A Tribute for Yusuf K. Dawood
“I have marked your compositions and they are all too cliché. Some of you are even starting with the old tired line. “I woke up in the morning and the birds were singing sweet melodious songs….” Mr. Ongisa mentioned looking surprised and disappointed. This was the first time he was marking our compositions for our class.
The class was somewhat surprised since this was how we knew best in our writing.” How should we start the essay?” Sammy Bosire, my desk mate, asked after raising his hand. How many of you read the Surgeon’s diary on the Sunday Nation? No single hand was raised except everyone looking surprised and mumbling Surgeon… diary…After a long pause, he placed his chalk on the board and excused himself to head to his office. Whenever a teacher excused themselves during a lesson, it meant two things. Either they were going to call for reinforcements of teachers to help with the caning. Or if they were energetic enough to bring the caning sticks and handle the class caning all by themselves. The class was anxious, hoping he had not gone to come with caning sticks. In my mind, I was like, nah, Mr. Ongisa meant well for us and he wanted us to learn.
After a couple of minutes, he came back holding the Sunday Nation. He opened the paper and read a passage. “Brenda had just landed from the airport, and when I saw her, she started crying. Brenda was born and raised in South Africa……”. He read the passage while explaining and engaging us.
That English lesson was a game changer for all of us in our writing. That is how I was introduced to Surgeon’s Diary. After that, I was hooked and became an avid reader of the Surgeon’s Diary. Overtime from reading his articles, I learned a lot about his style and writing delivery.
Dr. Yusuf K. Dawood hold up … take two, Dr. Yusuf Kodwavwala Dawood (I have always wondered what k. Stands for) passed on late last month, aged 94. Out of which, now 41 years, he has been writing the Surgeon’s Diary for Sunday Nation. That is such a long long time. In one of his interviews, Dr. Dawood told an interviewer that he had four wives: surgery, Rotary, writing and Marie Dawood. These were his lifetime commitments.
Mr. Ongisa and the Surgeon’s diary articles have inspired my writing. Thank you Dr. Yusuf k. Dawood for Gracing our Sunday’s with your column of the Surgeon’s diary.
Have you been reading Surgeon’s Diary? What is your memorable article?