Imagine standing in the operating theatre at AIIMS Rishikesh on a crisp winter morning. Snow-capped peaks of the Himalayas peek through the windows, the Ganga murmurs outside, and inside, a team works with laser-like focus. In the centre is Dr. Namrata Gaur, gloved hands steady, voice calm over the beeps of monitors.

“Team, we’re doing this port-access. Minimal scar, maximum recovery. Let’s give this patient her life back,” she says quietly, eyes smiling above her mask. That’s Dr. Namrata Gaur – Additional Professor in Cardiothoracic & Vascular Surgery (CTVS) at AIIMS Rishikesh – in her element.

From Textbooks to the Trenches of the Hills

Dr. Gaur holds an impressive set of qualifications: MBBS, MS (General Surgery), M.Ch. in Cardiothoracic & Vascular Surgery, and even an MHA (Master of Hospital Administration). But degrees don’t tell her real story. She chose one of the toughest places in India to practise advanced heart surgery – the remote, winding roads and thin air of Uttarakhand’s hills.

While most top cardiac surgeons stay in big metros, Dr. Gaur rolled up her sleeves to build something extraordinary. She specialises in off-pump and on-pump CABG (bypass surgery), port-access heart surgery (tiny incisions, faster healing), carotid and aortic arch repairs, robotic cardiac surgery, and TAVR (valve replacement without open surgery). She’s also guided complex aortic procedures like Bentall with arch debranching – surgeries that were once unimaginable in this region.

The Women’s Heart Champion

One morning in OPD, a 48-year-old woman from a remote village in Pauri sat nervously, clutching her pallu. She had been told her chest pain was “just tension from household work.” Dr. Gaur leaned forward, held her hand, and said gently:

“Bahen, women’s hearts don’t always scream like men’s. They whisper – tiredness, jaw pain, breathlessness while cooking or climbing these hills. We ignore them because we’re busy taking care of everyone else. But today, we listen. We fix it. You’re not just a patient; you’re a mother, a daughter, a fighter. And fighters deserve world-class care.”

That’s Dr. Gaur’s mission. Her research focus – heart disease in women – comes straight from the heart. She has seen too many sisters, mothers, and grandmothers in the hills suffer silently. She’s determined to change that narrative.2

Battles Beyond the Operating Table

Running a cardiac centre in the Himalayas isn’t glamorous. Roads get blocked by landslides, patients travel 10–12 hours in shared jeeps with oxygen tanks, and winters bring freezing challenges even to the equipment.

During a team meeting, Dr. Gaur once told her residents:

“These hills test us every single day. The terrain is tough, the logistics are tougher. But when a grandfather from Chamoli walks out of the hospital after robotic bypass, holding his grandson’s hand and saying ‘Beta, main ab phir se pahad chadhunga’ (Son, now I can climb the mountains again)… that’s why we do this. That moment is worth every cancelled flight, every delayed supply truck.”

Her MHA degree isn’t just a certificate – it’s her secret weapon. She understands administration, resource management, and the real struggles of running a high-tech centre in a low-resource hilly region. That research interest of hers – challenges in running a cardiac centre in hilly India – isn’t theory; it’s her daily reality.25

She also educates patients about smoking: “Every cigarette you smoke is silently rusting your arteries. I can clean them in surgery, but only you can stop the rust. Quit today – your grandchildren want you at their weddings.”

The Human Touch Behind the Surgeon’s Coat

Patients don’t just remember her skill; they remember her warmth. In one case report, a young patient described his breathlessness dramatically. Dr. Gaur and her team didn’t just operate – they listened, reassured, and turned fear into hope.

She balances cutting-edge technology (robotic arms, 3D imaging) with old-school empathy. She teaches the next generation of surgeons the same way – not just how to suture, but how to care.

A Legacy Being Written One Beat at a Time

Today, thanks to Dr. Namrata Gaur and her colleagues, AIIMS Rishikesh offers the full spectrum of adult and even complex cardiac care right in the lap of the Himalayas – from routine bypasses to robotic miracles. The department’s vision – “a centre of excellence in teaching and research” – beats stronger because of her.

She may not be on billboards or Instagram reels, but in the quiet villages of Uttarakhand, her name is whispered with gratitude: “Woh doctor didi ne mera dil theek kar diya.” (That doctor sister fixed my heart.)

Dr. Namrata Gaur isn’t just a cardiac surgeon. She’s a trailblazer, a women’s health warrior, a mountain of determination wrapped in a white coat.

And every time she scrubs in, the Himalayas seem to stand a little taller – proud that one of their own is mending hearts against all odds.

The personality

Assessment of Dr. Namrata Gaur’s Personality (based purely on the statements provided):

Dr. Namrata Gaur emerges as a highly intelligent, articulate, and fiercely principled liberal who is unafraid to call a spade a spade. She is vocal and argumentative in the healthiest sense — she does not shy away from long, detailed, passionate interventions (exactly as you noted: once she starts, she can speak/write for an hour). Her language is sharp, logical, and often laced with biting sarcasm, yet it remains rooted in reason rather than personal attack.

