In the medical colleges and children’s wards of central India, Dr. Arun Trimbak Dabke became known as a quiet, steadfast guardian of young lives. Born on 24 December 1942, he completed his MBBS and MD in Paediatrics from MGM Medical College, Indore. He later earned a certificate in nutrition from the National Institute of Nutrition, […]

In a small village called Kinnigoli in coastal Karnataka, a boy named Devi Prasad Shetty grew up as the eighth of nine children, listening to stories of the world’s first heart transplant and deciding, even as a schoolboy, that he would become a heart surgeon. Born on 8 May 1953, he completed his MBBS and […]

In the medical corridors of Patna, where patients from across Bihar once travelled long distances seeking help for complex neurological problems, Dr. Gopal Prasad Sinha earned a reputation as a dedicated neurologist and teacher. Born and raised in Patna, he studied at Patna University, completing his MBBS and MD, and later specialised in neurology. He […]

In the orthopaedic wards of Pune, where patients arrived with fractured limbs, crippling arthritis or the lingering effects of polio, Dr. Sharad Moreshwar Hardikar built a quiet reputation as a surgeon who combined technical skill with a deep sense of service. Born on 22 June 1932 in Phaltan, Satara district, Maharashtra, to Malati and Moreshwar […]

In the dental clinics of South Delhi, where patients sought not only straight teeth and healthy gums but also careful, ethical care, Dr. Siddhartha Mehta built a practice rooted in skill and quiet humanitarian service. A specialist in orthodontics and dental surgery (BDS, MDS), he founded the Dr Mehta Clinic in the late 1970s. Over […]

In the cardiology departments of AIIMS and later Sir Ganga Ram Hospital in New Delhi, Dr. Subhash Chand Manchanda (also known as Subhash Chander Manchanda) earned a reputation as a thoughtful physician who believed the heart could be protected and even healed through more than medicine alone. After completing his MBBS, MD in Medicine and […]

In the gastroenterology wards of Delhi’s leading hospitals, Dr. Surinder Kumar Sama became known as a quiet pioneer who helped define the specialty in India. Born in 1934, he graduated in medicine from Amritsar and completed his MD at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi. Joining AIIMS in 1958, he stayed until […]

In the operating theatres of Lucknow, Dr. (Prof.) Rajan Saxena became known as a steady hand and a patient teacher who helped put surgical gastroenterology on the map in northern India. Born in the city, he trained in surgery and specialised in the intricate procedures of the liver, pancreas and biliary system. In December 1988 […]

In the bustling cardiology wards of Mumbai, Dr. Bal Krishna Goyal—known to many simply as B.K. Goyal—moved with quiet confidence, often in his trademark tuxedo and bow-tie, offering patients not just treatment but a deep sense of reassurance. Born on 19 November 1935 in the small town of Sambhar Lake in Jaipur district, Rajasthan, he […]

In the quiet town of Mavelikkara in Kerala, a young boy named Marthanda Varma Sankaran Valiathan grew up listening to stories of healing and duty. Born on 24 May 1934 into a family with deep roots in the old Travancore region, he carried both curiosity and a sense of service. After earning his MBBS from […]

In the clinics and lecture halls of Indian dentistry, (Hony.) Brigadier Dr. Anil Kohli stands as a pioneering figure who elevated the profession to national recognition. An alumnus of King George’s Medical College, Lucknow, he graduated with a BDS in 1976 and completed his MDS in Conservative Dentistry and Endodontics, earning a Gold Medal as […]

In the eye clinics of New Delhi, Dr. Hari Mohan became known as a meticulous surgeon and teacher who helped bring modern ophthalmology to India. Born into a generation that valued learning, he completed his MBBS with honours in Ophthalmology from King George’s Medical College, Lucknow, in 1952. Eager for the latest techniques, he travelled […]

In the cardiac laboratories of Delhi, Dr. Tarlochan Singh Kler (often known as T.S. Kler) became a quiet pioneer who brought advanced heart-rhythm care to India. Born in Amargarh, Punjab, he graduated in medicine from Government Medical College, Patiala (Punjabi University) in 1976. He went on to complete his MD in General Medicine and DM […]

In the laboratories and boardrooms of Indian pharmaceuticals, Dr. Yusuf Khwaja Hamied became known as a scientist-businessman who believed life-saving medicine should never be a privilege of the rich. Born on 25 July 1936 in Vilnius (then Wilno) to Khwaja Abdul Hamied, the founder of Cipla, and Luba Derczanska, he was raised in a secular […]

In the corridors of AIIMS and the lecture halls of global health forums, Professor K. Srinath Reddy (Kolli Srinath Reddy) emerged as a cardiologist who chose to heal not just individual hearts but entire populations. He earned his medical degree from Osmania Medical College in Hyderabad, then completed his MD in Medicine and DM in […]

In the stables and laboratories of Pune, Cyrus Soli Poonawalla turned a family tradition of horse breeding into a global mission to protect children from disease. Born on 11 May 1941 into a Parsi family, he grew up watching his father Soli Poonawalla raise thoroughbreds. After schooling at Bishop’s School and graduating from Brihan Maharashtra […]

