Remembering Dr. Abdul Mokaddem
Saturday, 22 May 2010
Shamsher Chowdhury
It is difficult to describe the essence of a man like Dr. Mokaddem. A mere MBBS he was indeed a Doctor par excellence. He obtained his medical degree from the Dhaka Medical College and Hospital sometime in the late 50s.
Dr. Mokaddem was a good man, a good Doctor, a friend of the poor, the kind of a man that is hard to come by these days.
I had known Dr. Nokaddem while he was a 4th year student at the Dhaka Medical College. He used to come to our house very often and finally married my late sister Rowshan Ara Begum. I had known him very closely for over 50 years. He was a Doctor to the entire family and friends of the family.
He always used to tell me as to how he would have liked to have a modern day Doctor's Chamber at a vantage location of the city. But I knew all the time that he would not be able to. . He was too busy serving the sick and did not have the time to set it up. Not only that, he did not even have the financial resources. I used to visit him at his Chamber both as patient and a friend quite frequently and watched him provide consultation to incoming patients, young and old, well to do and the poor. He, not only diagnosed the disease, prescribed medicines but also advised his patients on what were the causes of the problems but also took time to explain to them the benefits of food nutrition and food management that could prevent possible recurrence of the ailment. While treating a patient he always enquired about the financial background of each of the visiting patients. Very often charged little or no fees from the poor patients by saying "give me whatever you can and if you can". To the rest of them he merely used to tell them of his standard fees that ranged between Tk.50 and 200.
Dr. Mokaddem was both a popular Physician and a kind hearted man and was always concerned about the well being of the humanity as a whole. He had his chamber at the Bangla Motor intersection, a very humble one with only some essential furniture, nothing fancy. One day I arrived at his Chamber around 8 in the evening and found a number of young women wearing crude make up sitting on the bench in the only other room of his chamber, the so called waiting room, talking loudly and giggling. As I entered his room I asked him as to who were these people? He gave me a smile and said to me, I quote " Shamsher ( often affectionately called me brother-in-law) they are the so called women of ill repute who walk the streets of our capital at night, harassed and exploited both by the police and the people alike. I try to treat these poor and the disadvantaged without charging fees and often try to help them in whatever way I can. I provide them with medicines from the physician's samples I often receive from various pharmaceutical companies through their sales representatives who call on me. Some times I even try to help them with some modest some of monies to the best extent possible" unquote.
Dr. Mokaddem was not only a good physician but also a man liked and respected by whoever came into his contact. He was one of the popular faces on the golf course. He was one of the Board Members of its Governing Body for quite sometime in the days long gone by. He was equally popular amongst the high and the low. He was particularly popular with the caddies. Whenever he was at the club many of them used to come running to him, loudly pronouncing that their Kala Sahib had arrived. There is yet another incident I cannot resist mentioning which will give you the real measure of his popularity. Once, some Burglars broke into his chamber and took away a number of old ceiling fans and some items of medical instruments of not too great a value. He called some of the people of the locality who knew him well and told them that he was not coming back until all the things stolen are returned to him. Lo and behold the very next day he got back all that were taken away and the fans were even reinstalled.
Dr. Mokaddem was indeed one of the finest General Practitioners (GP) that I had ever come across. As long as he was alive none of his patients to the best of my knowledge had to see any Specialist as such. He was one doctor sitting right in that humble chamber used to regularly study books of various branches of medical sciences often after the visiting hours routinely updating his information base with the latest developments. He was a good listener, a quality that is almost rare and missing amongst doctors of today. He listened to his patients and their complaints with great intent and interest. Once having provided the diagnosis and the prescription written, he used to shake hands with each one of them and assured them of quick recovery creating a rare rapport between a Doctor and his patients.
Dr. Mokaddem was a man of high moral and ethical calling. He had no undue cravings for worldly possessions or comforts. He was always happy with whatever little he had.
Dr. Mokaddem will long be remembered by his friends and the extended family particularly by those who still have the gift of life and once were his patients. Above all a man of his caliber, integrity and high commitment will be hard to repalce in years or even decades to come.
