Kolkata: One of the city’s oldest surviving doctors, renowned cardiologist and Padma Shri awardee Mani Chettri, who practised till he was 100 years old, died late on Sunday. He was 106. Chettri, a former director of health services, was attached to several state and private hospitals during an illustrious career which spanned eight decades. For years, he was the trusted physician of several eminent Kolkatans, including former chief minister Jyoti Basu whom he treated him for several years.Born in 1920 and educated in Darjeeling and Kolkata, Chettri did his MBBS from Calcutta Medical College and went on to do an FRCS from London. Soon, he came to be regarded as one of the leading cardiologists in Kolkata where he began practising in the 1940s. He is considered to be a pioneer in the advancements of cardiology as well as endocrinology.Chettri was a medical director of AMRI Hospital when 90 patients died in a fire.Never allowing age to slow him down, Chettri would say his genes were responsible for him going strong even as a centenarian. The secret behind a long and active life, Chettri would tell his patients, was to follow a regular and healthy routine.“He was fit and alert and led an active life almost till the end. While he was very appreciative of today’s doctors who, according to him work under a lot more pressure, he was pained by the incidents of assault on doctors in recent years,” said a cardiologist who worked under Chettri.
