Picture a young Naresh Trehan, a curious boy growing up in a modest three-room apartment in Connaught Place, Delhi, where two rooms doubled as his parents’ medical clinic. His mother, a gynecologist, and his father, an ENT specialist, had fled Lyallpur (now Faisalabad, Pakistan) during the 1947 partition, carrying little but their dreams and dedication to healing. “I’d watch them work tirelessly,” Naresh recalls, his voice warm with nostalgia. “They’d treat the poor for free, and I saw how a doctor’s hands could change lives. That’s when I knew I wanted to be like them.”

The Shadow of Partition: Its Lasting Impact on Medicine in India

The 1947 partition of India and Pakistan wasn’t just a geopolitical upheaval—it reshaped the medical landscape in profound ways, leaving scars and sparking resilience that influenced pioneers like Dr. Naresh Trehan. Imagine the chaos: millions displaced, communities torn apart, and healthcare systems thrown into disarray. For Naresh Trehan’s family, the partition was personal. His parents, both doctors, fled Lyallpur (now Faisalabad, Pakistan), abandoning their home and clinic. “They left with nothing but their skills and a will to start over,” Naresh recalls, his voice heavy with respect. “That grit shaped me—seeing them rebuild in Delhi showed me medicine could thrive even in crisis.”

Disruption of Medical Infrastructure
Partition split British India’s medical resources unevenly. Major hospitals like King Edward Medical College in Lahore went to Pakistan, while India retained institutions like Calcutta Medical College. “It was a scramble,” Naresh explains, reflecting on stories from his parents’ era. “Hospitals in Punjab and Bengal were overwhelmed with refugees, many injured or sick from the journey.” Data from the time is sparse, but estimates suggest over 15 million people migrated, with up to 2 million deaths due to violence, starvation, or disease. Makeshift refugee camps became breeding grounds for cholera, dysentery, and smallpox, stretching medical facilities to their limits. Doctors, like Naresh’s parents, worked tirelessly, often without supplies. “My mother would talk about stitching wounds with whatever thread she could find,” he says, shaking his head.

Loss and Migration of Medical Professionals
The human toll on medicine was stark. Many doctors, nurses, and midwives were among the displaced. Hindu and Sikh doctors in what became Pakistan, like Naresh’s parents, fled to India, while Muslim practitioners moved westward. “It was a brain drain on both sides,” Naresh notes. “India lost talent, but it also gained doctors determined to serve.” His parents set up a clinic in Delhi’s Connaught Place, treating refugees for free. This ethos of service in crisis became Naresh’s North Star. “I grew up hearing, ‘If you can help, you must,’” he says. The loss of professionals, though, created gaps—India’s doctor-to-patient ratio in the late 1940s was roughly 1:6,000, far worse in rural areas, compared to 1:2,000 in urban centers today.

Rise of Resilience and Innovation
Partition forced medical communities to adapt. In India, new hospitals and training institutes emerged to fill the void, like the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in 1956. “The crisis pushed us to build,” Naresh says. “My parents’ generation showed me that necessity breeds innovation.” Makeshift clinics in refugee camps, staffed by doctors like his parents, became models for accessible care. Traditional medicine, like Ayurveda, also surged as Western-trained doctors were scarce. Naresh’s father, an ENT specialist, learned to blend modern and local remedies to treat patients. “That taught me flexibility,” Naresh admits. “You work with what you have.”

Long-Term Impact on Medical Pioneers
For Naresh, born in 1945, the partition’s legacy was a backdrop of purpose. His parents’ stories of treating partition survivors instilled a drive to make healthcare universal. “I saw how they served the poorest,” he says. “It’s why I came back from the U.S. to build Escorts and Medanta—to bring world-class care to India.” The partition also highlighted India’s lag in specialized fields like cardiology. “Back then, heart surgeries were a pipe dream here,” Naresh explains. “I wanted to change that.” His work, including over 48,000 surgeries and founding Medanta, reflects a mission rooted in the partition’s lessons: resilience, accessibility, and innovation.

