The Loss Of A Legend PP Dr. Rahim Muljiani

Death is inevitable, and when one has lived to a ripe old age, the inevitability always seems imminent. Inevitable or imminent, a deep sense of sorrow is what I felt at the sad news of the passing away of PP Dr. Rahim H. Muljiani.

In a Club boasting of several eminent people, Rahim was an institution. Few new members may have even known him and to some he was that irascible old man, obsessed with Talwada.

Yes, obsessed he was. As is only to be expected from someone who was there at its founding and continuously nurtured it over a remarkable period of four decades. Without his commitment and yes, even his irascibility, Talwada would not be what it is today.

Rahim had been a close associate of my father, PP Jimmy Vazifdar, and I have known him for more than 30 years as a dear friend of the family. He would unfailingly send courteous greetings on birthdays and festivals, thoughtfully hand-written (a novelty in this age of impersonal communication).

We have lost a committed, dedicated, disciplined Rotarian and a fine human being. – PP NOWROZE VAZIFDAR

Sad to know of the passing away of Dr. Muljiani. He was a committed Rotarian and backbone of Talwada centre. Our heartfelt condolences to your club president and the family of Dr. Muljiani. – DG BANSI DHURANDHAR

Such sad news. He was an iconic figure of RCB and served the Club so selflessly and was relentless in his pursuit of helping the needy. May his soul rest in peace – DGE SANDIP AGARWALLA

Dr. Muljiani has been the pillar of the Rotary Club of Bombay. Dr. Muljiani and the Club were born in the same year, just one day apart.

Phiroze Ratanshah Vakil Eye Centre (PRVEC) would not be where it is today if not for Dr. Muljiani. He was a big part of so many people’s lives. A larger-than-life man. The light he brought into the world will always remain in the hearts of everyone he knew. He will never be forgotten and his legacy will live on!
– PP VIJAY JATIA

Sir was a fatherly figure to me. My association with him has been since April 1980. He taught me, gave me plenty of surgical work, and a satisfying job at Talwada. He was strict, punctual, committed and a workaholic. Time was God for him.

I worked with him at Jain, Jaslok and Prince Aly Khan. He used to take me to all camps like Karjat, Panchgani, Juhu etc. In short, he helped me tremendously in the formative years of my career.

He also helped me in the affairs of school management and always gave a helping hand. He will remain in my heart forever. A great person, teacher, administrator, friend and great soul. Talwada was his baby, and he was very attached to it till the end; it is great loss for Talwada. Sir, you will be missed every time we gather at Talwada. Pranam, sir! – DR. ANIL DESHPANDE

It is with a profound sense of disbelief and sorrow that I write this epitaph on a stalwart – Dr. Rahim Muljiani.

I had the privilege of knowing Dr. Muljiani for the past 20-odd years through three different phases of my life – as student, surgeon and later, colleague and may I dare say, confidante, at a much later stage.

While eulogising the departed is par for the course, it would take reams to flesh out the intricate details of this multi-faceted personality.

I write of but a few of Sir’s traits – his patience with us as students, knowledge of pharmacology in addition to Ophthalmology, willingness to get down at our level for ease of understanding with only a dry deprecatory laugh when we slipped up – often enough.

Forward to the next phase – his capacity to listen, ever ready to pick up newer ideas, willingness to argue, even duel over concepts, with a sharp tongue, open mind and willingness to let new concepts in.

This is one man who has seemed truly ageless – the lifetime spent at Talwada, where he has seen so many generations of Ophthalmologists come and go, is truly a testament of his indomitable tenacity and unparalleled strength of will.

Words fall short as we mourn the loss of a teacher, guide, mentor, friend, philosopher and fine human being. – RTN. DR. PRIYANKA DOCTOR

Yesterday, a stalwart who rendered yeoman service to the poor and sick passed away. Dr. Rahim Muljiani, Trustee RCB and Chairman Emeritus Talwada was a selfless and dedicated doctor who spent a vast majority of his life operating on eye patients at the Talwada Medical Center in Dahanu. It is his passion and ceaseless fundraising that enabled the PRVEC Eye Center formerly HTEC, to provide free surgeries and care to thousands of Adivasis and farmers in the Dahanu area. Along with his right-hand Dr. Rumi Jehangir, they made this clinic a Mecca for those who had lost their sight. To give the gift of sight is the greatest gift of all and Rahim uncle did this for decades.

In this day and age, where will you find a doctor who at the cost of his own private practise travels every week to Dahanu to help the poor. His work set a benchmark for our Club and Talwada, over a course of 35 years became a Kohinoor project for the Rotary Club of Bombay. On these firm and reliable shoulders grew the stature of a Club whose social service is unrivalled in the country.

Rahim uncle was a friend of my father Late Ajit Deshpande who, like him, was a former President of RCB and I have grown up an admiring bystander of his service. I can never forget all those outings to Mahabaleshwar with his family when we were kids and I shall miss Rahim uncle’s warmth and hospitality.

