Saad Shaikh, MD

  I took this photo earlier this year in the Brazilian Amazon. One of my favorite things to photograph is sunlight breaking through a dense canopy of foliage, transilluminating the leaves on its path to the forest floor. The colors of the leaves and the play of shadows and light are some of the most beautiful things in nature.   This photo brings me back to a time of innocence, when humans were more like animals and hadn't yet been conditioned by civilization and the social game. I remember watching old home 8mm videos of my family as a child, and one of my earliest recorded memories is of me as a toddler walking over on my own to pick up a leaf and marvel at its beauty and texture.   We lose that innocence when we go to school and learn that we have to compete in society. As a career advisor at the medical school, my students and residents often ask me what kind of life they should live. I tell them to live a good life, but one that is i...

  On my first trip to India in 2018, I took this picture at the Nizamuddin Dargha in Old Delhi. Despite the mystical Sufi music playing in the background and the throngs of people surrounding me, I noticed a woman sitting at the baori (or step well), washing herself with the water. I asked her why she was there, and she told me that the water was holy and that she believed it could help her with her cancer.   A dargah is a mausoleum for a famous holy man. Dargahs are found all over India, and people of all walks of life and religious denominations—Muslim, Hindu, Sikh, and others—come to them with hope, believing that the sites are special and that touching the grave or purifying oneself with the water might lead to healing.   The namesake of this dargah was a very special human being who is still loved in India today. He was known for performing numerous miracles, especially curing the sick. He also insisted on making sure that no one who ca...