The author recounts his interaction with his mentor Dr Muzaffar Ahmad Excerpt from Bumpy Roads, Chapter Affectionate letters. Students preparing for various competitive exams may find an advice
Remember what APJ Kalam said, “If you want to shine like the sun, first burn like the sun.”Dr Muzaffar went on …..
In 2001 I had the great pleasure of joining Dr. Muzafar Ahmad Sahib at the Sir Ganga Ram hospital in New Delhi when I joined the said hospital as senior resident in Gastroenterology. I was privileged to observe his professional life there. I stayed in their home at Rajindhar Nagar New Delhi for more than two months, while I waited for my own hospital accommodation. Dr. Shohreh, his wife, despite her elegant background, left no stone unturned to make me feel at home. She was very nice and caring. The wonderful thing about her personality is that she never says what she doesn’t mean, a rare thing nowadays. Her truthfulness is unparalleled. Every day at 5 pm we would return together from the hospital, and soon after we had taken tea at home, everyone (Dr. Sahib, his children and I) would start reading. It was the perfect library environment. Often, pushing his thick glasses onto his forehead and looking straight at me, he would advise me. “Ibrahim!” he would say, “make books your friends and enjoy reading them, absorbing as much as you can of their content. Clarify your thoughts and concepts, and always work very hard.”
One day, as we were on our way home from the hospital, passing through the posh Rajinder Nagar Delhi streets Dr. Sahib said to me, “Ibrahim, here’s another thought for you. Live a simple life and never compare yourself to or be envious of others. It’s always possible that the person to whom you are comparing yourself may not be as prosperous as you are, and may actually have less than what you have. You know about the “mirage effect” – what the eye perceives as a shimmering pond of water at a distance in a desert, is actually nothing more than light reflections on the horizon. Life is a game and struggle is the prize; be thankful to the Creator and never go on nagging. This universe is an unfathomable secret, and no one can understand it fully.” So we continued talking and walking till we reached the gate of home.
On weekends, we would often catch the overcrowded Delhi Transport Corporation bus No 410 /429 in order to visit Hazrat Nizamuddin’s4 Dargah (shrine). One day it happened so that good number of passengers had got off the overcrowded bus and we found ourselves two seats. “Ibrahim – remember this! Always carry a book with you, wherever you go. When you are lucky like this, and get a seat, you can open the book and start reading. Remember, time is a precious gift. Never waste it.” he said. “Instead of cursing your luck for the want of your own vehicle, acknowledge that in the bus you get an opportunity to read. That is the way to think about it.” After prayers in the Masjid, we would have a meal in the restaurant next door.
The warmth of our friendship had by this time melted all reserve, and we would keep up the conversation over our meal, enjoying our time together. Working with quite junior doctors in a very demanding hospital environment spoke volumes about Dr. Sahib’s zest for knowledge. During his tenure at the Sir Ganga Ram Hospital he was reputed to be very good clinician, a highly cooperative team member and a well-read doctor, also one with great empathy and sympathy for his patients. I was preparing for my D.M entrance in those days and study took up a lot of my time. Unfortunately, during that summer I just could not make it, and I was dropped from the list. My confidence was shattered, and for days on end I was unable to sleep at all. I must have looked dreadful, because I certainly felt terrible. “Ibrahim, just think about it. This is not the way to react, failure will not overtake you permanently if your determination is strong. Just accept it as a challenge. It appears that either you had not mastered the subject properly, or perhaps you don’t have good exam technique. Both are possible. This is not the end of the world,” he said gently. “Come on now – let us have a break.” And with that, he took me to a posh restaurant in Connaught Place in New Delhi. While we were sipping our coffee, he took out a piece of paper and started writing. “Listen,” he said, “Giving in to depression will take you nowhere. What you should do now is try to analyze what mistakes you committed in your previous test, and write those down. First focus on the subject itself, and on the topics you are finding difficult. Read those topics carefully, and go on revising them with your friends in the hospital. Then, think about your exam technique. I suggest you find a good article on the topic, read it very carefully, and apply what you have read there in your next test. I can’t help you, because in our time these MCQs were not used” he laughed. “Your coffee is getting cold”, I politely interrupted. He laughed again, quite loudly, and his laughter proved so infectious that I laughed too. The words he uttered to me that day made a great impression on me, and I could feel that his heartbeats were resonating with his tongue, so sincere was he. We ordered another cup of coffee. In between sips, he continued to talk and write simultaneously. After some time, we left the restaurant. It was pleasant to walk across Connaught Place as the sun had started setting and the prickly heat of the day was lessening in intensity. As we walked towards the place to catch the bus, he said, “Condition your brain to understand a given topic and make notes on it. Revise those notes near the time for the exam. At the end of the day, after work, take a break and have a nap at home in order to refresh yourself. Only then start reading up, always to a fixed schedule. Be regular in your study. Get up early in the morning in order to be at the hospital in time. If you get there early, you will find that you are able to perform your work there much better. And remember there is no substitute for hard work! Remember what APJ Kalam said, “If you want to shine like the sun, first burn like the sun.”” A bus stopped, we boarded it, and soon we were back home. His pearls of wisdom proved to be true. Having followed his sound advice, the next winter I was selected for DM in Gastroenterology at PGI Chandigarh. One summer I had the privilege of travelling with him from Delhi to Srinagar. Once again, I enjoyed listening to him talk about his experiences. “Ibrahim!” he said, “never do anything in life that will make you feel guilty later. Remember, you cannot fool too many people for too much of the time. Ultimately people