Many of you know that a stalwart of Pharmacology Teachers has left us after having a short illness due to COVID-19. The news is surprising and astounding. Since he was so actively engaged in all the academic activities of medical sciences, intimately and enthusiastically. You would naturally think he could not leave us so suddenly. I have been associated with him for more than 45 years and had a minor role in bringing him as a Teacher in Pharmacology at the University College of Medical Sciences, Delhi where he grew under the patronage of Dr. JS Bapna and reached the position of Professor and Head of the Department of Pharmacology.

Pharmacology is not an easy subject to teach. He worked with me for a couple of years at Alfatah University, Tripoli, Libya. Very few would know that KK Sharma was a refined, enthusiastic, ambitious, voracious and passionate teacher, who had an extra appetite to teach the difficult areas of the discipline both to undergraduates and postgraduates. I have not known any other person of that caliber. He was a research scientist of a very high order working on “Central and peripheral interaction of opioid and NMDA receptors in neuropathetic inflammatory pain, and their role in antinociception from stimulators of periaqueductal gray in male rats.”; “Effect of some herbal drugs on experimental models of ischemia”; “Role of glutamate receptors in schizophrenia.” and “Role of free radicals on functional changes in cardiovascular regulatory mechanisms on mercury exposure in rats (in vivo).” His associates were N. Khanna, P. Kumari and P.K. Mediratta. He was elected as President, Society of Pharmacovigilence (India) 2008-2009 and also President of the Indian Society for Rational Pharmacotherapeutics, 2008-2010. He was co-author of a text book of Pharmacology namely “Principles of Pharmacology” in 2012.

India had contributed an institute of the stature of the AIIMS, Delhi in Nepal and Dr. KK Sharma was deputed as Professor of this BP Koirala Institute of Health Sciences, Dharan (Nepal) from 2003 to 2005 for starting the Department of Pharmacology of this institute. At the time of the Inaugural Ceremony of the Institute in 2005, he and Dr. Shridhar Dwivedi organized a conference on Atherosclerosis and invited me to inaugurate it which I enjoyed immensely.

After retirement from UCMS, he almost worked full time as an Advisor of the National Academy of Medical Sciences, New Delhi and to a large extent was responsible for the upgrading of the “Annals” published by the NAMS.

He was a simple and extremely honest friend, whose opinion was frank, unfeigned and undisguised and I was very proud of my association with this kind of human being. My loss is personal and I hope and pray for his soul to rest in peace.

P.C. Dandiya

Ph.D. (Toronto), FAMS FCINP FIPA FIPS.
Distinguished Emeritus Professor
S.M.S. Medical College, Jaipur 302004