As a child, Dr Murad Lala was constantly urged by his father, who was with the Indian Air Force, to climb to the highest point in the world or fly to outer space. Today the senior citizen is proud as his son became the first Indian doctor to scale Mount Everest on May 19. As I enter Dr Lala’s cabin at Hinduja Hospital, where he has been practising since the last 12 years, he greets me warmly, clad in his blue scrubs.

Dr Murad Lala has learnt ski diving, bungee jumping, para sailing and white water rafting in the past. Pic/ Rakesh Karmokar