Biral Mullick M.D.
Dr Mullick was a doctor in Calcutta
with whom I was privileged to know and work with off and on during my
several assignments in India. He was an inspiring man in the fullest
sense of the word.
His patients were the poorest of the
poor in one of the world’s largest slums, Howrah. There is a
popular movie based on a book about Howrah entitled, “The City of
Joy.” Howrah is a “suburb” of Calcutta located across the
Hoogly river which empties into the Bay of Bengal.
Dr Mullick’s energy was endless. In
that sense he was a true Bengali. One count had it that he had
established 50 clinics in Calcutta’s neediest neighborhoods. In
order to make his rounds in that vast complicated city he rode a
motorcycle. I sometimes rode with him clutching to him nervously as
we skidded over trolley tracks down the crowded boulevards of that
incredible city. One time when he met me at the Dum Dum airport in
Calcutta he used an ambulance to get me to my hotel. When traffic was
too congested which it always is in Calcutta, he turned on the siren
and emergency red lights as we plowed through the maze of rickshaws,
bullock carts, taxis, buses and vehicles of every description.
Dr Mullick organized our workshops and
made sure that the top gynecologists in West Bengal attended as our
professional consultants. Our goal was to improve the training of
medical personnel who worked in women’s health. The product of our
project was a fifteen volume programmed instruction set of manuals
which he arranged to have published in Bengali.
As a result of his amazing contacts we
were invited to bring this model to Bangladesh where we conducted
workshops in Dacca for the national ministry of health.
Later, Dr Mullick organized an all
India network recognizing traditional health workers, aryuvedics or
quacks as they were often called. These unlicensed “doctors”
served mainly in the villages and poorest neighborhoods all over that
vast country.
It was my privilege to attend several
graduation events celebrating the training Dr Mullick’s
organization sponsored. These were held in several of the twenty nine
Indian states.
The Indian Medical Association (IMA)
was outraged over this recognition of traditional healers. Law suits
and civil action were charged against Dr Mullick but he was never
convicted. Millions of India’s poorest benefited by the upgrading
of the skills of those traditional healers who worked where no
Western trained medical doctors would serve.
Dr Mullick himself was a Western
trained M.D. and co-authored several research studies published in
the Lancet, Federation of International Gynecologists (FIGO) and
other leading professional journals.
In our travels together it was my
privilege to learn something about the source of his devotion and
energy to serve the poor. He described how as a young boy his parents
had the honor of having Mahatma Gandhi as a guest in their home. Dr
Mullick was a devout Hindu who lived his faith in the tradition of
that great father of modern India.
Doctor Mullick is no longer with us.
But I can still see his flashing eyes and hear his loud voice not to
mention his laughter as he shared his enthusiasm and joy for his
work.
Once in a while we took time out and
treated ourselves to a sumptuous West Bengal meal at his favorite
restaurant, the Amber. To enter one had to go down a narrow stairway
on a back alley in the middle of the city. Once inside one could find
some of the best cuisine in Eastern India. The food was hot and spicy
which I often thought was one of the sources of the boundless energy
of West Bengalis like Dr Mullick.
Dr Biral Mullick was a treasure for
India which he loved with all his heart. I am honored to have known
him as a dear friend and colleague.
Chuck Ausherman
