Sorab Jal Mehta was born in 1929 and had his medical undergraduate education at the Grant Medical College, obtaining the MB BS degree from the University of Bombay in 1953. After holding junior appointments at home he came to England in 1955 and did his surgical training at the Birmingham Accident Hospital, Newport General Hospital, and St Lawrence's Hospital, Chepstow, and took the FRCS in 1958. On his return to Bombay, Mehta was appointed honorary plastic and reconstructive surgeon to Wadia Children's Hospital, the Tata Memorial Hospital, and the Goculdas Tejpal Hospital, this third attachment carrying with it the title of Honorary Professor of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery at the Grant Medical College. An accomplished and dedicated surgeon, his clinical and technical ability soon took him to the top in his special field. But in addition to his professional accomplishments his interests ranged widely over music, art, philosophy and religion, subjects which he could discuss with expert knowledge and appreciation. A warm-hearted and generous friend, his passing away at the peak of his career left a void not only in plastic surgery but also in the hearts of his many friends. "Whom the gods love die young" is an old saying, and how true it is of Sorab Mehta who died after a short illness on 6 November 1972. He was survived by his wife and two sons aged 16 and 14 years.