Umedram Lalbhai Desai

Rao Sahib Umedram Lalbhai Desai (1868-1930) was a medical doctor in India during the time of the British Raj. His medical qualifications included LRCP and LRCS (Edinburgh), LM and LFPS (Glasgow) 1894, MD (Brussels) 1895, MB Chb (University College, London and Owens College) 1895, MD (Victoria) 1900. He was the inventor of Screw Bone Perforator and instruments for Wiring Fractured Bones (Patented). ¹ He was also the author of several publications:

Vedantic Philosophy (1890)
Mysteries of the Himalayas (1890)
Plague in India (1890)
Key to the Machinery of Man (1890)
Races in Western India (1891) ²
Anti-Venene as an Efficacious Remedy Against the Venom of Poisonous Snakes (1900) ¹

Early Years

Dr. Umedram Lalbhai Desai was born in Vyara, Valod, in Surat district in the Indian state of Gujarat, India on 16 November, 1869. He was the only son of Lalbhai Desai and Ankar Bai. Lalbhai Desai was a Gujarati Brahmin and a landowner (Zamindar) who owned vast amounts of land in Valod. At the age of 17, Dr. Desai married Diwali Bai, a simple and uneducated woman from Vyara. Their marriage was arranged by their parents at an early age.

Education in Britain

Dr, Desai was sent to England by Sir Sayaji Rao III Gaekwad, Maharaja of Baroda, to pursue his education in Medicine. In 1892, at the age of 23, he entered Victoria University Owens College in Manchester, England.

In 1894, at the age of 25, Dr. Desai attained his Triple Qualification which was the “most thorough basic qualification a British doctor could have”. He obtained the following diplomas¹:

Licentiate of the Faculty of Physicians and Surgeons (LFPS) of Glasgow
Licentiate of the Royal College of Physicians diploma (LRCP) of Edinburgh
Licentiate of the Royal College of Surgeons (LRCS) of Edinburgh

In 1895 he completed his Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery (MB Chb ) degrees from Owens College.

Surgeon-in-Charge of His Highness’s Armies and Imperial Service Troops in South Africa

As part of his 3-5 year hospital experience required for his medical degree, Dr. Desai worked at the Welsh Military Hospital in Springfontein, South Africa. During this time, he also became a member of the Royal Army Medical Corp (RAMC) and the "Surgeon-in-Charge of His Highness’s Armies and Imperial Service Troops¹.

In 1900, Dr. Desai completed his medical thesis “Antivenene as an efficacious remedy against the venom of poisonous snakes M.D. Thesis” in Cape Colony, Queenstown, South Africa¹.

Medical Practice in Fort Area and Mazagoan, Bombay

After being abroad for 10 years, Dr. Desai returned to India as a doctor in 1901. His title was Mb Chb, LFPS, LRCP, and LRCS. Dr. Desai did not live long in Vyara with Diwali Bai. He left her and moved to Sagar Palace, Walkeshwar¹, Bombay to practice medicine. In Bombay he practiced medicine in the Fort area. His institution cum dispensary: ‘Medico-Electric’ was in the Fort area with a branch in Mazagaon near Byculla. He used to commute from his residence at Walkeshwar.³ See the article below ⁴for details of Medico-Electric equipment.

At the age of 36, he married Satyabala Devi (born 1892) – daughter of a Zamindar from Bihar and a child widow. She was 13 years old and a child widow. She was a fine veena and violin player and had learnt music since her childhood. She had also learned several languages, including English.

Experiment With Music Therapy

In 1906 after the death of his father, Dr. Desai inherited a lot of property in Vallod near Surat. He and his wife Satyabala Devi moved to Surat and settled there. He set up practice there and also opened a dispensary for the poor. He also started to experiment with music therapy as a treatment for his mental patients.