will see the man behind your mask, and, believe me, if that happens, you will not be able to look at your own face in the mirror,” he cautioned. We went on talking in this vein, laughing and cracking jokes continually during our day-long voyage until the early hours of the evening when the bus reached Jammu. It seemed to me that the tedious distance from Delhi to Jammu had shrunk and that day had turned into an enjoyable one. At Jammu we stayed in a pocket friendly hotel for the night and the next day at first light we continued our journey to Srinagar in a taxi. On the way, he recommenced his stories and his wise advice – what I call his “pearls”. “Ibrahim,” he said, “do what you are supposed to do and take virtue as its own reward. At times you may be disappointed at the way in which people, one after another, behave towards you, but remember, one wrong does not justify another wrong. People may turn to you with their selfish faces; never let it disturb you. God will be with you.” He quoted Moulana Rumi, who said, “O’ Allah if you are with me let the rest of world be against me, I am never alone” and “If O’ Allah you are not with me, even if whole world is with me, I will still be lonely. “ At lunch time the taxi stopped near a restaurant on the Jammu-Srinagar highway and we went into the restaurant. A young boy with a partially wet towel on his shoulders came and cleaned our table in the corner of the restaurant. We ordered beans and rice, the famous recipe of highway restaurants. The boy jotted down our order on a chit. In a jiffy he had brought us two plates of rice and beans. The fragrant rice was still hot and steaming. While we were waiting for it to cool down, he said to me “Ibrahim, life leaves little time for experiments. If, on any occasion, you realize that someone has deceived you, never let the person feel that you know what he has done. Be kind to him, as ultimately he is the loser and not you, because the greatest accountant is none but God. However, a word of caution must be given here. Allowing yourself to be cheated more than once becomes your mistake. Wise men have said, “Cheat me once, shame on you, but if you cheat me twice, shame on me!””. After our delicious lunch, we continued our journey. Pointing to the picturesque Jammu -Srinagar highway he said, “Look Ibrahim, life is short and we are all sentenced to death. Every day we move closer to the grave. So enjoy every genuine and good aspect of life, for instance, this journey we are making together, this moment of pleasure in each other’s company, while life goes on melting away. It is one’s approach to life that matters and nothing else,” he further elaborated. His company had made the journey seem shorter and indeed wonderful. In the early evening both of us reached home. Dr. Sahib has been a constant source of inspiration to me – a very good mentor indeed. After his neurology training in Delhi he finally moved to the United Kingdom and is now Fellow of Royal College of Physicians United Kingdom (FRCP). He is working as a consultant neurologist in one of the prestigious hospitals of the National health services (NHS) at Birmingham. I found him to be an excellent example of perseverance and dedication. He is an inspiration, and a wonderful human being too! Having described his tough times and his unfailing zest for education, you will agree that education can be restarted at any age. Although financial security is one of the most important factors in one’s life, one should earn your living in an honest way. Do not let your peace of mind wander in search of wealth. Let wealth follow you rather than you follow wealth.
This is possible only if you have talent, but if you do not use that talent it is an even greater sin. It is important to learn and appreciate the skill of time management and to work hard. Hard work doesn’t necessarily mean working day and night. Good work reflects your productivity and focus. It is the perfect practice that will make you perfect. It is very important that one realizes the importance of time, and the right decisions at the right times carry a lot of meaning and impact in one’s life. Experience is a comb which nature gives you when you have no hair, so learn from your own mistakes but don’t go on doing mistakes endlessly. In the beginning of your career, you may not be able to see your path clearly, so learn from people who have made it. Take advantage of a sincere person, your mentor, whom you trust. Utilize his experience to tread carefully on bumpy roads. Your mentor should be able to tell you bitter truths about yourself and the world, but simultaneously, he should not decrease your morale and confidence. Never stop educating yourselves at any age, Friends! Overcome all hurdles to its completion. Remember: people like Bill Gates who dropped out of Harvard and yet achieved amazing things, are extremely rare. Common people need to have a formal education. However, your own psychology fuels your daring and your ambition. Enrich your thoughts with optimism, plan your career properly, and work for it meticulously. Inspiration alone is not enough! Learning is a continuous process, and it is known to be very good for the health of the brain. It is the only way to prevent dementia, the disease where age-related changes in the brain bring with them terrible consequences. Empower yourself with positive thinking and avoid negative people and negative thinking. As the old saying goes, it is better to be alone than in bad company. Negative people will never allow you to dream big, and dreaming big is a stepping stone for higher actions in life. Neuroscientists have estimated that thousands of thoughts creep into one’s mind daily. Of these, negative thoughts have a greater impact on your psyche than the positive ones. Negative thinking is the enemy within. When there is a problem, analyze the given situation intelligently and look for solutions. Discuss your problem with intelligent and sincere friends and try to come up with options to solve it. If there are options for change, go ahead. In the event that there is nothing to be done, let your life go on peacefully. It is unwise to saw the sawdust. Pray to God thus: “Almighty bless and give me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can and the wisdom to understand the difference.”
“When you go through a hard period,
When everything seems to oppose you,
… When you feel you cannot even bear one more minute,
NEVER GIVE UP! Because it is the time and place that the
course will divert!”
– Moulana Rumi, The Essential Rumi
Excerpt from the Book Bumby Roads authored by Dr. Ibrahim Masoodi.He can be mailed at ibrahimmasoodi@yahoo.co.in
