Hyderabadi Surgeon; Source: Wikimedia Commons

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Hyderabad was an independent state in 1858. Abdul Husain born on 10th June in the state was a very ardent student and grew up to be a doctor. He began practising in what is today called the "Old City". His journey of ups and downs in life began at the Osmania General Hospital.

His dedication and hard work soon paid off and Husain was promoted to the position of the first Superintendent of the Hospital. There was no stopping him and he soon climbed higher up on the success ladder. This time the task at hand and responsibilities were big.

Husain was a skilled doctor. The Nizam of Hyderabad in those days was Mahbub Ali Khan, Asaf Jah VI. When he heard of this young talented physician, he had one super idea. 

> He called for Abdul Husain and appointed him as the First Royal Surgeon to the Nizam. He was to be the chief physician in the court and advised the ruler on all matters of the body.

Mahbub Ali Khan, however, did not like one thing about the physician - his name! Being the ruler, he just spoke the word and Abdul Husain became Aristotle Yar Jung. He was also honoured and given the title of Maseeh-e-Deccan (Healer of the Deccan) and was to be addressed by all like that.

Jung was exemplary. He stood true to the common phrase - with power comes responsibility. It was not long after that he became a philanthropist and there emerged thousands as his benefactor and admirers. His personality and nature of giving were unmatched.

When the bubonic plague hit the city in the nineteenth century, he dirtied his hands. Rather than staying in the royal court, Arastu (Aristotle) helped treat many of the locals who were affected. He would often invite their entire families to his home, would give them food and shelter, giving out separate quarters to strangers. 

> Arastu Yar Jung would often tell his children, ‘*Gain mastery in whatever you do such that your livelihood searches to find you and not the other way around.*’

He was not the one to say after doing. As a result, many of his contributions remain unknown. He would quote the Quran to justify the discretion. "What the right hand gives, the left hand should not so much as get a hint of." All this to maintain the respect of the person who is being served. He believed in maintaining complete confidentiality of the service being rendered as essential in the etiquette of charity.

Jung was also a proponent of education and financed the education of community members by establishing educational trusts that allowed the youth of the city to pursue higher education. He even encouraged his sons to go for higher education and made efforts to send them to some fancy country like other noblemen.

He made sure that his daughters were married in highly educated families; thus passing down goodwill and values to his children. Indeed, he did not go all the way down the liberal path, but he made a legacy different from others in his time. His children were deeply committed to succeeding in education and contributing to the community, just like their father.

Today, his descendants are spread across the world but they carry the surname 'Arastu' to honour the legacy created by their ancestor. Altogether, they number one thousand and span six generations. How many of them followed in Arastu Yar Jung's stead would be difficult to find out! But the doctor of the Nizam made history by creating ripples in the water.

Named Aristotle of Old Hyderabad, Jung, was a Royal Physician during the day and a philanthropist all the time, serving low-income families as a physician at no cost. 