A Doctor Turned Artist – Adil Akhtar
‘Ranked as Detroit’s Top Doctor, President Pakistan Association of America & a Globally Recognized Artist –Dr Adil Akhtar, A Success story’
This land boasts of a thousand stories that rose from the dusts and conquered world in one way or the other. From the mediocre of Karachi to the high streets of Michigan, there are stories of Pakistanis that will marvel you with their success; success achieved with undying struggle and determination. Dr Adil Akhtar is one of them.
He coped with life’s economic and social challenges and stands among the top oncologists of United States today. However, it’s not just his fight against cancer that makes him a man with mettle. The Michigan based oncologist is also an artist by passion and has made an equally good name for himself for his art. You walk through art galleries in New York, the Red Dot Miami or La Guardia International Airport, Adil Akhtar’s flawless pieces of art influenced heavily by abstract expressions cannot be missed.
Adil’s struggle began at the tender age of a little above 2 years when his father passed away. His 21-year-old mother moved to her brother-in-law’s residence at the Karachi University residential block where Adil spent most of childhood and youth. He underwent a major surgery at the age of 11 and that’s when the seed of being a doctor was planted in his heart. He later got enrolled at Karachi’s prestigious Dow Medical University and soon after graduation found himself in America completing residency in Hematology and Oncology.
He is his patient’s favorite and is recognized as the most competent doctor by peers. A knowledgeable, sensitive and caring physician, with expertise in fields of oncology, hospice care, palliative and internal medicine, Dr Akhtar is the Chief of Clinical Operations at the Beaumont Health Care System Cancer Center.
Dr. Akhtar was named one of Hour Detroit Magazine’s Top Doctors for two consecutive years in 2010 and 2011. He is president of both the Pakistan Association of America and the Michigan chapter of the Association of Physicians of Pakistani Descent of North America.
In mid 90s Dr Akhtar recognized his passion for art. Through his shift hours at the hospital, he would indulge in reading history of art and culture. It was not later that he picked the brush allowed his creative spirit to ride through the canvass.
Adil has been painting ever since. From charcoal sketches to vibrant murals, he has painted some of the finest pieces of art. Still haunted by the struggles of his childhood, his paintings are a walk through his struggle, through the atrocities of the third world, and the struggle of nations for Islam over years. Adil uses symbolic art to express social evils and vibrancy. Bright colors applied upon the canvas are contrasted with black paint, which he uses to symbolize evil and negativity
He has held successful exhibitions at the Gerald Ford Presidential Museum, ArtExpo New York; The American Airlines Admiral’s Club at LaGuardia Airport in NYC; Lake Placid, Celebration of the Arts and Red Dot Miami.
