Winning Stroke: Interview with Dr.Muffazal Lakdawala, Founder and Chief Surgeon - Digestive Health Institute

If not in the current Profession, you would be?

A professional cricketer. I had played cricket for the U-19s at the national level but I was always keen on serving the society at large and hence, that brought me to the field of medicine.

One tune you always hum?

I don’t have a particular tune in mind but I usually hum old Hindi classics by Kishore Kumar, Gulzar etc.

One Book to read when you want to motivate yourselves?

Life Without Limits by Nick Vujicic. It’s incredibly inspiring what he has achieved considering the difficulties he has faced. The best part about the book is that he motivates you to do more and go that extra mile in life.

One Dialogue of a movie that motivates you or you like the most?

My son, Kiaan, usually mimics dialogues from Salman Khan or Shah Rukh Khan movies and even as a child he used to always say, ‘Don ko pakadna muskhil hi nahi, namumkin hai’ before running away and making me catch him.

The Place you never been to and always want to go?

Galapagos Island which is a part of Ecuador. The pristine blue water and the tropical setting makes for a great vacation spot. They also have wonderful marine life and wildlife photography being a hobby, I would love to click a few pictures of   them.

An animal that signifies you & why?

Tiger: I’ve seen one in the wild and I was just mesmerized by it. The tiger

shows no fear and will try to overcome any obstacle in its way.

A Movie Character you most resemble or resonate with?

I don’t think I resemble any movie character but my son, Kiaan and I, keep enacting scenes from Bollywood and Hollywood movies. Recently, he’s been calling himself Spiderman and enacting the web-slinging moments from the movie while I am Ironman according to him. Guess, that comes from the recent Spiderman movie where Ironman is his mentor/role model.

Choose one from each below:
a) Marvel or DC
Marvel – Mostly because my son is obsessed with Spiderman and
Ironman recently.
b) Batman or Superman
Batman – Mostly because he does good work and always plays by the
rules, something I see in myself.
c) Tom or Jerry
Jerry – He’s always one step ahead of Tom, no matter what obstacle
Tom puts in his way.
d) Chacha Chaudhary or Super Commando Dhruv
Chacha Chaudhary – I used to read each and every comic of Chacha
Chaudhary when I was younger.
If your life was to be turned into a movie who would you like to play
your part?
Hrithik Roshan – He is a very close friend of mine and I’m sure he would be
ready to play me
Luck or Hard Work, what do you think weighs more in defining a
successful Person?
Hard work is the main ingredient for success. Without that, it’s very
difficult to achieve any goal you set for yourself. One needs to be motivated
enough and push themselves to achieve their objective. Luck is usually an
external factor that may or may not be an obstacle in your path to success.
One best decision you ever made?
Taking up medicine as my profession. I enjoy every day of my life as I know I
am helping other people live a healthier, happier life.
A strategy that you always use to take your decisions in Personal or
Professional life?
As I said, I love to help people and my decisions are purely to spread
happiness in the other person’s life, whether it’s personal or professional.
Whose advise you seek when in dilemma?

My wife, Priyanka. She has always guided in me making better decisions.
From work right up to personal fashion, she is the one who gives the best
advice.
What has been your biggest achievement?
Starting my own clinic, Digestive Health Institute, way back in 2005. For
over 13 years, my team and I have been helping overweight and obese
people get a second chance at life and this is the biggest achievement in my
books.
One thing that you want to change in yourself?
As a doctor, most of my time is dedicated to the well-being of my patients.
However, I really wish I had more time that I could dedicate to my family
especially my son, Kiaan.

A line said by your closed one that you never forget?
My wife had sent me a quote by the poet, Rumi, on WhatsApp and it was
one of the best quotes I have ever read: “Absorbed in this world, you’ve
made it your burden. Rise above this world. There is another vision.”