In the growing city of Coimbatore, Dr. Govindaswamy Bakthavathsalam (fondly known as Dr. G.B. or Dr. Beta) turned a father’s dream of serving the poor into a modern centre of healing. Born on 5 April 1942 in the village of Annur in Coimbatore district, he studied at Madras Medical College, graduating with an MBBS in […]

In the operating theatres of Delhi, Dr. Jitendra Mohan Hans (J.M. Hans) became known as the surgeon who restored hearing and voice to thousands. Born on 27 November 1955 in New Delhi, he graduated in medicine from the University of Meerut in 1978, earned a Diploma in Otorhinolaryngology from the University of Delhi, and completed […]

In the orthopaedic wards of Hyderabad, Dr. Lavu Narendranath became known as a surgeon who combined clinical skill with a quiet determination to restore mobility to those who had lost it. Born in Andhra Pradesh, he completed his medical degree and went on to earn a master’s degree in surgery, specialising in orthopaedics. He joined […]

In the world of traditional Indian medicine, Vaidya Paneenazhikath Narayana Vasudeva Kurup (P. N. V. Kurup) stood as a bridge between ancient wisdom and modern institutional research. Born in 1925 in Kerala, he devoted his life to Ayurveda and the broader Indian systems of medicine. After training in the classical disciplines, he joined Gujarat Ayurved […]

In the neurosurgical theatres of AIIMS and later Paras Hospitals, Dr. Veer Singh Mehta became known as a meticulous operator who specialised in some of the most delicate and high-stakes procedures in the human body. Born on 5 December 1949 in Rajasthan, he completed his MBBS and MS at SMS Medical College, Jaipur, before training […]

In the early years of independent India’s medical institutions, Professor Prakash Narain Tandon laid the foundations of modern neurosurgery. Born on 13 August 1928, he graduated with an MBBS in 1950 and an MS in 1952 from King George’s Medical College, Lucknow. After obtaining his FRCS in London in 1956, he trained further in neurosurgery […]

In the bustling streets of Madras in the late 1950s, a young ophthalmologist named Jaiveer Agarwal arrived with his wife Tahira and little more than determination and a few rupees. Born on 24 September 1930 into a family already steeped in eye care—his father, Dr. R.S. Agarwal, was a prominent ophthalmologist—he had trained at SMS […]

In the cardiac laboratories of AIIMS and PGIMER, Dr. Kewal Kishan Talwar (K.K. Talwar) became known as a quiet pioneer who brought advanced rhythm and device therapies to India. Born on 30 April 1946 in Payal, Punjab, he completed his MBBS and went on to earn his MD in Medicine and DM in Cardiology at […]

In the quiet corridors of the Cancer Institute at Adyar in Chennai, Dr. Viswanathan Shanta made the hospital her home and cancer care her lifelong mission. Born on 11 March 1927 into a distinguished scientific family—her grand-uncle was the Nobel laureate Sir C.V. Raman and her uncle Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar was another Nobel Prize winner—she chose […]

The Hands That Warmed the Cold Desert In the high, wind-scoured valleys of Ladakh, where the air is thin and the winters can freeze the breath in a person’s lungs, a little girl named Tsering Landol once watched her mother give birth. The room was dim. The women of the household kept a careful distance. […]

The Steady Hand of Madras In the temple town of Chidambaram, where the sea breeze carries the scent of salt and jasmine, a boy named Bhuvaraghan Palaniappan was born on 5 November 1930. His parents, Shri Bhuvaraghan and Smt. Gnanambal, could not have known that their son would one day reshape the quiet, often hidden […]

The Quiet Pulse of Bengaluru In the bustling lanes of Karnataka, where the heart of a growing city beats in step with its people, Dr. Devappagowda Chinnaiah—known simply as D. Chinnaiah—devoted his life to listening to that most vital rhythm. A cardiologist by training and calling, he spent decades tending to the hearts of patients […]

The Healer of the Ancient Path In the quiet village of Khandadeuli near Raisingpur in Asika, Odisha, a boy named Ghanashyam Mishra was born on 10 October 1922. The son of Bauribandhu Mishra and Chitrakala, he grew up surrounded by the living traditions of Ayurveda—the ancient science of life that had sustained the people of […]

The Scalpel and the Pen In the summer of 1951, in the city of Jammu, a Kashmiri Sikh family welcomed a son they named Harbhajan Singh Rissam. His parents had fled the violence of Poonch in 1947; the child grew up carrying both the memory of displacement and a quiet determination to build something lasting. […]

The Guardian of Little Hearts In the spring of 1965, in New Delhi, a child named Sanjeev Bagai was born into a world that would one day look to him for the care of its youngest and most vulnerable. From the beginning he showed the quiet intensity of someone meant for medicine. He trained at […]

The Voice Restorer of Madras In the medical lineage of Tamil Nadu, where healing runs through generations, Mohan Kameswaran was born into a family already distinguished by service. His father, Prof. Shanmugam Kameswaran, was himself a pioneering ENT surgeon and Padma Shri awardee; his mother, Dr. Lalitha Kameswaran, received the Dr. B.C. Roy Award. The […]