“Along with medical treatment, he began to experiment with the ‘Music Therapy’ with the help of his musician wife. Soon the news spread around and sent an invitation to the couple for the treatment. Reva Naresh was impressed with this novel therapy and he decided to send Dr. and Mrs. Desai to America. He sponsored the tour and also arranged for the recordings of Veena recitals. Satyabala Devi ‘s veena recitals were wonderful and effective. ...Dr. Desai and Satyabala Devi stayed in America for three years [1910-13] and presented lecture/demonstrations. ” [1]

State Surgeon/Personal Physician to the Nawab of Rampur

After he returned to India from the United States, Dr Desai became the State Surgeon for the states of Rampur, Rohilkund, Uttar Pradesh, Agra and Oudh. He was also the personal physician to His Highness the Nawab of in Uttar Pradesh. ¹.

Dr. Desai lived in the Palace grounds with Satyabala Devi wife and his five children. He hired a governess, Guno Bati Mitter, to educate his children. Guno Bati’s brother Ridhoyranjan Mitter, the sub-editor of the Stateman newspaper in Calcutta, arranged for Gunobati to work as a governess in Dr. Desai’s household. The circumstances of the marriage are not known except that Dr. Desai left Satyabala Devi to marry Gunobati. He was 45 and she was 27 years old. They got married at the Registry Office in Rampur. Gunobati was an educated Christian lady with very high moral values. She was very educated for a woman of her time. She had completed her Intermediate Arts (IA) from the St. John's Diocesan Girls' Higher Secondary School in Calcutta, India.

Dr. Desai and Gunobati moved to Dehradun.

Appointed Chief Medical Officer and Sanitary Commissioner

He was appointed Chief Medical Officer and sanitary commissioner in Sachin State in 1919¹. He lived in the grounds of the East India Company factory in Surat.

Mental, Nervous, and Epilepsy Specialist in Umrath

In 1924 Dr. Desai moved from Surat to Umrath where the Maharaja of Baroda had several houses by the sea. He ran a mental asylum called the Sea-Side Home for Mental and Nervous cases. His title was Mental, Nervous, and Epilepsy Specialist. Umrath was a very isolated place on the Arabian sea.

While he was in Umrath, Dr. Desai had a room at the Taj Mahal Palace & Tower in Bombay where he visited his patients once a month.

The Taj Mahal hotel was built in 1903 by Mr. Tata who wanted a hotel for the upper-class Indians. “From Maharajas and Princes to various kings, Presidents, CEOs and entertainers, the Taj played the perfect host, supportive of their needs”.

Medical Practice in Colaba, Bombay

In 1928, Dr Desai and his family moved to Bombay where they lived in Grants Building, Arthur Bunder Road, Colaba, Mumbai.

Final Days

In August 1930, Dr. Desai was hospitalized for about a month at the King Edward Memorial (K.E. M.) hospital in Acharya Donde Marg, Parel, Bombay. He had a carbuncle on his back which they had operated on 4 times. He was also diabetic and overweight.

Dr. Desai died at home on Thursday, September 30, 1930 at 2:00 p.m. at the age of 59. He left behind the following family members:

His first wife Diwali Bai and 2 sons - Ganda Bhai and Champak Lal
His second wife Satyabala Devi and 4 children - Shanti, Suprakash, Leela, and Monica
His third wife Gunobati and 6 children - Kamala, Ramola, Victor, Dolly, Sarla (Noni) and Rajender

His daughter Leela Desai became the famous Indian actress of the 1940s and 50s and his daughter Shanti married the nephew of Sir Robindranath Tagore.

Source

¹ 1904 British Medical Directory, Practioners Resident Abroad
² http://www.austheos.org.au/indices/ODPUSA.HTM
³ Gramaphone Celebrities 12 - http://www.kananda.com/SIRC_Record_News.htm
⁴ http://books.google.com/books?id=ho4DAAAAQAAJ&dq=%22medico+electric%22&printsec=frontcover&source=web&ots=eEsf9Vk18r&sig=FLUujEdhh7HMwi1N8Fxbzmn4LEw

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