May his soul rest in peace and may he be granted a place in heaven.
It is difficult to describe the essence of a man like Dr. Mokaddem. A mere MBBS he was indeed a Doctor par excellence. He obtained his medical degree from the Dhaka Medical College and Hospital sometime in the late 50s.
Dr. Mokaddem was a good man, a good Doctor, a friend of the poor, the kind of a man that is hard to come by these days.
I had known Dr. Nokaddem while he was a 4th year student at the Dhaka Medical College. He used to come to our house very often and finally married my late sister Rowshan Ara Begum. I had known him very closely for over 50 years. He was a Doctor to the entire family and friends of the family.
He always used to tell me as to how he would have liked to have a modern day Doctor's Chamber at a vantage location of the city. But I knew all the time that he would not be able to. . He was too busy serving the sick and did not have the time to set it up. Not only that, he did not even have the financial resources. I used to visit him at his Chamber both as patient and a friend quite frequently and watched him provide consultation to incoming patients, young and old, well to do and the poor. He, not only diagnosed the disease, prescribed medicines but also advised his patients on what were the causes of the problems but also took time to explain to them the benefits of food nutrition and food management that could prevent possible recurrence of the ailment. While treating a patient he always enquired about the financial background of each of the visiting patients. Very often charged little or no fees from the poor patients by saying "give me whatever you can and if you can". To the rest of them he merely used to tell them of his standard fees that ranged between Tk.50 and 200.
Dr. Mokaddem was both a popular Physician and a kind hearted man and was always concerned about the well being of the humanity as a whole. He had his chamber at the Bangla Motor intersection, a very humble one with only some essential furniture, nothing fancy. One day I arrived at his Chamber around 8 in the evening and found a number of young women wearing crude make up sitting on the bench in the only other room of his chamber, the so called waiting room, talking loudly and giggling. As I entered his room I asked him as to who were these people? He gave me a smile and said to me, I quote " Shamsher ( often affectionately called me brother-in-law) they are the so called women of ill repute who walk the streets of our capital at night, harassed and exploited both by the police and the people alike. I try to treat these poor and the disadvantaged without charging fees and often try to help them in whatever way I can. I provide them with medicines from the physician's samples I often receive from various pharmaceutical companies through their sales representatives who call on me. Some times I even try to help them with some modest some of monies to the best extent possible" unquote.
Dr. Mokaddem was not only a good physician but also a man liked and respected by whoever came into his contact. He was one of the popular faces on the golf course. He was one of the Board Members of its Governing Body for quite sometime in the days long gone by. He was equally popular amongst the high and the low. He was particularly popular with the caddies. Whenever he was at the club many of them used to come running to him, loudly pronouncing that their Kala Sahib had arrived. There is yet another incident I cannot resist mentioning which will give you the real measure of his popularity. Once, some Burglars broke into his chamber and took away a number of old ceiling fans and some items of medical instruments of not too great a value. He called some of the people of the locality who knew him well and told them that he was not coming back until all the things stolen are returned to him. Lo and behold the very next day he got back all that were taken away and the fans were even reinstalled.
Dr. Mokaddem was indeed one of the finest General Practitioners (GP) that I had ever come across. As long as he was alive none of his patients to the best of my knowledge had to see any Specialist as such. He was one doctor sitting right in that humble chamber used to regularly study books of various branches of medical sciences often after the visiting hours routinely updating his information base with the latest developments. He was a good listener, a quality that is almost rare and missing amongst doctors of today. He listened to his patients and their complaints with great intent and interest. Once having provided the diagnosis and the prescription written, he used to shake hands with each one of them and assured them of quick recovery creating a rare rapport between a Doctor and his patients.
Dr. Mokaddem was a man of high moral and ethical calling. He had no undue cravings for worldly possessions or comforts. He was always happy with whatever little he had.
Dr. Mokaddem will long be remembered by his friends and the extended family particularly by those who still have the gift of life and once were his patients. Above all a man of his caliber, integrity and high commitment will be hard to repalce in years or even decades to come.
May his soul rest in peace and may he be granted a place in heaven.