A surgeon and a gentleman

He was all things to all persons His behaviour and approach to the humblest patients servants and subordinates was the same as to Viceroys Governors Maharajas statesmen and industrialists consulting himrdquo noted The Bombay Samachar editor Jehan Daruwala in his popular column Parsi Tari Arsi for the birth centenary of Dr RN Cooper April 3 1993The surgeon so accomplished that he was flown to Iran en famille to operate on Empress Farah Dibamdashthe Shah offered carpets and gold coins in gratitudemdashmost nobly also slipped small envelopes of money under the pillows of poor patients he treated free Conducted with quiet generosity the second kindness was a followup to tide them over days of staying home with prescribed bed restIt was the only way Dr Cooper knew to work for which he was widely revered by patients and admired by the medical fraternity One eminent surgeon told an patient ldquoIf you want an operation done free go to Cooper my fee is R5000rdquo On another occasion Dr Cooper was called to Poona for an old and indigent patient Cured she insisted on paying To save her embarrassment he quoted an oddly precise sum a few rupees and some annas When a relative asked how he computed that exact amount he explained it was his train fareThere was everything exceptional about the man who lived by the Hippocratic oath and whose sterling contributions the municipal authorities have commemorated with the RN Cooper Hospital in Juhu ldquoThe BMC decided to name the hospital after him with absolutely no lobbying from the Coopers Quite to the contrary it came as a surprise to themrdquo says family friend Dr Jehangir SorabjeeBorn to a humble marine engineer Rustam Nusserwanji Cooper had eight siblings Shining in science and Shakespeare classes alike at Bharda High School he went on to earn an MBBS graduating from Grant Medical College GMC and Sir JJ Hospital Unswerving focus and dedication saw him meticulously dissect as many as 17 cadavers during the initial years alone with the neatness skill and speed for which he was soon to become legendaryCompleting his education in England on a government scholarship he proved an early Indian recipient of the Master of Surgery degree from the University of London and an FRCS There he struck a lifelong friendship with Dr BC Roy later Chief Minister of Bengal Subsequently meeting every year they collaborated with success on progressive medical research initiatives across the country An early photograph with their three daughters Hilloo Dalal Gooloo Sethna and Mehroo Dastur at a family navjote in 1970Ironically after four years of practice in the best UK hospitals competent doctors were in demand during the First World War on his return Dr Cooper was refused appointment at his alma mater GMC which accepted British surgeons alone Fortunately the relatively new Gordhandas Sunderdas Medical College GSMC and King Edward Memorial KEM Hospital invited him to join as Honorary Surgeon and Head of the Department of SurgeryIn addition he assumed honorary directorship of Jerbai Wadia Hospital for Children in Parel was a founder of the Indian Association of Surgeons and became the first Indian to be conferred membership of the American Association of Surgeons Despite the strain of long professional days in which he started the Charak Clinic at Charni Road he willingly spared time to serve on the board of the JB Petit School for Girls and Jai Vakil Foundation running the School for Children in Need of Special CareThe good doctor groomed several specialists including doctors NA Purandare AV Baliga PK Sen RG Ginde and Noshir Antia He taught surgical pathology with passion precision and humour enough to have admiring students affectionately dub him Daddy Cooper while he called each SonnyDr Cooper and his wife Minnie parented three daughters Gooloo Mehroo both qualified physicians and Hilloo Each named a son Rustam after their beloved father ldquoFond of golf he played at the Willingdon Club with his regular foursome At Chembur he had a holeinonemdashhis name is up there on the boardrdquo says soninlaw Jehangir Dalal ldquoA truly gentle person he was a very affectionate fatherinlaw and wonderful with his grandchildrenrdquoRecollecting a serene photograph of Dr Cooper sitting in an open field with his dog and an easel Jehangirrsquos daughter Meher Dalal says ldquoToby the small hound dog my grandfather loved was around when he painted watercolours as a hobby My mother Hilloo told us how incredibly hard hersquod worked Studying nights under streetlamps he understood the expenses and sacrifices parents make for their childrenrdquoIn a lighter vein Meherrsquos brother Behram