Doctors Murli and Pushpa

Murli and Pushpa are doctors, friends, spouses, poets, and, most of all, teachers of medical sciences. They belong to a rare breed of Pakistanis free from all monetary pursuits, prejudices and pride. They could have earned millions, but preferred to live in the same two-room flat for nearly four decades.

I have known them since the 1980s when they had just completed their medical education and had the option of embarking on a journey of private practice that could transform their material condition within years, with the possibility of living in a posh area, boasting a plush bungalow and driving a luxury car. They preferred to drive an 800cc car for years and never started their private practice to supplement their meagre salaries from the government hospitals where they worked.

Dr Murli Dhar – from Jacobabad – is now one of the most prominent urologists working for the Sindh Institute of Urology and Transplant (SIUT) for nearly 40 years. Dr Pushpa Vallabh – from Mithi in Thar – wrote her first poem at the age of 13 when she was still in middle school. She did her MBBS at the Peoples Medical College, Nawabshah, where she edited the college magazine ‘Marui’. She obtained her MPhil in microbiology from the University of Karachi, and having taught at Dow Medical University for years, she specialised in medical genetics to pursue her PhD.

She is a pathologist and teacher of pathological sciences with a keen interest in literature that she inherited from her father Vali Ram Vallabh, a renowned fiction writer and translator with dozens of books to his credit. Pushpa kept writing poetry during her medical education. Her first collection of Sindhi poetry received the Shaikh Ayaz Award from Sindhi Adabi Sangat in 1985 when she was just 22 years old. She caught the attention of translators who started rendering her verses into English and Urdu. ‘Bund Akhiun Mein Aasman’ (The Sky in Eyes Shut) – published by Marvi Publication Karachi – appeared in 2010. Her collections of poetry established her credentials as a Sindhi poet of considerable repute. Her poetry reflected her early life in Thar, where she spent her childhood.

To date, her three poetry collections have adorned the shelves of Sindhi poetry lovers. Her latest collection ‘Gul Mohr ji Mausam’ (The season of the Gulmohr), which Koonj Academy Karachi published in 2023, contains poems more resonant of her recent experiences and observations. Sindhi prose poems have traversed a long journey from Sobhraaj Nirmaldas Faani in 1937 to Shaikh Ayaz and Narayan Shayam to Pushpa Vallabh in the 21st century. Pushpa’s poems, such as Jilawatan (The exiled), Tasveer (Photograph), Aaeeno (Mirror) and Bazigur (Juggler) are some of the examples of her best prose poems.

Dr Murli Dhar and Pushpa tied the knot in 1988 and formed a formidable couple that complemented each other in their literary and medical pursuits. Both belonged to Sindh’s progressive intellectual landscape, with their families dedicated to the development and welfare of people regardless of cast and creed. When Dr Jabbar Khattak – another progressive activist and intellectual who spent years in jail during the dictatorship of General Ziaul Haq – launched Sindhi language newspaper ‘Awami Awaz’ (People’s Voice), Dr Murli Dhar started contributing his articles and write-ups on health problems and literary issues.

Murli also had almost the same background of his own literary cum medical pursuits as his wife Pushpa. During his college days, he edited college magazines and special numbers on various topics. In 1983, while studying at the Chandka Medical College, Murli and his friends compiled and edited a special issue on Diyari (Diwali in Urdu). After nearly 34 years, Dr Murli managed to get that issue reprinted in book form, published by the Mohenjo Daro Publishing Agency, Larkana in 2017.

‘Diyari – Shabari ja chakhyal jootha phal’ (Diwali – the fruits that Shabari tasted) is an interesting collection of articles and essays by some of the most prominent writers in Sindhi. Shabari is a lower-caste untouchable Hindu woman working as a cleaner at an aashram (hermitage or monastery). Shabari’s guru, Matunga, informed her that one day, Shri Ram would visit her. She kept waiting, and Ramchandar, while looking for Sita accidentally meets Shabari who gives him some fruit that she had already tasted. According to tradition, Ram’s brother Lachhman frowned but Ram explained that lower or upper castes don’t matter; love is all that counts.

Ram ate the same fruit and refused to entertain any thoughts about untouchability and maintained the supremacy of humanity. The book contains articles by Comrade Sobho Gyanchandani, Allama I I Qazi, and Popti Heranandani, which Dr Murli Dhar translated from English to Sindhi. Dr Fehmida Hussain, M A Pathan, Rochiraam and Shayam Kumar also wrote interesting essays for the special issue on Diwali.

In 2018, Dr Murli Dhar’s collection of poetry ‘Kirchiyun Kirchiyun Udma’ was published, which Prof M H Solangi translated into English as ‘Broken Emotions’. Reading Murli’s verses, one can clearly see the healer who uses not only medicines but also poetry for the magic of healing. His therapy revolves around the effective use of words that can alleviate the miseries of his patients. Most of his poems carry a certain message that – if understood clearly – can reduce the pain of humanity. Murli employs simple diction that pierces through the minds of his readers as his scalpel removes the malignant parts from his patients’ bodies.

Reading his poetry, one could feel that Murli is not an ordinary doctor; he tries to be the healer of body, mind and soul. While highlighting social issues, he also reflects on the mental and psychological state of his patients. He doesn’t offer simple solutions; rather, he asks his readers to ponder their own possibilities to change their plight. His concern for marginalised communities is evident from all his writings, as he highlights inequality and lack of justice in society as the primary causes for poverty and the prevalence of diseases.

Then in 2021, Dr Murli Dhar brought out a compendium about the coronavirus and the resultant pandemic. He wrote a 130-page book cautioning against the lack of seriousness about the deadly virus in society. Murli himself – like thousands of other doctors and paramedical staff – risked his life while treating the patients suffering from Covid-19. The book offers, in simple language, nearly all the necessary precautions that individuals and society must take while fighting against the pandemic.

Dr Murli’s other major contribution is his series of books in Sindhi and Urdu titled ‘Sehat Sabhni Laye’ or ‘Sehat Sab Ke Liye’ in Urdu, which translates as ‘Health For All’. A set of three books has been published in both Sindhi and Urdu, making them a unique collection of writings on health in simple language. Zulfiqar Rajpar beautifully translated the Sindhi books into Urdu, and one can hardly feel that they are translations. These books cover a wide spectrum of health issues, ranging from the coronavirus to the history of pandemics and from his appreciation for the medical staff to the common ailments and diseases of the kidneys.

He has also written about fistula, the intricacies of organ transplant, Chikungunya, constipation, asthma, bird flu, dengue, TB, measles, breast cancer, naegleria, Ebola, HIV, and many other issues that plague human societies around the world but people in countries such as Pakistan seldom get adequate guidance about them in vernacular.

Doctors Murli and Pushpa are role models for the young doctors in this country, who appear to be more concerned about their personal gains rather than cultivating empathy for the suffering segments of society.

The writer holds a PhD from the University of Birmingham, UK. He tweets/posts @NaazirMahmood and can be reached at: mnazir1964@yahoo.co.uk