The Human Tragedy  

Dr. Uttam Prakash (1928-1982) was a famous surgeon. He was the Head of the Department of Surgery of the All-India Institute of Medical Sciences. An international congress on surgery was to be held in Delhi in February 1982, which he was to preside over. But just three days before this, he had a heart attack and died. He was 54 years old.

The success of the international congress would have greatly boosted the respect that Dr. Prakash enjoyed. He was very concerned that the congress should go off well. He had invited the President of India to inaugurate it. But when all the arrangements had been made, he heard from the Secretariat of the President’s House that the President could attend the congress only if the Central Health Minister was also present on the occasion. Apparently, this was necessary according to official protocol.

Before this, Dr. Prakash had not planned to invite the Health Minister, but now it became necessary. And so, he approached the Health Minister’s office. But there, he ran into another obstacle. The Health Minister did not agree to attend the congress. Perhaps he thought it an affront to his dignity to attend an event to which he had not been originally invited. This was such a blow to Dr. Prakash that just three days before the congress, he suffered a heart attack and died.

No one dies before his time. But the Hindustan Times (16th February 1982) very aptly commented about Dr. Prakash that:

He was the most worried man in town before he took the long road.

In this world, people cannot tolerate losing their respect. But, what will their condition be in the world that is to come after death, when all the blessings of this world shall be taken away? Then God will decide whom to settle in Paradise and whom to award punishment.

O Man! You cannot tolerate even the hurt that a tiny pebble causes, but if you are not careful, an entire mountain of torments is going to burst upon on you soon when you die and face the eternal Hereafter!