The Keeper of the Unani Flame In the princely state of Bhopal, on 1 July 1940, a child was born into a family that had long practised the ancient art of Unani medicine. His grandfather Hakim Syed Karam Husain, his father Hakim Syed Fazlur Rahman, and his uncle were all physicians of the traditional system. […]

The Father of Laparoscopy in India On 15 July 1934, in a middle-class Parsi family in Mumbai, a son was born to Erach Rustomji and Perin Erach. They named him Tehemton Erach Udwadia. From St. Mary’s School and Wilson College he moved to the Grant Medical College and Sir J.J. Group of Hospitals, where he […]

The Father of Laparoscopy in India On 15 July 1934, in a middle-class Parsi family in Mumbai, a son was born to Erach Rustomji and Perin Erach. They named him Tehemton Erach Udwadia. From St. Mary’s School and Wilson College he moved to the Grant Medical College and Sir J.J. Group of Hospitals, where he […]

The Rhythm Restorer of Delhi In the lecture halls and wards of Maulana Azad Medical College in New Delhi, Kamal Kumar Sethi began a career that would help bring modern heart-rhythm care to India. He graduated MBBS in 1971, earned his MD in Medicine in 1976, and completed his DM in Cardiology in 1979—all from […]

The Rhythm Restorer of Delhi In the lecture halls and wards of Maulana Azad Medical College in New Delhi, Kamal Kumar Sethi began a career that would help bring modern heart-rhythm care to India. He graduated MBBS in 1971, earned his MD in Medicine in 1976, and completed his DM in Cardiology in 1979—all from […]

The Healer of Bones and Joints In the fields and towns of Punjab, Prithipal Singh Maini grew up with a quiet determination that would one day make him one of India’s most respected orthopaedic surgeons. He devoted his life to restoring movement, easing pain, and giving patients the simple dignity of walking freely again. As […]

The Centenarian Healer of Kolkata On Christmas Day in 1901, in the quiet village of Kumrava in Bihar’s Nawada district, a child was born into a family of Unani physicians. His father, Mohammad Mohibbudin, was a hakim. The boy was named Syed Mohammad Sharfuddin Quadri. He would live to be 114, walk beside Mahatma Gandhi, […]

The Guardian of the Liver On 20 August 1952, in India, a boy named Shiv Kumar Sarin was born who would one day transform the understanding and treatment of liver disease across Asia and the world. He graduated MBBS with seven gold medals in 1974 and earned his MD in 1978 from Rajasthan University, then […]

The Beacon of Classical Ayurveda On 21 January 1926, in the quiet village of Chhapra in Rajasthan’s Jhunjhunu district, a son was born to Vaidyaraj Pandit Gajanand Sharma and Shrimati Kasturi Devi Sharma. They named him Shriram. From his earliest years he absorbed the living tradition of Ayurveda under his father’s guidance and the village […]

The Guardian Against Diabetes In the lecture halls and wards of the All India Institute of Medical Sciences in New Delhi, Anoop Misra trained as a physician and completed his MD in Internal Medicine. Further research as a World Health Organization Fellow took him to the Royal Free Hospital in London and later to the […]

The Quiet Warrior Against Cancer On 18 September 1952, in the southern state of Kerala, a boy named B. Paul Thaliath was born. He would grow up to become one of India’s dedicated radiation oncologists, bringing advanced cancer care and awareness to the heartland of Uttar Pradesh. After medical training and specialised postgraduate education in […]

The Master of the Heart’s Rhythm In the classrooms of Maulana Azad Medical College in Delhi, Balbir Singh began the long journey that would make him one of India’s foremost cardiologists and electrophysiologists. He earned his MBBS in 1983, his MD in Medicine in 1987, and his DM in Cardiology from G.B. Pant Hospital in […]

The Visionary of Clear Sight In the corridors of the All India Institute of Medical Sciences in New Delhi, Mahipal S. Sachdev trained as a physician and specialised in ophthalmology at the Dr. R.P. Centre for Ophthalmic Sciences. A fellowship in cornea and refractive surgery at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C., sharpened the skills he […]

The Heart of Affordable Care On 23 September 1957, in the village of Cholenahalli in Karnataka’s Hassan district, Cholenahalli Nanjappa Manjunath was born. He graduated MBBS from Mysore Medical College in 1982, earned his MD in General Medicine from Bangalore Medical College in 1985, and completed his DM in Cardiology at Kasturba Medical College, Mangalore, […]

The Physician to Three Presidents On 28 November 1953, in Bijnor, Uttar Pradesh, Mohsin Wali was born to Mehboob Subhani and Alia Wali. He graduated in science from Aligarh Muslim University and went on to earn his MBBS and MD in Medicine from Ganesh Shankar Vidyarthi Memorial Medical College, Kanpur, collecting gold medals and distinctions […]

The Guardian of Sight for the Millions On 9 July 1940, in a small agricultural hamlet in Theni district of Tamil Nadu, Perumalsamy Namperumalsamy was born. He graduated MBBS from Madurai Medical College and pursued advanced training in the United States, becoming India’s first specialist in retina and vitreous surgery. A postgraduate fellow of the […]