A common conundrum: choose the path of higher education, or surrender to the sport you’re passionate about. If you’ve come from rural Charlieville, where your parents toil in the sugar cane industry and the prospects are precarious on the cricket field, you really don’t have much of a choice.
For Maniram Ragbir, who had won a national scholarship while at Presentation College in Chaguanas, it was still a huge decision. When he finished A-levels, he was school captain, and that year, they won the national competition. He knew his family couldn’t afford much, and had applied to do accounts at UWI St Augustine, but the scholarship opened doors, and he was encouraged to teach for a year at Presentation College while he pondered his options. He decided to study medicine, and went off to UWI Mona. He hadn’t given up his cricket; he was actually involved in national trials while he was a junior doctor, but he knew what he had to do.
“Since then, all I have done is medicine and teaching. I really love teaching, so I couldn’t think of anything better that I could do other than teaching medicine.”
Happily, his cricket never suffered.
“Everywhere I’ve been in the UK, I’ve played cricket,” he says, reflecting that he has probably played more cricket as a doctor, than he would have had it been his professional career.
As tempting as it is to turn this into a cricket tale, it really is more the story of a man who took a leap – as many of his generation did – to travel into the unknown, determined to work hard, to excel, and to pass on his knowledge in the hope of encouraging others to do the same.
As he turns 60 in November, he has become a globally respected doctor, specialising in plastic surgery, specifically the reconstructive arm, which treats people affected by accidents, burns; congenital conditions such as cleft lip and palate; and head, neck and sarcoma reconstruction surgery.
He is the current president of the British Association of Plastic, Reconstructive and Aesthetic Surgeons (an ethnic first for BAPRAS), and in 2018, chaired the Specialist Advisory Committee for UK plastic surgery, and was responsible for the national selection for its training.
A look at his qualifications and his track record makes it surprising that his public profile in the land of his birth is negligible outside of the medical profession. Fortunately, his credentials were presented to The UWI, and there was no hesitation about conferring him with the Doctor of Science, honoris causa, on October 26, 2024.
Apart from his impressive surgical skills and extensive training, The UWI recognised him for developing its postgraduate plastic surgery programme and his mentorship. His alma mater also noted that he “conducts humanitarian missions, providing free reconstructive surgeries in countries like Guyana, Tanzania, and India,” and that “he is the Clinical Lead for the North of England Bone and Soft Tissue Tumour Service and is dedicated to training future surgeons”.
That dedication is real.
Although he’s lived in the UK for decades – he has been a consultant plastic surgeon at the Newcastle upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust since 2006 – he has regularly returned to Trinidad to conduct training sessions.
From October 23 to 26, a regional plastic surgery conference called CAPRAS was held in Jamaica, which he organised as head of BAPRAS. It was managed by Dr Rajeev Venugopal, a plastic surgeon as well at The UWI Mona campus. When we spoke, it had not yet happened, but Dr Ragbir said the intention was to try “to build up reconstructive surgery in the Caribbean. We’re hoping to show people what can be done.” (He had to miss part of it to attend the graduation ceremony at St Augustine.)
This sense of community is at the core of his lifestyle. “Nobody gets where they are alone,” he says. While hard work is important, support from your community – however you define it – is vital.
His personal community includes his immediate family. His Welsh wife, Midwife and Burn Specialist Nurse Belinda, runs a service called Camouflage, which helps people to recover mentally and physically. It is not difficult to imagine what a powerful bond it is between them. They have two children whose names represent their parents’ culture. Amba, the elder at 25, was named for a version of the Hindu goddess Parvati, but her middle name is Rhiannon, reflecting her Welsh heritage. Eashan (22) reflects Shiva, and his middle name is Owain.
While it has been difficult for Mani (as he prefers to be called) to maintain the Hindu lifestyle the way he had in Trinidad, he has not let go of his homeland’s culture. In an online interview with the PMFA Journal, he was asked to name one book or paper he would recommend for every plastic surgeon to read. His answer? “The Multi-Cultural Cuisine of Trinidad & Tobago & the Caribbean: Naparima Girls’ High School Cookbook.” What better example of his commitment to culture and community?
When we had spoken about his emphasis on mentoring, he had talked about how his Trinidadian upbringing, family, and community contributed to that, citing Professor Vijay Naraynsingh and Dr Terry Ali as two people whose work inspired him. Hard work, too.
“Hard work doesn’t have to equate with sadness. You can actually work hard and enjoy what you’re doing. You don’t always need someone to teach you; you need someone to inspire you.”
Asked what this UWI honour means to him, he says, “A lot more than you might think. It’s all well and good to get recognition all over the world, but to have it from your own people... if you believe in family, these are the people you want to be proud of you. It means more to me to be recognised by UWI than any other university.”
