and Hariharan.

Many of the doctors are not just interested in music but also mountaineering and cycling too.

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