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Man with a mission

A wise man and an interesting story to tell. Sapna Dogra profiles the grand old man of pharma, Dr P R Pabrai

A towering personality, an affable countenance, a 'no non-sense' attitude or the 'its my life' style; there are too many run-of-the-mill phrases to describe him, but, Pabrai's name is now associated with Indian pharma. Synonymous with the Indian Pharmacopoeia Commission, he shoulders the responsibility of Vice-Chairman of the scientific body of the Indian Pharmacopoeia Commission created by the Government of India.

The Making of a professional

Born in Jalandhar in 1926, Paramjit Rai Pabrai is the perfect example of a small town boy making it big in the big bad world. He was armed with more than enough to win battles—a strong value system. His father was a staunch Arya Samaj follower and a self-made man, who was the first person to go to college in his village. Pabrai claims that his mother and father had a great influence in shaping his personality. After his early education in Jalandhar, he shifted to Lahore for matriculation at DAV College.

At a tender age of 16, he joined the Banaras Hindu University (BHU) to pursue a course in B'Pharm. He was one of those rare people who knew what they wanted. In times when engineering was considered a goldmine, he realised that he had an aptitude for chemistry and chose pharmacy over engineering. The three-year bachelor degree in pharmacy that he did was incidentally the only B'Pharm course available in the country at that point of time. As his parents were the ones who inculcated in him the trait of individuality, they were supportive of his decision and gave him freedom to pursue his dreams, which did indeed come true.

Not that his way to success was rocky. Pabrai had a whale of a time at BHU, thanks to the erudite faculty and thrust on academics. Reminiscing those good old days, Pabrai talks of one of the best things that happened to him. He met his role model and mentor there —Prof M L Schroff. Schroff was not just a teacher, but a great human being. Influenced by him, Pabrai evolved a moral value system that he stood by through his life.

He finished his Bachelors in Pharmacy with flying colours. He not only stood first in the order of merit but also secured the Aruna Prize. He went in for his Masters in Pharamcy from the same University. After a winning streak in academics, Pabrai went in for teaching in Medical College, Cuttack for a little over three years. In 1950, when he was just about 24 years old, he was invited by his mentor M L Schroff to take up the position of Professor and Head of the Department of Pharmacy at BITS Pilani.

A Rolling Stone...

A wanderer by spirit and not one to compromise with his principles, Pabrai left Pilani due to some difference of opinion with the management. “I couldn't anyway stick to one place for long, anyway. After doing my bit, I like to move on,” he avers.

So in 1953, Pabrai joined AFMC, Pune on a teaching-cum-research assignment. Here, he availed of the opportunity to do research work under the renowned scientist, K Venkataraman at the National Chemical Laboratory (NCL), Pune, that earned him a PhD from BHU. Later, Pabrai shifted focus to research activities in the DRDO. He was very happy there. But like all good things that come to an end, his stint at AFMC also ended in 1963 and he joined Ministry of Defence as a senior Grade 1 scientific officer at Kanpur pharmacy wing. He set up the Gwalior pharmacy wing, when it was shifted from Kanpur to Gwalior.

After serving his country, he set foot abroad. Pabrai went to USA as a Senior Fulbright Scholar (1971-72) on an invitation from the University of Oklahoma to work on development of potential pharmacologically active compounds from marine invertebrates. After a year-and-a-half, he got restless and his patriotic self goaded him to come back to his motherland.

Gathers moss

It was time for the rolling stone to give it a rest. Pabrai decided to change the course of his activities and joined the Central Indian Pharmacopoeia Laboratory (CIPL) under the Ministry of Health as its Director. During his directorship, the laboratory acquired a reputation for quality work. He developed close liaisons with WHO by developing basic tests for pharmaceutical substances and dosage forms, and as a GMP and QA inspector for WHO.

For a man who stops nowhere, his formal retirement as the Director of CIPL did not mark the end of his service to the pharma world. Pabrai associated himself with Ranbaxy Laboratories initially as a Consultant-cum-Technical Auditor in Quality Assurancea position, which he carried on two years. He was later appointed as Head—Corporate Quality Assurance and again as a Consultant.

Awards and Honours

The Indian Drug Manufacturers' Association (IDMA) honoured Dr. Pabrai with the Eminent Pharmaceutica Analyst Award in 2000. The coveted Schroff Memorial National Award for life-time achievement was conferred on him in 2004 for his active association with professional matters especially quality assurance, pharmaceutical education and pharmacopoeial standards.

Current pursuits

He continues to work for the field he loves. Pabrai was recently invited by EPOS Health Consultants (India), a German firm working with UN agencies, to advise them in matters relating to pre-shipment inspection and laboratory testing of drugs and allied issues. He assists various academic institutions including the prestigious National Institute of Pharmaceutical Education & Research (NIPER), Mohali, as invited faculty from time to time. Pabrai is so engaged in his projects, that he has no time for any hobby or interest. His hobby and love is pharma. Although he loves to travel to new places but he doesn't have any favourite because he is a nomad by nature and not restricted to one place.

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