Sulabha V. Hardikar

At a very young age, Sulabha knew she wanted to be a doctor. She also wanted to be financially independent before marrying, and she resisted all family and societal pressures to marry before accomplishing these goals.

Sulabha joined Topiwala National Medical College (TNMC) in Bombay on loans and scholarships. She had no money for textbooks or transportation, but she did have sheer determination, and medicine was her passion.

Sulabha graduated from TNMC in 1954. Sadly, both her parents did not live to see their young daughter’s incredible accomplishment. In 1955, she married Vasant Hardikar who was also a physician. They started their life together as the only doctors in a government medical clinic in Hingoli in rural Maharashtra, India. In somewhat primitive surroundings – with no running water, no electricity and no blood supplies – this young physician couple dealt with a cholera outbreak, did their first C-section with the patient under local anesthesia, and hand-administered IVs using boiled syringes.

In 1957, after responding to a “Physician Couple Wanted” advertisement, Sulabha and Vasant borrowed money from a relative and sailed across the Indian Ocean to Mombasa, Kenya. From 1957 to 1965, they ran the Visa Oshwal Community Outpatient Clinic and Maternity Home in Mombasa, where they learned to speak fluent Kiswahili.

In 1965, the Hardikar family moved to Kampala, Uganda, where Sulabha worked as a physician in the City Council health clinics. In 1972, when the dictator, Idi Amin, arrived, the family moved to Dar-es-Salaam, Tanzania, where she worked for the University Student Health Center.

Sulabha and her family moved to London, England in 1974. She worked as a Community Medical Officer, dealing mainly in developmental pediatrics and some general practice, and also obtained her Diploma in Public Health.

In 1980, Sulabha moved to Houston, Texas. From 1981 to 2000, until she retired at age 74, Sulabha was the Chief of Family Health Services for the City of Houston Health Department.

In 2000, after retiring, Sulabha and Vasant moved to Sugar Land. Sadly, Sulabha’s husband, Vasant passed away in June 2009. However, she continued to live her life in a way that would have made him proud. With her pioneering spirit, determination, zest for life, generous philanthropy and significant accomplishments despite very humble beginnings, Sulabha Hardikar was and continues to be an inspiration to her family and friends.

Sulabha passed away on April 29, 2015 in Sugar Land, Texas. She is survived by her daughters, Chinnu, Shree and Sona, her sons-in-law, Cyrus Meher-Homji and Michael Brandl, her beloved grandchildren, Ari and Anissa Meher-Homji and Sameera Nath, and many, many friends and relatives all over the world.

A remembrance service and visitation with the family will be held on Monday, May 4, 2015 from 5:00-7:00 p.m. at Garden Oaks Funeral Home & Crematory, 13430 Bellaire Blvd., Houston, Texas 77083. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that memorial contributions in Sulabha’s name be directed to a charity of your choice.