In the quiet consulting rooms of Sir Ganga Ram Hospital in New Delhi, where patients arrive with trembling hands, sudden silences, or the lingering shadow of a stroke, Dr. (Col.) Prahlad Kumar Sethi has spent more than five decades listening carefully to the stories the brain tells. Born on 14 October 1939, he graduated with an MBBS from the All India Institute of Medical Sciences in 1962 and completed his MD in Medicine there in 1969. Drawn to the mysteries of the nervous system, he travelled to the United States for specialised training, finishing a Neurology Residency at the State University of New York in Buffalo in 1973 and earning board qualifications along with Fellowship of the American Academy of Neurology.

Before settling into civilian practice he served with distinction in the Army Medical Corps. He volunteered during the Indo-China conflict and later saw active duty in the Indo-Pak war, earning the Vishisht Seva Medal in 1965 for exemplary service under demanding conditions. After military postings that included Command Hospitals and Army Hospital Delhi, he joined Sir Ganga Ram Hospital in 1986. There he built and chaired the Department of Neurology, turning it into a leading centre for the diagnosis and treatment of epilepsy, stroke, neurophysiology and a wide range of neurological disorders. He introduced new clinical concepts and published extensively, contributing more than eighty research papers that helped shape Indian neurology.

Recognising that knowledge must reach beyond hospital walls, he founded the Brain Care Foundation, a trust dedicated to raising public awareness about brain diseases through clear, accessible information. He also wrote for patients, notably the book Medical Second Opinion, guiding people on when and why to seek additional advice. Colleagues and patients alike remember his calm manner and insistence on thorough explanation. “The brain is the master organ,” he would often say. “When it falters, we must not only treat the symptom but restore the person’s place in the world.”

In 2002 the Government of India awarded him the Padma Shri for his contributions to medicine. Other honours followed, including the Gen. Amir Chand Award for research. Today, as Emeritus Consultant and Advisor at Sir Ganga Ram Hospital and President of the Brain Care Foundation, he continues to mentor younger neurologists and advocate for better community understanding of neurological illness.

From battlefield medicine to the quiet intensity of a neurology clinic, Prahlad Kumar Sethi has devoted his life to protecting the organ that makes us who we are—proving that careful science, military discipline and deep human concern can together light the way through the most complex of human vulnerabilities.