A Lasting Echo
Partition’s impact on medicine wasn’t just immediate—it shaped a generation of doctors like Naresh Trehan, who saw healthcare as a tool for rebuilding a fractured nation. “The chaos of ’47 showed us medicine’s power to heal more than bodies,” he says, his eyes steady. “It can mend hope, too.” From refugee clinics to modern hospitals, the partition’s shadow pushed India’s medical pioneers to create a system that, while still imperfect, strives to serve all—a legacy Naresh carries forward with every heartbeat he saves.

Born on August 12, 1945, in Batala, Punjab, Naresh wasn’t just a dreamer—he was a doer. A natural left-hander, he faced an unusual challenge early on. “My Hindi tutor thought left-handedness was a flaw,” he chuckles, shaking his head. “He forced me to write with my right hand—broke my left hand, literally! But you know what? That made me ambidextrous, and it’s been my secret weapon in the operating room.” This resilience would define his life.

At Modern School in New Delhi, Naresh wasn’t all books. “I was out there on the cricket and hockey fields, even leading the aero-modeling club,” he says with a grin. “Sports taught me stamina—vital when you’re standing through a six-hour heart surgery.” His parents, though, weren’t thrilled about his career choice. “They knew medicine was grueling,” he admits. “But I was stubborn. I wanted to make a difference.”

In 1963, Naresh joined King George’s Medical College in Lucknow, earning his MBBS by 1968. Love came early too—he met Madhu, a spirited journalist-to-be, at 16. “We were young, reckless, and in love,” he laughs. They married in September 1969, and by November, they were off to the U.S., chasing bigger dreams. “Philadelphia was a shock—cold, fast-paced,” he recalls. “But at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital, I found my calling.”

Under the mentorship of Dr. Frank Spencer at New York University Medical Center, Naresh chose heart surgery over neurosurgery. “The heart was magical,” he says, eyes lighting up. “One moment, a patient’s fading; the next, you give them life.” From 1971 to 1988, he honed his craft in Manhattan, performing surgeries that saved countless lives. “I’d see Indian patients fly to the U.S. for heart surgeries because India didn’t have the facilities,” he says, his tone turning serious. “That hit me hard. I knew I had to go back.”

In 1988, Naresh returned to India and founded the Escorts Heart Institute and Research Centre in Delhi. “It wasn’t just a hospital,” he explains. “It was a mission—to bring world-class cardiac care to India.” His vision paid off. By 2009, he’d launched Medanta-The Medicity in Gurgaon, a 1,400-bed marvel blending cutting-edge technology with compassion. “We wanted it to be the Cleveland Clinic of the East,” he says proudly. Today, Medanta spans Delhi, Lucknow, Patna, Indore, and Ranchi, with over 2,700 beds and 30+ specialties.

With over 48,000 open-heart surgeries under his belt—coronary bypasses, valve replacements, even a historic surgery on a 98-year-old patient—Naresh’s hands have worked miracles. “Every surgery is a life,” he says softly. “You feel the weight of that trust.” His expertise earned him the Padma Shri (1991), Padma Bhushan (2001), Dr. B. C. Roy Award (2002), and the title of one of the “Seven Legends” in heart surgery by the International Congress of Cardiac Surgery in 2024. Since 1991, he’s been the personal surgeon to the President of India, a role he carries with quiet pride.

But success didn’t come without sacrifice. “Long hours, endless emergencies,” he admits. “Madhu and our daughters, Shyel and Shonan, kept me grounded.” Shyel, a lawyer, is married to Pankaj Sahni, Medanta’s CEO. “Family is my anchor,” Naresh says. His wife, Madhu Trehan, a renowned journalist, adds, “He’s a beast in the operating room but a teddy bear at home.”

At 77, Naresh is a billionaire, with a 33.06% stake in Global Health, Medanta’s parent company, valued at over $1 billion in 2023. Yet, he’s no ivory-tower tycoon. A fitness enthusiast, he starts his day with yoga and small, healthy meals—nuts, fruits, salads. “A surgeon needs stamina,” he says, flexing his fingers. “And a clear mind.” He’s also a mentor, having trained countless surgeons, and a researcher with over 350 scientific publications.

“Broke Everything That He Saw: A Heart Repair Doctor’s Story” (Dr. Naresh Trehan interview with Kumkum Chadha on Hindustan Times’ “The Interview”).

