Dr. M. Ashraf Darzi (1951–2018)
This is the story of Dr. M. Ashraf Darzi. He was a wonderful man that was loved, is
missed and will always be cherished by his family, friends and everyone he was able
to meet and reach out to during his lifetime. A fountainhead of knowledge and always
a source of inspiration has left behind a rich harvest of memories to cherish, honour
and emulate.
The story begins on 13th December 1951 in the Malaratta area of Srinagar city. Being a meritorious student
from the beginning, he graduated from Government Medical College, Srinagar in 1974
with many medals and honours to his name for his outstanding performance in various
subjects. He completed his post-graduation from the same college in 1979. Later, he
went to pursue MCh course in Plastic Surgery in PGIMER, Chandigarh. He had the distinction
of working under the able guidance of the Stalwarts of Plastic Surgery - Prof. C.
Balakrishnan and Prof. C. P. Sawhney. Returning back, he started working as a plastic
surgeon in SKIMS, Srinagar. In 1983, he started the department with just two beds.
Working day and night tirelessly, gradually, he got a full-fledged well-equipped department
(with an additional Burn Unit also) and became the founder head of the department.
He was not, however, contended with this only. Being a great academician with vision,
he started MCh training programme in the department in the year 2002, and it is going
on till date. He served as Chairman of Surgery and allied specialties for a long period
and rose to become the Dean Medical Faculty of SKIMS Deemed University.
He was a devoted teacher, a problem solver and always welcoming newer and recent advancements
with open arms. The first successful re-implantation of amputated hand in a 15-year-old
girl was performed under his leadership in April 2004. Many of his publications had
got selected under the ‘Top 100’ papers in Indian surgical literature. He had been
an active member of many national and international bodies/associations such as ASI,
APSI, NABI, NZAPSI and International College of Surgeons, New York Academy of Sciences.
He had bagged many best paper awards and academic recognition for presenting papers
in various conferences and scientific meetings. He was conferred with the AWARD OF
EXCELLENCE by Shri Ghulam Nabi Azad, former union health minister in April 2007.
He truly lived the life to the fullest through simple pleasures. He had an uncanny
ability to reach people in a deep and positive way. He was a fun loving personality,
always prompting others for social gatherings, avid music lover and an artistic storyteller.
He was such a master storyteller that I was always envious of his sharp memory (how
he could recollect even the minutest details of the past events, that too in an avid
style going on in unison like a smoothly flowing song of life). He superannuated in
December 2013 leaving behind one of the largest plastic surgery departments to carry
on his holy mission. Surrounded by family, lying peacefully in bed, he flew to meet
the Lord on the fateful morning of 22nd November. He is survived by his wife and two sons.
This marks an end of an era. Many lives are touched by his death, especially his family,
friends and students, and will be deeply missed by them all. The values he set in
will always remain with us, and his legacy will live on through his sons and students.
