Rajesh Kumar Behera
Even in times of selfishness and intense communal divide, there exist a few Good Samaritans, who rise above their personal wants to serve the needy and deprived. Mir Khalilullah, a 66-year-old inhabitant of Fakirabad village in Kendrapara, is an illustrious example of such rare persona.
For over three decades now, Mir has been gratuitous service to the needy patients in his region. He not only takes the helpless patients to the SCB Medical College and Hospital in nearby Cuttack for treatment, but also bears their entire medical expenses.
A religiously-inclined man, Mir considers “serving mankind as serving Allah”. Irrespective of a patient’s religious and communal background, this devout Muslim is always at the service of the needy as soon as he receives a call or someone informs him about a case. What is more, he even foregoes his as well his family’s needs to attend to the patients’ cause.
Talking to Orissa POST, Mir said years back, he often visited the SCB Medical College and Hospital during the course of his daughter’s treatment there. During such visits, he was extremely pained and disturbed at the plights of patients suffering due to lack of proper medical attention. At the same time, he was shocked to see how the uninformed and poor patients as well as their family members were harassed by the hospital staff and brokers.
Incidentally, Mir Khalilullah too has been a victim of such callous apathy.
Recalling his woes, this Good Samaritan says, “When my two-year-old daughter Shei Sona was ill, I took her to a doctor in Kendrapara Hospital, who referred her to the SCB Medical College and Hospital, where I faced lots of problems, as I was new to the place.”
During such visits to the hospital, Mir discovered that several poor and ignorant patients were neglected by the staff, while brokers exploited them mercilessly.
This moved him so much that he instantly decided to devote his life for such patients, especially who came from Cuttack in critical conditions. “Since 1979, I have been providing such patients care and help to ensure that they get the right treatment without any hassle,” publicity-shy Mir said.
Henceforth, it became a routine in his life, and during the last 38 years, Mir has been active in providing physical and pecuniary aid to over 4,000 patients requiring treatment at the SCB Medical College and Hospital or in any Cuttack-based nursing home! This aside, Mir has donated blood as many as 56 times to save the lives of critical patients.
Mir has been providing selfless not only to the patients, but also their relatives, especially those visiting the SCB Medical College and Hospital from far-flung regions of the state. He often arranged and bore the expenses of their food and stays in Cuttack. There have been occasions when he spent his entire money for benevolence and remained empty stomach himself.
According to Yasir Arfat, eldest son of Mir Khalilullah, his father is always ready to serve the patients. “If a patient’s relative comes for help even when he is in namaaz or deep asleep, my father leaves everything and accompanies them to Cuttack right away,” Arfat disclosed.
Reminiscing a particular incident, Arfat said, “Two years back, my father had accompanied a patient to the SCB Medical College and Hospital to arrange the necessary facilities, but he fell ill on the way. Despite our request to return home, my father continued with his mission to help the ailing, being severely ill himself. Later, he had to undergo treatment and remain confined to the bed for four days.”
Mir’s dedication was, however, not always approved by his family members. In fact, his wife Saijad Biwi, who passed away in 2006, did not approve of his ‘service’ at the cost of his family and business. She was keen that he spent more time to look after his flour mill – the only source of income for the family of 11.
A major fight broke out between Mir and Saijad Biwi when the latter was admitted to a hospital in Kendrapara for the delivery of their sixth child. Ignoring the needs of his wife, Mir was busy helping a trauma patient in a nursing home in Cuttack.
Notwithstanding his wife’s displeasure, Mir is held in high esteem by others, especially those he served. Pravakar Behra, a resident of Sandeshpur, says, “Khalil chacha is a messiah for me. Had he not accompanied to SCB Medical College and Hospital and asked Dr. Mrutyunjaya Behera and Dr. Hrudananda Mishra to attend on me, I would not have survived a severe cardiac arrest.”
Even the medicos are full of praise for Mir. While Dr. Brahmananda Das describes him as a man with a “good heart,” Pratap Kumar Mishra, Administrative Officer at SCB Medical College and Hospital, says, “Khalilullah has played a vital role in making it possible for the poor patients to avail benefits under the Orissa State Treatment Fund.
On his part, Mir says, “I get immense pleasure by helping the needy patients. I curtail on unnecessary expenditure to help people, bringing smiles on their faces. It gives me a sense of satisfaction.”
Mir’s dedication and work has not gone unnoticed. Recognising his selfless service at the Cuttack-based Acharya Harihar Cancer Hospital, the Orissa Cancer Foundation felicitated the Good Samaritan on the occasion of the World Cancer Day in 2015. He has also been honoured by the Biplabi Ananda Chndra Jena Smruti Committee on the foundation day of Kendrapara Municipality.
Such love and honour have only inspired Mir to work harder and more dedicatedly. “I will continue to serve the people till my last breath,” he says. PNN
