I recently attended the play Oganga! A Tribute to the Life of Albert Schweitzer, written by Dr Farokh E. Udwadia, the celebrated physician. It was ably directed by Sooni Taraporevala and superbly enacted by Jim Sarbh (it was a single-person play-reading).
As explained in the play, Schweitzer was a multifaceted genius and humanist who at an extremely young age held a doctorate in philosophy, a licentiate in theology and was a gifted pianist-organist with a lifelong love for the works of composer Johann Sebastian Bach. He then underwent seven years of training to obtain a medical degree, specifically to go to Africa where he spent 50 years healing the locals under extremely difficult circumstances. His patients named him "Oganga,” which means "healer” or "giver and taker of life.” Schweitzer was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in recognition of a lifetime of selfless work. He lived his life by the motto "Reverence for life.”
Drs Farokh Udwadia (l) and Albert Schweitzer
As one fortunate enough to have known Udwadia from childhood, I can vouch for the fact that he too lives by the credo of "Reverence for life.” He is a physician par excellence, treating his patients not just as mere bodies requiring medical care but as humans requiring healing. He is no less multifaceted than Schweitzer. Apart from being a prolific writer of medical literature, Udwadia has also written books for the layman on varying subjects related to medicine. And now he has written this gripping one-man play. In addition, he has an abiding love for history and poetry. He is also a passionate lover of music and a violinist in his own right.
I feel it would only be fitting that Udwadia be recognized as "The Parsi Albert Schweitzer.”
Dr SORAB J. SIDHVA