says ldquoI was seven when my grandfather passed away Later on a naughtier note detesting gym Irsquod write excuses on his prescription pad sheets my mom had at home scribble a signature and hand them in This worked initially Then I had a terrible instructor ripping them up without reading When I switched schools he was replaced by someone more tyrannical nicknaming me Hernia Operation BoyrdquoAnother granddaughter Jeroo Ranji shares ldquoMy mother Mehroo used to tell us how Dad Dad as we called him tied his shoelaces on both shoes simultaneously by using one hand for each shoe This story fascinated me as a child and attested to his prowess as a skilled surgeon He had an innate curiosity in many diverse subjects created little home movies of his travels was an avid photographer and enjoyed classical music Years later I spent hours at Marshall Lodge the Cooper residence on Cumballa Hill combing through his library of National Geographic magazines from decades pastrdquo Occupying equal pride of place was his eclectic collection of titles on subjects ranging from comparative religious philosophies to biographies of internationally renowned surgeons Neurosurgeon Sunil Pandya says ldquoI knew of monthly dinner meetings he organised with teachers and students and of his enviable collection of books With the audacity of youth I wrote to him requesting permission to study them I was surprised by the prompt courteous reply inviting me to meet at his Charak Clinic consulting room He put me at ease and took me around the steel cupboards housing a variety of precious books I requested an appointed evening hour each week to make notes from books in his balcony He suggested borrowing them to read at my leisure Not knowing me from Adam to place such faith in me with books not easily available in Bombay was humbling Thanks to his courtesy I read classic biographies of John Hunter Edward Jenner and many othersldquoDr Cooper was keen on studying the history of medicine He felt strongly that we must remain aware of the trials those who have advanced medicine over the millennia underwent and applaud their achievements I have been fortunate to study his published papers on subjects from lsquoA short history of anaesthesiarsquo and lsquoMedical ethics through the agesrsquo to purely surgical topics such as epigastric pain and prolapse of the rectum Though a general surgeon and specialisation was yet to come in he published papers on lsquoTraumatic surgery of the skullrsquo 1945 and lsquoTumours of the spinal cordrsquo 1948rdquoDr Cooper was a KEM professor and retired by the time Dr Pandya studying at JJ Hospital entered medicine Dr Pandya narrates an experience related to him by Dr Cooperrsquos student the reputed Dr Tehemton Udwadia Diligently present halfanhour prior to any scheduled lecture he delivered Dr Cooper would write on the hall blackboards draw illustrations and charts When students trickled in he had finished with the necessary text and drawingsmdashldquoI donrsquot wish to waste their time Completing all this before they come I can spend the full period teaching and emphasising pointsrdquo he saidThe staunch freedom patriot was a linguist and scholar of Persian and Gujarati who even took up learning Russian in his middle age ldquoAlways interested in history my mother Gooloo accompanied him to the Indus Valley Iran and Japanrdquo remembers granddaughter Meher Dadabhoy A lover of walking and hiking he went up to Dukersquos Nose in Khandala where he rented a cottage every year in May Rolling up his sleeves sportingly he indulged in games of gillidanda and nargolio with his chauffeurrsquos children and locals An amateur astronomer he often took them skygazing with a telescopeOn April 5 1966 addressing the 11th Annual Conference of the Bombay branch of the Indian Medical Association Dr Cooper suffered a critical heart attack ldquoHis funeral was so well attended by all the people he had looked after that the queue waiting to pay respect came all the way down to Kemprsquos Corner and beyondrdquo says Dr Jehangir Sorabjee ldquoClearing his drawers they found endless blank cheques from folks he did not charge They probably just wrote them asking him to fill in whatever fee he wanted Of course he hadnrsquot even bothered to do thatrdquoAs Daruwala concluded in his Samachar column ldquoThe great surgeon and the greater gentleman had walked out into the sunset But the memory lingers and those in contact with him remember him with adoration and prayerrdquoAuthorpublisher Meher Marfatia writes fortnightly on everything that makes her love Mumbai and adore Bombay You can reach her at mehermarfatiamiddaycomwwwmeher marfatiacom