After completing his BAMS from the National Institute of Ayurveda and working for some time as an Ayurveda Medical Officer in an NRHM Government Project, Dr. Iqbal is now pursuing MD in Ayurveda. He emphasises the importance of Ayurveda in life.

Dr. Iqbal Mohammed Pathan is an MD Scholar in the ‘Dravyaguna Vigyan Vibhag’  at the Madan Mohan Malviya Government Ayurvedic College & Hospital in Udaipur.

Iqbal belongs to a small village near Baran and completed his school education there itself. He got his BAMS from the National Institute of Ayurveda and continued his practice for some time. Later, he worked as an Ayurveda Medical Officer in the NRHM Government Project. His first posting was in Pali district, and then he was transferred to Tonk. There, he provided his services as an Ayurveda Medical Officer for more than eight years. From there, he came to Jhalawar district, and after being regularised, he has been working as an Ayurveda Medical Officer in the Ayurved department until today. Currently, he is in the final year of an in-service MD course in Ayurveda.

Reflecting on his struggles, Iqbal says he came from a very small village where difficulties were part of life, but he overcame them to enter the field of Ayurveda. He shares an incident that ignited his interest in Ayurveda when a person in his village gave him the Ayurvedic medicine ‘Peet vasa’ to dissolve a thorn stuck in his body.

Dr. Iqbal shares that he is motivated and inspired by his father who taught him that the earth is our mother and that we can get everything from it. His father always possessed an example and used to teach him that it was important to stay connected to the ground. He always kept inspiring and motivating him to move forward in life. Iqbal used to visit ‘Krishi Mandi’ with his father and learned a lot there, which was beneficial for him when he was doing an MBA. He also admires the teaching style of his father.

Speaking about his hardships, Dr. Iqbal says that when he was in tenth grade, he used to walk for eight kilometres to reach school. At that time, despite prosperity, there was a shortage of resources. But he accepted all his struggles as a challenge and was always ready to put in hard work.

He believes that Ayurveda is life, and it consists of two words: Ayu and Ved. One should not consider Ayurveda as separate from their life and just accept that we are living in Ayurveda itself. He says if you connect with Ayurveda and understand it, you will automatically get inspired by Ayurveda.

Dr. Iqbal advises that the youth should adopt the principles of Ayurveda in their lives. He believes that when you yourself are healthy, you can perform your health duties better.