March 28, 2004

As dedicated a doctor as she was, Dr Sarwar took her work at the JPMA very seriously. She also always encouraged her younger peers to contribute to the journal

SARWAR is no more with us. She decided to leave for the heavenly abode after giving so much to the medical profession, the country and specially Karachi. She was an example to follow for scores of students and young doctors.

I knew Sarwar since medical-college days. She was a couple of years senior to me and according to the tradition of those early times, the juniors not only had great respect but also considered some seniors to be idols. We used to admire Sarwar and her group of friends who were always good at studies. After graduation we lost touch as she left the country for higher training.

It was only after I returned from Germany in 1975 that I managed to get in touch with her. One afternoon at the PMA House that I met the the General Secretary of PMA, the late Dr M.R.A. Hashmi. He caught hold of me and took me to the Office of the Journal of the Pakistan Medical Association, located on the back side of the old building. It is still there. Dr Sarwar was sitting there with files and papers on the table. Dr Hashmi handed me over to her saying that I was a hard worker and would prove to be a help for the journal. Thus started a 29-year association that ended physically on 17 March, 2004. But she is still very much with me and no one can take her away from my thoughts and the memorable moments we have spent together.

Sarwar was a lady of strong character, always on the right path and teaching us to do the same. She was full of research, which was ingrained in her. She never was in a hurry to explain and discuss methods to do research along with the limitations we have in our setup. This attitude made her grow in the PMRC, from where she retired as an Executive Director and was given the status of Scientist Emeritus.

The Journal of Pakistan Medical Association was started in 1953 as a quarterly and became a monthly in 1957. Sarwar Jehan Zuberi was made editor in early 1975 and her efforts got the journal indexed in Index Medicus in late 1975. It remained the only indexed journal of the country till 2002, when some more acquired the status. To improve and maintain the standard of the journal was not an easy task. She was firm in principles and this is what I acquired from her, not to give in to undue pressures. Justice was the motto. No substandard articles could be accepted for publication, no matter how powerful the author was or had recommendations from influential people. It was fun working together. We did not have a very large working team, so most of the time it was just three or four of us, sitting in the modest JPMA office on a Saturday afternoon. After finishing the work we would just keep sitting sometimes just the two of us and talk on various topics besides medicine and patients. She always had a very positive attitude towards life. She was never discouraged by adversities and was a fighter and taught us to face difficult situations with courage. For all of us she was a firewall as she was the one who took a stand against injustice or bias and declined any partiality.

The journal grew under her guidance and all of us grew and gained experience. Sometimes we are made to believe by circumstances that premonitions are true. Sarwar insisted on changing the appearance of the JPMA. With joint consensus a new cover was designed early this year, the number of pages were increased and more members were inducted in the editorial board. Letters were sent to all of them and she took down to telephoning each one of them and inviting them for Saturday meetings. She wanted more opinions and suggestions as she always believed that two brains are better than one. But this occasion never came, as she left us before she could return to office after her knee surgery.

Sarwar was all for teaching medical writing to the younger doctors and medical students. She was very active with this task at the Ziauddin Medical University. She was the one to suggest a Student’s Corner in JPMA. The young bright students from different medical colleges of the city have participated wholeheartedly in this section of the journal. The encouragement and guidance was mainly from her side. Often when we discussed the impact of chronic diseases on our society especially due to ignorance and cultural beliefs, she would get very upset. And this was exacerbated when she observed the increasing incidence of Hepatitis B and C in the country. She spent a lot of time on creating awareness on the subject of Hepatitis. It was not just among the doctors, but also for the people. It was also not just in Karachi but for other areas of the country as well. She travelled a lot to all parts of Sindh and Punjab for the purpose. Today we see an increasing knowledge on Hepatitis, which can very easily be attributed to the pioneering work of Sarwar Zuberi.

On the clinical side she was very kind to her patients, who were full of admiration for her. They travelled from great distances and from all over the country to have her treatment. She was very exact in her diagnosis and medication. No patient would be given therapy on demand. The patients trusted her and had full confidence in her and always had words of praise.

She was strict when it was required but there was care and sympathy behind it. She was admired by many.

Sarwar had once said she wanted to do so many things after retirement, as going to plays and flower shows. But she got all the more busy, as there was great demand of her time. She was involved in teaching research and writing research. She was always so optimistic that she made plans for years ahead. Despite her physical problems of knee-arthritis, I never once heard her complain. She was brave and carried on with her work despite the pain. It was only when she had decided about the surgery, that she told me about it and was so positive about the results that she wanted to do the final editing of the current journal, which she always did, as she would be well by then.

I had to persuade her to relax and take it easy till she was back on her feet and may be running with her new knee-joints. We had laughed not realizing that fate had something else in store. I could never imagine that Sarwar would not return to the JPMA office. So many people have knee-surgery, which is a routine surgery these days. The surgery did have excellent results, but it was the deadly falciparum malaria in the bag of blood, which took the toll.

I wish I had had microscope eyes and could have seen the parasite in the blood which was hung up while I was sitting by her bedside on the second day of surgery. I would have torn down the bag. She was so happy with the surgery results and showed me the x-rays of her ‘new knees’ as we called them.

“I will soon be walking”, she had said, not knowing that she would go into an eternal sleep.

Sarwar was a legend, a good old friend for me, an asset for the medical community, a demigod for her patients and a treasure for the country. It is very sad that she left us so suddenly. The loss is irreparable and she will be missed by many.

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