Kolkata, WEST BENGAL :

Repository of the ancient wisdom of Unani medicine, 110 year-old Syed Mohammed Sharfuddin Quadri lives a Spartan and frugal life that has worked wonders for him, as Partha Mukherjee discovers

Almost 55 years ago, while I was journeying through a field in a cart, I caught sight of an old towering neem tree, immersed in soundless symphony with a swarm of fireflies. Barely five years old then, I didn’t know that the silhouette of a tree in hushed twilight silence would be a metaphor for a man around whom the sparkle of life never dims, even when ‘night’ tiptoes into his life.

Syed Mohammed Sharfuddin Quadri is famous for treating India’s first president Rajendra Prasad in Gaya in 1942-43 for breathlessness. Fondly known as Hakim saab, he has a photographic memory, sense of humour, never-say-die spirit and, above all, energy that never runs out. On 25 December 2011, he will turn 110. Yet he works for 17 hours at a stretch, preparing concoctions from dry fruits, herbs and roots and advising close to 100 patients (free of cost) every day. At 5 pm, every day through the year, Hakim saab attends to his patients at his Wellesley Square clinic in central Kolkata as well as those in the US. “Abba has patients all over America,” says his 40 year-old son Mohammed Sadique, who assists Quadri in his clinic. “He gives instructions to them over email or through a video conference. Earlier, he used to go to California, Los Angeles and New York, but now he’s restricted because of his gout.”

Sharfuddin Quadri answers all questions, except those about his achievements. Founder of the Unani Medical College and Hospital in Kolkata, Quadri published a magazine titled Hikmat-e-Bangala (Hikmat means Unani medicine) in 1959, which folded up soon for lack of funds. “Success means how much one has been able to help others,” he says, adding that he does honour the Padma Bhushan he was awarded by the President in 2007. He brings out the medal attached to his pocket by a silk ribbon. “I carry it to show my respect to the recognition of Unani treatment. Though I would be happier if I were given a grant so I could at least cover the place with a shed where my patients wait.” Indeed, patients wait for him for hours, sometimes till midnight, even in the rains. “There is no help from the government to collect herbs at a reasonable price,” adds Mohammed Sadique, Quadri’s youngest son (he has six siblings) who assists his father. “Sometime Abba is so frustrated that he thinks of giving up. If medicines aren’t available what is the use of continuing the treatment?”

From a family of hakim in the remote village of Kumrava in Nawada district of Bihar, Quadri trained in Unani treatment from Shafakhana Darsgah Tibbia (Gaya) in 1930. After immersing himself in the freedom movement, he started his practice in Calcutta where his family shifted in 1935-36. “Herbal medicines have a magical effect on our body; besides they have no side-effects,” he says sipping neem juice. If diagnosed, every disease responds to Unani treatment, Quadri claims, adding that with medication one must strictly follow instructions on diet and lifestyle as well. “During the diagnosis, one has to study the dam [blood], balgham [phlegm], safra[yellow bile], and sauda [black bile] of the patient [just like kapha, vata and pitta, the three dosha in Ayurveda], as they are the roots of all diseases,” he explains. “Anyone with any sort of ailment definitely has an abnormality in one of these.”

As for his own frugal diet—neem juice and half a piece of bread—he says, “The less you eat the more you live; the more you eat, the more you court ailments and health hazards. And to lead a healthy life you should have a healthy mind. My father lived to be 122 and never allowed any ignoble thought to cross his mind.”

How does he keep himself so physically fit even at 110? “I never sleep at night; I read books on Unani medicine when others are fast asleep. In the calm of the night, I try to explore things I don’t know about and let them melt into my inner self.” Unani medicine, he says, actually has its roots in Greece following extensive research by Hippocrates (460-377 BC). “It was he who laid the foundation of clinical medicine based on diet and symptoms.” He adds that a number of Greek scholars after Hippocrates—Galen (131-200 AD) followed by Arab physicians Rhazes (850-932 AD) and Avicenna (980-1037 AD)—enriched the system considerably. Rhazes and Avicenna authored Al-Hawi and Al-Qanun respectively, which were later translated into Latin and other European languages and taught in medieval European universities. They are said to have influenced western medical thought.

Unani medicine disappeared from the country of its origin, but found roots in India through Arab traders long before the Mughals. The Khiljis, Tughlaqs and Mughal emperors provided state patronage to Unani scholars and employed many as court physicians. The British imposed strict restrictions on every form of treatment but allopathy. Despite suspension of aid to Unani institutions, the system survived owing to the commitment ofhakim like Ajmal Khan, who served as the president of Indian National Congress in 1921—the Unani physician and scholar founded the Ayurvedic and Unani Medical College in Delhi.

Quadri reads till 4 am, when the city wakes up to fight for the day. “After my daily ablutions, I go to the mosque for namaz which involves many a yogic mudra—I do each of them,” he shares. “I walk back home at 5 am and sleep till 9, after which I go to my clinic. There’s no time to waste till 5 pm, when I go to the clinic, which I believe is the key to my fitness.”

Sharfuddin Quadri thanks his health for having been witness to an eventful century. The Dandi March with Mahatma Gandhi, confinement in Cuttack Jail and a memorable encounter with Maulana Abul Kalam Azad. “In 1943-44, in Ramgarh—then in Hazaribagh and now in Jharkhand—Maulana Azad was addressing the people and suddenly the skies opened up in a heavy downpur making everyone rush for sheds. Azad roared, ‘You are so scared of raindrops, what will happen when the British will rain bombs and bullets on you?’ And then no one moved even an inch.”

Finding his shadow lengthen by the day, Sharfuddin Quadri remembers Rabindranath Tagore through his lines and a brief meeting in 1912: Moron jedin diner seshe asbe tomar duare/sedin tumi kee dhan debe uhare?(When Death will knock at your door at the end of the day/What will you offer him as a gift?) “I wonder what I will be ready with to welcome the inevitable,” he signs off.

Featured in Harmony – Celebrate Age Magazine
July 2011

source: http://www.harmonyindia.org / Harmony India.org /  Home> H People> Diary 100 / Featured in Harmony – Celebrate Age magazine, July 2011