He was always there to greet us when we went to do our recce of the Ajit Deshpande Medical Center adjacent to his eye clinic in Dahanu. He would hold my hand and say, ‘Come, Tara, let me show you around.’ Then he would reminisce about dad.

Always he would make an effort to have hot poha and tea ready for all of us and insist we ate before we left. I can’t imagine Talwada without him and not seeing him smiling by the gate of the eye clinic waiting for the RCB contingent to arrive. We were blessed to learn from your commitment and passion. And we are poorer today for your passing. Take care of our Club, Rahim uncle, and give us guidance from above to carry on your work. Sincere condolences to Fouzia aunty and Humza from all of us, Leela Deshpande, Pia Deshpande-Desai. Inna lillahi wa inna ilayi raji’un – RTN. TARA DESHPANDE

With the passing away of Late Dr. Rahim Muljiani, Rotary has lost a legend in the service of humanity. He was the Founder Member of our Eye Centre at Talwada who, along with Dr. Rumi Jehangir, carried out thousands of eye surgeries since inception.

Come hail, come storm, both the doctors religiously went to Talwada on weekends and conducted surgeries unless they were out of town. Dr. Rahim motivated other younger surgeons to take up the challenge and had made Talwada almost cataract-free. I have been associated with him ever since Rumi introduced me to RCB. I always looked up to him for guidance and advice. Talwada had been his brainchild and he was extremely passionate about it till the end. Rotary and Talwada will sorely miss him. May his soul rest in eternal peace! – RTN. ARIN MASTER

ONE-MAN ARMY

Such was Dr. Rahim Muljiani’s committment that, in the beginning, when there were no lights in Talwada, they operated with torches. Rtn. Hansa Dalal holds the torch for Dr. Muljiani in the sepia photo to the left. The photo on the right is of more recent times with the latest equipment

While there are many who supported the Eye Centre at Talwada and made it a success, it is equally true that they did so because they were rallying behind their mentor, teacher and inspiration – Dr. Rahim Muljiani. It was never easy for anyone to follow in his footsteps especially since everything he did for Talwada was at a whirlwind pace. This, he did in spite of juggling all kinds of other commitments. In fact, the story told by Rtn. Narain Chhabria and mentioned in the Gateway Bulletin of December 11, 2001, is that Dr. Rahim Muljiani was once invited to lunch at Raj Bhavan by the then Governor of Maharashtra. The date coincided with a visit Dr. Muljiani had planned to Talwada. So, of course, there was no question of him going for lunch; he went to Talwada instead.

Rtn. Chhabria went on to acknowledge Dr. Muljiani’s association with several drug firms to develop new eye medication.

On another occasion, in the annual report brought out on the occasion of the Golden Jubilee of the Rotary Club of Bombay, the then President Dr. B. N. Colabawalla wrote: “This is verily a permanent memorial to this Club and all applause should be directed towards PP Dr. Kanti Sangani and Rtn. Dr. Rahim Muljiani for their sustained efforts.”

In the Gateway Bulletin of April 4, 2017, then President Dr. Mukesh Batra paid fulsome compliments to Dr. Muljiani and his team for what they have managed to achieve. He wrote, “The RCB project of Talwada will therefore remain one of the finest projects of the club that has given over a million people the gift of health, made every Rotarian involved in it extremely proud and has established an eternal faithful relationship between Rotarians and the villagers of Talwada… the seed that was sown by just one man with a simple aim of providing basic healthcare to the needy has blossomed into a full-fledged rural transformation project.”

In fact, Dr. Muljiani’s career has been illustrious, right from his early associations with Jaslok Hospital and Research Centre and also Conwest Jain Clinic Group of Hospitals. The number of awards and recognitions received by him are too numerable to recount. And yet there are some he takes great personal pride in.

He was awarded the Dr. V. K. Chitnis oration at the VIII Maharashtra Ophthalmological Society Conference in October 1988 for community ophthalmology. He was awarded the Late Dr. S. D. Athavale Award oration award for community ophthalmology at the 15th Maharashtra Ophthalmological Conference in 1995. He has been member of the Royal College of Opthalmology (1976-1988), member of Oxford Ophthalmological Congress 1987, and many more. He has been member of and held positions at: Bombay Ophthalmologists Association, Mumbai, Maharashtra Ophthalmological Society. Amerian Academy of Opthalmologists and also the All India Ophthalmological Society. The Maharashtra Ophthalmological Society gave him a lifetime achievement award in 2014.

In addition, he has attended conferences around the world, organised seminars, held clinical trials and aided in the development of new drugs in eye care. He does this all without missing a beat and that is why he is legendary. No one who sees him turns away without a fond hung. This is a man who has given his all and done it with great honesty and sincerity. His enthusiasm is a light that inspires everyone who comes in contact with him.

(Reproduced from RCB’s booklet celebrating Talwada’s 40th year)