Happy Birthday’! What? Did I hear correctly? Yes, I had! A heartfelt wish coming my way amid groans full of pain due to a just finished major surgery. That was the best birthday wish that I have ever had or will ever have and it came from ‘Sir’. This was so characteristic of him — always putting those around him first over his own self. Almost all the memories of him are that of his concern and care for people around him. When I first met him, he was one of the professors teaching us. But never of the crowd, he stood out amongst all, a favourite of all the students. He was teaching Forensic Pathology but in his class we learned much more than just that subject. We learned to be a fine human being. In those early days, we were unaware of the height and depth of Dr. Pritam Phatnani’s personality, his achievements in his professional field. We never realised how lucky we were to have him teaching us the subject in which he was widely considered one of the best in the country. Without conscious thought, our lives became so entwined that today his loss is as painful as that of a parent. He showered his affection on us. We were like an extended family, welcome at any time and on all occasions. A fine human being, he was a great teacher. He would put his heart in teaching a willing pupil. His teaching would never be restricted to the subject. He could teach with equal flair the correct way to eat pani puris at a roadside stall as the difference between the postmortem appearance in death due to hanging or strangulation. Such was his spirit to encourage the smallest deed done well that he remembered to do so during one of the weakest moments of his physical self. After a very long day and a never ending night, we were pleased with ourselves that we could change his sheets without giving him pain and there we find him, sitting up with support, all weak and emaciated, but with enough strength to clap for us. Those were the darkest days with no light in sight at the end of the tunnel. Right from the day he was diagnosed to be suffering from cancer of the prostate that had by then already spread, till he breathed his last, he gave a tough fight to the disease. So undaunted was his spirit that his doctors would at times depend upon him to counsel other patients suffering from the same disease and encourage them to take treatment. A year has gone by since his departure, but time has not made the acceptance any easier. With each passing day, the loss is felt more acutely. His loss has been very hard for all those who knew him. As for me, I have lost a friend, philosopher, guide.
