Ibadah by Ankur Kalra, MD

When love transforms into transcendence, life transforms into servitude.

Through these poems, I have tried to capture the vulnerability of true love and its loss. Don’t let losses hamper your innocence or vulnerability or morph you into an emotionally inert/impenetrable individual; you will rob yourself from enriching your life with abundant love.

Convert your loss into a mission (read again, I used the word "mission," not “goal”—goals are short-term, missions are for life); through the energy and the power of true love and its loss, yearn to catalyze the world into a better place—let your love be legendary.

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One-Year Anniversary Trailer

About the Book

How do we live when our pain does not dissipate? Is the heart a vector, or is it woven by swift hands on the night before we are born? Have you ever loved someone so deeply that you changed species to become a flower?

Reading Ankur Kalra’s Ibadah, poems of love, desire, loss and passion, new and stirring questions about the soul’s journey as a beloved arise, perhaps, in the reader’s being. That these poems are written by an interventional cardiologist, someone who has touched what for so many of us is a vocabulary, a set of sensations, brings another dimension to the insights developed here.

Who are we when we are not alone? Who are we when we are not with each other? I am honored to write in support of this mystical and visceral book.

– Bhanu Kapil

Faculty of English, University of Cambridge, United Kingdom

Photos From Recent Events

The Spiritual Art of Healing: How Faith Has Impacted Me as a Cardiovascular Professional - American College of Cardiology 71st Annual Scientific Session (Spring/Lent 2022) -

Cleveland Clinic Poetry Reading (Valentine’s Day, 2020)

Customer Reviews

“His esoteric and organic insight of love, loss, pain and passion are eloquently delivered through his poems. It is a philosophical, visceral and thought proving experience.”

Tony Manci M.S.

“I am a Cleveland Clinic patient and was in Cleveland for my post-heart surgery follow-up. While waiting for my echo, I went to Starbucks and saw the book presentation. I entered and purchased two books. Your poetry is beautiful and touched my heart. It was soulful for me to be in Cleveland for a 'real heart' check-up and find this mesmerizing combination of touching words. Congratulations.”

- Name Withheld for Patient Privacy

“Be here now. Be captivated by the present moment.”

Erin D. Michos, M.D.

Meet the Author

Ankur Kalra, MD

Dr. Kalra is an interventional cardiologist, associate professor of clinical medicine at Indiana University School of Medicine (Indianapolis, IN), cardiovascular institute director for interventional cardiology quality & innovation at Indiana University Health Division of Cardiovascular Medicine Krannert Cardiovascular Research Center (Indianapolis, IN), and founder of the non-profit startup, makeadent.org. He is director of Barry J. Maron Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy Center in New Delhi, India. He is also the host of the cardiology podcast show, Parallax. He has presented late-breaking science at national and international scientific cardiovascular meetings, and has published over 250 scientific manuscripts in various peer-reviewed journals. His past appointments include interventional cardiologist, associate professor, and medical director of clinical research for regional cardiovascular medicine at the Cleveland Clinic.

Author Interviews and Media Coverage

A Cardiologist Speaks from the Heart - Dr. Ankur Kalra joins The Empowering Neurologist Podcast

Dr. Ankur Kalra is an interventional cardiologist. As such, he literally holds the destiny of his patients - in terms of life or death - in his hands on a daily basis. And he has used these experiences as the basis for a book of poetry, Ibadah, that explores meaning, the role of servitude, love, and loss.

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Los Angeles Times shares how healthcare workers have coped with COVID-19 through art, featuring poetry from Dr. Kalra

The Times asked readers who work in healthcare to share the art they made during the pandemic, and we received more than 50 submissions. From painting to dance to writing to toast art, healthcare workers’ creativity reflects how they process working on the frontlines of the pandemic.

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Dr. Kalra discusses spirituality and experiences treating patients’ hearts on the Lines from Loganberry podcast

Local Voices manager Miesha Headen interviews Dr. Ankur Kalra about his poems, which bridge feelings of heartache, loss, and beguilement to the concepts of reincarnation and transcending finite pain in order to grow.

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Hear Dr. Kalra discuss the book on the MD Spotlight podcast

Dr. Kalra joins Tracey Dispensa and Lauren Roth to talk about his advice for medical school, how he got to where he is, his new poetry collection, and much more.

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