By IANS
London : Mahendra Prasad Jaiswal, a respected general practitioner and a fitness fanatic from Manchester, died of heart attack last week while on a flight to India.
Jaiswal, 62, suffered a heart attack above Iran while flying from Manchester to New Delhi. The Qatar Airways flight made an emergency landing in Tehran in an attempt to get Jaiswal emergency aid, but he had already died.
Reports from Manchester say that Jaiswal was on his way to a niece’s wedding in Varanasi, when he fell ill. He was due to give away the bride and was said to be “very excited” at the prospect.
Jaiswal, who ran his medical practice for the last 22 years, leaves behind his wife Mariamma, son Sujoy, 29, and daughter Sipra, 27, who is also training to become a GP.
Sujoy, a doctor, said: “My father’s death is a massive shock to us all. He was our world, someone we idolised. It was his inspiration which allowed us to excel at school and university, becoming the people we are today.
“Both my sister and I feel very honoured to have followed him into his noble profession. He was always a supportive father, a role model and someone we will always miss.”
Jaiswal’s wife Mariamma said: “He was a great man – a loving family man.” Daughter-in-law Archana Jaiswal said: “He was very much a man of the community, always thinking of others and doing honourable things for complete strangers. Many of his patients considered him part of their family. He knew them all – their children, their grandchildren.”
Shahnuz Chaudrey, practice manager at the surgery, choked back tears as she said: “We don’t feel like carrying on without Dr Jaiswal – he was such a wonderful man.”
Satya Chatterjee, president of the Overseas Doctors Association (ODA) of which Jaiswal was a member, said: “He was a delightful person, a good doctor and a great neighbour to his friends. He was very popular among both Indian and English people and he never, ever distinguished between them.
“We’ve lost a great friend and a great man. He always helped anybody who came to him.”