Dr KM Ismail Hussain, who was popularly known as ‘2-rupee doctor’ succumbed to coronavirus on April 14, reported The Siasat Daily.
Dr Ismail,76, had stopped going to work at his hospital in Kurnool a few weeks ago because of illness. Only after his death it was revealed from his test results that he died of COVID-19. He had been working in a COVID-19 red-zone, reported Siasat’s Rasia Hashmi.
According to his friend Shafath Ahmed Khan, he had always been so accessible and popular, that patients who were used to going to him started queuing up outside his house. He would never refuse to see a patient for any reason. So after a week, out of compulsion, he went back to work at the hospital.
Shafath, who is an advocate based in Hyderabad, claimed that Dr Ismail’s popularity went much beyond the Muslim community of Kurnool. “He also served many Hindu families, including the Jain and Marwari communities in the town. I myself would often go to him all the way from Hyderabad if I had any health issues,” said Shafath.
Dr Ismail was loved by his patients so much so that patients not just from Kurnool, but from nearby districts of neighbouring states, like Gadwal in Telangana and Raichur in Karnataka used to visit him.
The News Minute quoted Abdul Rawoof, an Imam who has been associated with Dr Ismail’s family for nearly 45 years, as saying: “He never cared about money; never saw how much the patients paid. After consulting him, people would give what they could.”
Rawoof added: “Earlier, people would often pay him just two rupees. Even now, during his last days at work, people would leave Rs 10 or 20, or whatever they could afford. Even if someone couldn’t pay, he wouldn’t bother.”
Kalkura Chandrasekhar, a Kurnool-based historian and political observer who was a close friend of Dr Ismail revealed, “There would be a cardboard box in which patients would drop money and take back change on their own. They would drop Rs 10 and take Rs 5, or put in Rs 50 and take back Rs 30. It was completely up to them.”
The Lede quoted Kuradi Chandrasekhara Kalkura, an Udupi Brahmin friend of Dr Ismail, as saying, “Dr Ismail used to say this: My father was a teacher. With his meager salary, he led a life of dignity and honour. He brought us up with abundant love and affection. We inherited his legacy of reputation and transparency. God has given me enough. My son Dr Iqbal Hussain is settled as an Associate Professor at Kurnool Medical College. One son-in-law Imtiaz is an IAS officer and the Collector of Krishna district. Two sons-in-law are also well settled. They do not need my assistance. I studied at the cost of the government. God has been so kind to us all. Why should I demand a consultation fee from the patients? 90% of my patients are BPL.”
Keeping in view his huge popularity in Kurnool, in 1989, NTR offered Dr Ismail an MLA ticket and a berth in the cabinet. But he did not evince interest to enter the electoral fray. He was one of the trusted men of former CM Kotla Vijaya Bhaskar Reddy and equally respected among the TDP and other political circles including the old BJP.
Dr Ismail completed his MBBS and MD from Kurnool Medical College (KMC). He was a faculty member and Superintendent at the teaching hospital, before retiring voluntarily nearly 25 years ago. He also served as the Principal of Dr Abdul Haq Unani Medical College, Kurnool for some time. Then he opened his own nursing home, the KM Hospital, in One Town area.
Dr Ismail is survived by his wife, three daughters and a son, who have tested positive for COVID-19, and are under quarantine.
Had it been an ordinary day, a lakh of people might have thronged the funeral, but sadly, Kurnool’s most popular doctor’s burial was performed in the presence of six family members. He was buried as per the government protocol.