‘An irreparable loss.... Goa has lost its kindest & greatest soul’

GOA: Dr Manjunath Desai, an eminent cardiologist at GMC and one of the brightest stars on the state’s medical firmament, died on Sunday after a brief illness. A hero to thousands of heart patients across the state, he was admired both for his exceptional skills and his humility, and his death plunged Goa into a state of grief.
The first specialist to join the hospital’s cardiology department in 2013, before it was formally commissioned, Desai built up a towering reputation over just a few years, and was known for treating prince and pauper alike with equal dedication and integrity.
After the news of his death broke early on Sunday, Goan social media was turned into a large canvas on which patients, colleagues, politicians and others paid their tributes and posted remembrances. Some recounted how he saved their lives, others how he put them at ease while they were terrified. Some also recalled him as an oasis of zen-like calm amidst the inevitable rush of a large public hospital.
Desai is survived by his wife and son. His last rites were performed at Borim on Sunday after noon.
After completing his MBBS and MD at GMC, Desai worked in the UK for a few years, and also at a private hospital in Bengaluru.
Desai joined GMC after Parrikar unveiled plan for cardiac centre
However, private hospitals didn't suit his temperament, so when former chief minister Manohar Parrikar unveiled his plan to set up a full-fledged cardiology department at GMC, he jumped at the opportunity to serve his state and his people.
He continued this service even through his illness. "Although he was unwell for the past three months, he reported to work as often as he could," said GMC's cardiology head Dr Guruprasad Naik, who was appointed to the department along with Desai. "He was an extremely good doctor, totally devoted to his work and highly compassionate to his patients. He provided full care to whoever came to him. I have never heard him say no to anybody.”
“He groomed our department,” Naik said. “He was a very popular doctor because of his helping nature. His passing away is a great loss to all of us.”
His other GMC colleagues too paid him rich tributes. "I never heard him say he was not on call, he would rush to care for anyone, poor or rich," said Dr Jagadish Kakodkar, head of the hospital's preventive and social medicine department. "He was a legend and a saviour of innumerable lives. Besides being a cardiologist par excellence, even as a person, he was too good. His death is an irreparable loss to GMC and future students. Goa has lost its kindest and greatest soul.”
GMC's head of cardiovascular and thoracic surgery, Dr Shirish Borkar, last met Desai on Saturday. "His going away is a personal loss to me, but Goa has lost a brilliant cardiologist and a great human being. Death snatched him too early.”