Core traits visible in every line:

• Strong secular-liberal worldview: She sees religion and politics as strictly personal matters. She is openly irritated by anyone who tries to turn a professional medical forum (IMA) into a political or religious echo chamber. She resents the BJP-style habit of constantly blaming Nehru and weaponising religion for politics — exactly the example you gave.
• Deep commitment to professionalism and unity: She repeatedly reminds everyone that doctors are supposed to be “educated, sensible, compassionate, polite and well-mannered.” She hates anything that damages the collegial, tolerant atmosphere of the IMA.
• Strong sense of fairness and intolerance for hypocrisy: She mocks the expectation that everyone must laugh at “obnoxious jokes” shredding one party/leader and sing hosannas to another. She calls out the double standard: “If you don’t agree, you are not a true patriot.”
• Protective towards the younger generation: She is genuinely worried that radical, divisive messaging is driving young doctors away. She wants seniors to introspect, sort out their own ideological differences first, and present a united, tolerant front so that the next generation feels welcome.
• Complaint about entitlement: Her pointed remark about her PG (son of a multi-millionaire who can’t handle 4-hour standing cardiac surgeries) shows she values merit, hard work and resilience over privilege.
• Emotional investment: Beneath the argumentative tone is real hurt and disappointment. She is sad that “bonhomie” has disappeared, that people no longer celebrate each other’s achievements, and that the IMA family is fracturing along political/religious lines.

In short: She is a classic liberal conscience-keeper of the group — eloquent, verbose, uncompromising on principles of tolerance and professionalism, and ready to take on radicals of any hue (especially those trying to hijack a doctors’ platform for political or religious agendas). She wants debate, but with mutual respect; she wants unity, but not at the cost of silencing dissent.

Gist ready to add to her biography:

“Dr. Namrata Gaur is widely respected as an intelligent, vocal and outspoken liberal voice within the medical fraternity. A strong proponent of keeping professional bodies like the IMA strictly apolitical and secular, she has repeatedly called out attempts to inject radical political or religious ideologies into doctors’ forums. Known for her lengthy, passionate and articulate interventions, she urges seniors to introspect, practise tolerance across all religions and political views, and create an inclusive environment so that the younger generation does not disengage. She firmly believes religion and politics are personal matters and has openly criticised hero-worship, divisive trolling, and the use of religion as a political tool. Compassionate yet uncompromising, she reminds colleagues that doctors must remain educated, sensible and courteous professionals first — qualities she fears are being eroded by growing intolerance and entitlement within the community.”

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Dr. Namrata Gaur is the kind of doctor who doesn’t just treat patients — she treats the soul of her profession. Walk into any IMA group chat or doctors’ meet and you’ll spot her instantly: the one typing furiously at 11 p.m. after a long cardiac surgery, refusing to let the conversation slide into politics or religion. Intelligent, fiercely liberal, and gloriously argumentative, she calls a spade a spade with such clarity that even those who disagree end up smiling (or at least thinking twice).

“Arre badi ajeeb si baat hai yaar!” she once fired off in the group. “Insan din bhar kaam karke, mareez se joojh ke, apne logo se connect hone chahta hai… aur usse yahi umeed ki jaati hai ki hamari haan mein haan milao, hamare jokes pe hansi, thumbs up do! Ya phir jis leader ko hum kahe, uske gungaan karo!”

She has zero tolerance for turning a doctors’ forum into a political rally or religious pulpit. “Dharm, aastha, pooja, vishwas… yeh sab personal cheez hai,” she says, voice rising with quiet fire. “Inhe generalise nahi kiya ja sakta. Na koi naya research, na nayi debate… bas har din political jokes aur dharm talk! Jo nahi maangega, woh sachcha deshbhakt nahi? Slowly, slowly, young people withdraw ho gaye… door chale gaye.”

Her favourite target? The entitled few who think privilege excuses hard work. She still fumes about one PG: “Son of a multi-millionaire… can’t even stand for four-hour cardiac surgeries. Everyone needs to introspect!”

But beneath the sharp tongue is a big heart that aches for unity. “Doctors are educated, sensible, compassionate, polite, well-mannered,” she reminds everyone, almost pleading. “Some want hero-worship of one politician and image-tarnish of another… completely ignoring the voice of others. In a family — or in a team — everyone must have a voice. Tolerance towards all religions, all sects, all types of people… warna cheezein aage nahi badhengi.”

When the group turns ugly with trolling and radical posts, she steps in like the big sister everyone both loves and fears: “Mam, please go through the flurry of messages… We ALL have the responsibility to refrain from posting messages that create a divide. Sometimes our President has to intervene to calm people down when things turn ugly. Doctors should not indulge in radical stuff. There is less tolerance, less bonhomie… People don’t celebrate each other’s achievements anymore.”

And that’s Namrata — verbose enough to hold the floor for an hour, liberal enough to annoy the hardliners, and compassionate enough to fight so the next generation of doctors doesn’t quietly quit the WhatsApp group… and the profession’s sense of family.

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If you ever meet her in OPD on Wednesday or Friday, don’t be surprised if she asks about your family before she picks up her stethoscope. Because for Dr. Gaur, every patient is family… and every heartbeat is personal. ❤️