Dr. Taraprasad Das, distinguished ophthalmologist, specializing in vitreoretinal diseases gave one of his rare and enlightened talks in Sri VD Swami Auditorium, on March 18th, 2022. He is the former Vice-Chairman of the L. V. Prasad Eye Institute. He had worked 10 years in Aravind Eye Hospital and 31 years in LVPEI and is the ex-director of LV Prasad Eye Institute, Bhubaneswar. Dr. Rajiv Raman, Senior Consultant, Department of Vitreoretinal services, opened the event with a brief introduction of Dr. Taraprasad Das’ numerous accomplishments and achievements during his four decade long career in eye care.
Dr. Taraprasad Dass has completed many papers in the diabetic retinopathy sub-specialty, delivered 13 named lectures, has received many awards from state, national societies and international organizations. He was the longest serving Regional Chairman of International Agency for Prevention of Blindness (IAPB) Southeast Asia from 2012 – 2020. He was awarded the Padma Shri – the highest civilian honor – by Government of India, in 2013. Dr. Rajiv Raman reminisced that when Dr. Taraprasad Das had visited Sankara Nethralaya, Dr. S. S. Badrinath took Dr. Taraprasad around the hospital and our distinguished guest had observed that Sankara Nethralaya was indeed a temple. He then invited Dr. Taraprasad Das on stage to introduce the theme of “Lift Off’ to the eagerly waiting audience.
Dr. Taraprasad Das reminisced about his early days in Madras where he met many of Sankara Nethralaya’s senior consultants such as Dr. Surendran, Dr. Lingam Gopal, Dr. Muna and Dr. Pramod Bhende. He spoke about his early days in Boston and thinking about how to ‘lift off’ – a terminology from aviation. He took his life lessons from mentors who influenced his decisions and helped him lift off.
He drew life lessons from his extensive experiences with the many wonderful people he met throughout his 41 years as an ophthalmologist and gained much experience through his work with national and international government collaborations.
He explained the importance of public speaking, expressing oneself in a clear manner, and touched on personal growth, while simultaneously making time for family – an important factor in becoming a well-rounded person. He touched on the necessity to identify in which areas, we should aim to achieve – whether monetarily, research, or work. He explained that by examining one’s mistakes, we grow professionally and personally. He urged the young audience members to be committed not just compliant and reminded them to do for each patient what they would do for their relatives.
You can listen to Dr. Taraprasad Das here:
https://youtu.be/BN1lnNV8KaA