BIHAR / Kolkata, WEST BENGAL :

Who is he? Hakim Syed Mohammad Sharfuddin Quadri

Claim to fame: Recipient of the Padma Bhushan award this year, he is an illustrious Unani practitioner, 105 years old. Quadri has been treating patients for the past 75 years at his dispensary at Haji Mohsin Square, near Wellington, free of cost.

Fighting fit: Hakimji begins his day with namaaz at the break of dawn followed by his visit to Swadeshi Dawakhana — his dispensary, where he attends patients all day. About 100 patients visit daily.

The centurion is amazing in his physical fitness and sharpness of mind and is a specialist in treating infertility. After a day’s hard work, which ends around midnight, he goes for a walk — to keep his gout from acting up.

Starting point: Born in a family of hakims in Bihar, it was natural for him to choose this profession. Quadri completed a course on Unani from Shafakhana Darsgah Tibbia (Gaya) in 1930. He participated in the freedom movement. He started to practise in Calcutta after his family shifted here.

Other activities: He began an informal school for children and triggered an adult literacy campaign in his locality. He had also published a magazine called Hikmate Bangala in the late Fifties. He works for citizen’s rights and is a founder member of the Unani Medical College and Hospital, Calcutta.

Low profile: He has had a lot of visitors since becoming the only person from the city to be awarded the Padma Bhushan this year. But he keeps reminding them that he is a mere “hakim”.

source: http://www.telegraphindia.com / The Telegraph, online edition / Home> West Bengal / by Shabina Akhtar / June 17th, 2007