74 And Still Going Strong

At 74, Dr OP Kapoor, renowned physician attached to Bombay Hospital, sounds more young and energetic than any youngster. Apart from being an eminent doctor, he is a gifted teacher, a dedicated academician, a prolific author and a trailblazing editor of the Bombay Hospital Journal. To this day, he conducts lectures for more than 1,500 final year MBBS students at Birla Matushri Sabhaghar, every year for three months for a total of 72 hours, six hours at a stretch. He has been doing honorary teaching for almost 47 years now.

Dr Kapoor has to his credit 13 books on medicine. However, he feels sad about one thing, "I have nobody who can follow this tradition of mine." Dr Kapoor has lectured extensively in 150 towns and cities in India and has addressed learned audience in the UK and the US. He has held numerous weekend refresher courses for general practitioners all over India, travelling at his own expense. Also, he has authored the only textbooks of their kind - Kapoor's Textbook of Medicine for General Practitioners and Kapoor's Textbook of Medicine for Practising Family Physicians.

When asked about the reason for his popularity, he quips, "Young professionals do not disclose their trade secret, I do, as I want to give my students all the knowledge I have and gathered all these years." After years of extensive teaching, he refuses to retire. "I want to die on the stage, teaching my students," avers Dr Kapoor. His popularity can be guessed by the fact that every year students flocking for his lectures just keep on increasing.