Introduction

[Music]

Kumkum Chadha: Hello and welcome to HT’s weekly talk show, The Interview, and our special segment, Life and Times with HT.

[Music]

Narrator: What do you doctor here or do you soon take him is what is said about him. He took up cardiac surgery because he found neurosurgery morbid. His Hindi teacher broke his left hand and forced him to use the right. He landed in Delhi as a refugee and says, “At heart, I still remain one.” We are talking about Dr. Naresh Trehan, a well-known name and one that needs no introduction. The doctor who to many is God. It has been a long journey with its twists and turns with life being both fair and unfair. Today, we take stock of the years gone by and life as it has unfolded for Dr. Naresh Trehan. He is our guest in this edition of The Interview in our special segment, Life and Times with HT.

[Music]

Main Interview

Kumkum Chadha: Welcome to the show Dr. Naresh Trehan and thank you for being here with us.

Dr. Naresh Trehan: Thank you. Thank you, Kumkum.

Kumkum Chadha: Let me begin with taking you through your formative years. Both your parents were doctors, but you loved plays and wanted to be a pilot instead.

Dr. Naresh Trehan: Well, you know, I think all children growing up have some fantasies. This was one of mine. So, it started with a taxi driver to a lift operator to a pilot. All these things, of course, go through your mind.

Kumkum Chadha: You wanted to be a taxi driver?

Dr. Naresh Trehan: No, to start with when I was too very little, I think that’s where the first fascination was with a taxi driver. Then, of course, you got into a lift and you saw it’s fascinating as a lift operator. I got into very heavily into aero modeling. And that was my for many, many years. I wanted to be a pilot. You know, in those days you didn’t have ready-made kits for making planes. So, aero models came as blocks of balsa wood. So, we had to actually craft it with our hands. And then fit the engines and then fly them around. So, it was a fun hobby also, but also I became like more and more involved with aviation. So, the whole idea was maybe I’ll become a pilot one day. There were two things. One, that my parents, because we got displaced from Pakistan. Overnight they were thrown out and we I was…

Kumkum Chadha: I’m going to come to that.

Dr. Naresh Trehan: Yeah. The other factor which was that my parents both because they were kind of feeling bad about not spending enough time with the family always says you shouldn’t become a doctor. In those days the more they said don’t do something you wanted to do it. And here I am. So the rest is like…

Kumkum Chadha: History. Yeah. Well, we went on through all the convictions but the significant part was that I was going for the NDA exam and my grandfather broke down and they brought me back from the train station. So that was the end of my pilot dream. So it was also two cultures coming together. Father Punjabi, mother Sindhi. What were the lessons learned and unlearned from both?

Dr. Naresh Trehan: The influence of both cultures was very sort of constructive in a way that it in the formative years it you could see the two cultures interplaying. If you look at Punjabi like my grandfather and my father were very conservative. Also the fact that they went through this whole shock of being thrown out in the middle of their life because you know, they were like very supposedly very successful in Lyallpur. And then they they’re penniless on the street. So they kind of became determined to actually reestablish themselves. And my mother who was from a Sindhi she’s Sindhi they were lot more free in their thinking. They’re very liberal in their thinking. So it was a good combination. I think it was a positive. No question.

Kumkum Chadha: What were the negatives?

Dr. Naresh Trehan: The negatives was that the conservatism and liberalism clashing sometimes. They met in Vienna. Because they both got educated and after their medical school they went to Vienna for post graduation. That’s where they met. And in those days it was a it was an anathema for inter sort of community marriage. So he used to tell us the story how he wooed my mother. She was the daughter of a police… He was the police chief in Karachi or something. And they had some huge dogs. He used to buy meat, throw it to the dogs to get to her.

[Laughter]

Dr. Naresh Trehan: So they all these things which were quite liberating from our point of view. So you know, the love story kind of carried through from your father to you because you also fell in love with Madhu love at first sight and that grace silk salwar kurta when you saw her the first time and told your friend, “Just ensure that she does not dance with anyone else.”

Dr. Naresh Trehan: That’s true. We were at a… and I was on the phone and uh I saw her walking in. And you know, sometimes something stuns you. She did. And uh I just said to my friend, I actually asked her for a dance and then then I knew that everybody else was uh vying for her also. So I told my friend, I said, “You please keep her occupied. I’ll just come back.” So by the time I came back, my friend was chatting it up and all that. I said, “You now step aside, please.” And uh So that since then it just one thing happened led to the other and we were for 1 year at in Delhi University together. And then I went on to Lucknow. So then there was long distance affair. And then we decided to get married before I went to the US.

Kumkum Chadha: Yeah. Tell me about love at first sight. And tell me about the cotton silk kurta.

Dr. Naresh Trehan: It happens. When you see somebody and you just get stunned. And that’s what happened to me. And then I pursued her. So it became like a like a heartbeat. If I didn’t talk to her every day, I would feel like the the day is not not complete. Parents were always conservative. Her parents she she had to lock the doors and talk on the phone.

Kumkum Chadha: In fact, to quote you, her family was a nuisance, if I may use the term.

Dr. Naresh Trehan: Not a nuisance, but they were they were concerned. Once I finished my medical school in my internship, I used to get only 250 rupees a month. I mean, that was our salary. And if we are talking about getting married, how do you support a family? Before we got married, I had already gotten this job in the US. And I said, “We’ll be okay. We’ll have to struggle in the very beginning, but we’ll be okay.” So, I was working like a 18 hours a day. Then she went to journalism to Columbia. When we moved to New York. And that was a nice thing for to happen because she also found her groove. While we were still in the US, she was called back by her father to to start in India today. So, all this happened. So, now then when we came back, you know, she started Newstrack. I started I had already started building Escorts Heart Institute. I was like all the time in the hospital. We just started Escorts Heart Institute. And uh there was like, you know, nobody knew basically how to take care of complicated cardiac surgery patients. So, I used to operate, then sleep next to the patient because while we were training the nurses. And then over a period of time, everybody got trained, and then things got much better. In fact, if you if I put it to you, one of the US channels came. They were actually tracking expats who went back home, how they were doing. Then she said, “If we double what you were making then, would you come back to the US?” And I said, “I’ll tell you, I’m making 1/10 of what I was making, but I’m 10 times happier.” It was a promise, if I remember, a promise which brought you back to India.

Dr. Naresh Trehan: No, this was not a promise to anybody else. Before we left, I we had a very interesting study group, all students who were exploring that what is the best system for India…

(The transcript continues with Dr. Trehan discussing his childhood in a cramped room with 14 family members, refugee experiences, being forced to switch from left to right hand, breaking things as a child out of curiosity, his journey into medicine, ethics in healthcare, patient trust, and reflections on success, luck, hard work, and still not being “done” yet.)

Later segment (childhood pain and left-handedness):
Dr. Trehan opens up about his Hindi teacher breaking his left hand to force him to use the right, treating left-handedness as a stigma at the time.

Towards the end:

Dr. Naresh Trehan: …from there, Plaza Cinema, Hanuman Road, bicycle, so on and so forth, to being now in this beautiful home in the upmarket area. How does it feel? Do you think, “I’ve been there, done it all?” We enjoy this house. This is a labor of love. To tell you the truth, I still consider it a blessing. It’s a combination of a lot of hard work, a lot of frontier thinking, but a huge dollop of luck. Because there are I’m sure there are much brighter people who are in a different situation… Why I’m telling you about all this that somebody’s words can actually change your whole life…

Dr. Naresh Trehan: Still till my brain works, till my hands work and I check myself every morning if my hands are steady let’s go to work. So, I love what I do. It is my soul… It’s lucky to have that opportunity. It’s very gratifying.

Kumkum Chadha: We stop here, but there is more with Dr. Naresh Trehan. So, stay with us and tune in next week…

Reflecting on his journey, Naresh gets philosophical. “Medicine isn’t just science—it’s obsession,” he says. “You’re holding someone’s heart in your hands. There’s no room for error, but there’s endless room for hope.” His advice to aspiring doctors? “Be relentless. Love what you do. And never forget the person behind the patient.”

From a boy in Connaught Place to a global icon, Dr. Naresh Trehan’s story is one of grit, heart, and a relentless drive to save lives—one surgery at a time.