|
|
In what could be considered as a proud testimony to the Vision Research Foundation’s pioneering work in the field of Microbiology, the Indian Association of Medical Microbiologists (IAMM) the prestigious body has selected two of its members for high recognition and reward. Dr. HN.Madhavan, President, Vision Research Foundation was selected to receive the ‘Life time achievement award’ for the year 2011 and the oral presentation titled “Evaluation of in- house Fluorescent Antinuclear Antibody (FANA) test Using Hep-2 Cells And Commercial ELISA for the detection of Antinuclear Antibodies in Uveitis patients” by Dr B.Mahalakshmi a lecturer at the L&T Microbiology Research Centre, Vision Research Foundation was selected by the executive committee members of IAMM for the Dr S.R Sengupta – Dr A.M Saoji Memorial Prize at their XXXV National Congress held at the Benares Hindu University, Varanasi. The awards come as a high recognition of Dr Madhavan’s life long contribution for the cause of research in general and microbiological research in particular and as a recognition of a critical forward step in the treatment of Uveitis patients. The award winning paper was co-authored by Therese K L, Manjula H, Majumdar P P D, Suchitra P, Malathy J, and Dr Madhavan H N.
While Dr B.Mahalakshmi received the award at the XXXV National conference of the IAMM held at Varanasi between 23rd and 26th November 2011, Dr HN Madhavan would be honoured at the XXXVI Conference to be held at the Lady Hardinge Medical College, New Delhi in November 2012. These awards are a proud feather in the cap to the concerned researchers and to the Vision Research Foundation, the institution to which they belong.
“My eyesight is back! I can see you are wearing a blue shirt!” These were the words of a joyful Maun cataract patient soon after Dr Rashmin Ghandi completed an operation to remove cataracts from his eyes.
The man had for years been completely blind in both eyes. “All my cattle were stolen by people who took advantage of my blindness. Although I could not see those people, I know their voices and I will now be going around to collect my cattle,” *Nlebesi Modisa said.
Read more…
It had rained heavily all night but the depression in the bay had not apparently weakened and the rains were lashing out with unabated vigour much after sunrise, a city not cut out for heavy rains the roads in Chennai were predictably clogged making both vehicular and movement on foot most cumbersome and normal life was thrown totally out of gear.
The scene inside the Jaslok Community Ophthalmic Centre the community services wing of Sankara Nethralaya offering cost free treatment to indigent patients however painted a very different picture. The clock at the front office showed 8:00 am and inhospitable weather notwithstanding poor and needy patients had assembled in good number at the place which had over the years become a beacon of hope for the poorest of the poor among the visually impaired. The place was bustling with activity, hospital staff serving free breakfast for the waiting patients, front office executives busy registering new patients, attendants guiding first time patients on procedures and doctors and Para medial staff rushing about in right earnest.
Among the patients assembled at the waiting lounge was little Krishnamurthy a nervous little lad of about 7 years standing with his hand firmly clasping his father’s hand, he seemed to be in a state of shock and fear, unsure of his movements without help from his father. Father and son had traveled more than 200 kilometers from their native village near Thiruvannamalai unmindful of the hostile weather conditions to the Jaslok Community Ophthalmic Centre the place on which Anand the boy’s father had pinned his last hope of regaining his little son’s vision.
After a quick registration process the executive at the front office started with the preliminary questions on what the problem was, the father of the boy seemed to be under heavy emotional stress and could hardly bring the words to his mouth, between sobs and sighs he narrated that his son Krishnamurthy aged 7 years was struck very hard by a cricket bat on his left eye when playing a game of cricket near his home, the impact of the blow had caused major damage to the left eye and had robbed him of his sight instantly. The doctor at the local clinic after examining the effected eye had indicated that the damage seemed irreparable; he expressed his helplessness and referred the boy to the nearby government hospital for a second opinion. The doctors at the government hospital examined the effected eye, realizing the seriousness of the case and the poor financial state of the boy’s father they referred the patient to the Sankara Nethralaya for cost free advanced treatment.
The front office executive at JCOC took at a quick look at the letter from the government hospital; it described the case as Traumatic Cataract Left with doubtful Post Capsule. Realizing the gravity and urgency of the situation he got to act quickly, he understood that the diagnosis and treatment of the problem would involve several examinations, which would warrant the patient’s stay in the city for a couple of days. Given the terrible weather and the financial wherewithal of the patient there was no way they could have found accommodation in the city or be asked to shuttle between their village and Chennai. The front office attendant immediately made arrangements for the boy and his father to stay at the hospital until the treatment could be completed.
The boy was then thoroughly examined by a team of doctors, after several levels of in-depth evaluation the team concluded that it was a case of Pars Plenor Cataract requiring Anterior Viterectomy and implanting of Foldable intraocular lens under local anesthesia. This was followed by Lab and physician tests to ascertain the boy’s fitness for surgery after which surgery was successfully carried out by a senior surgeon and the patient was discharged the very next day with vision in his left eye fully restored. It was an emotionally and professionally fulfilling moment for the surgeons, doctors, paramedical and administrative staff who attended to little Anand from the day he walked in with the pain and trauma of loosing his vision in his left eye.
To Krishnamurthy the boy’s father it was a moment of ecstasy and joy beyond words, a fortnight’s anxious wait was over, his worst fears were belied and his son’s vision was restored fully, he was overwhelmed by a mixture of emotions and was at a total loss for words, his attempts to express his gratitude to the doctors and staff at JCOC failed as his voice was choked and the words seemed to be failing him once again, tears ran down his cheek so much like when he walked in a fortnight back, it was just that this time around they were tears of joy!
It was a unique evening at the Sri VD Swami Auditorium on Friday the 25th of November; a day of stepping into the next level of academic pursuit for students of two different streams. The jubilant Dhingra Trust awardees accompanied by their proud parents stepping into the world of higher education and students of Optometry from the Twintech University, Malaysia completing their 4 month Internship. Mrs. Akila Ganesan, General Manager, Sankara Nethralaya warmly welcomed the gathering and thanked the Chief Guest His Excellency Mr. Anuar Bin Kasman Consulate General of Malaysia for Southern India and his esteemed colleagues from the Malaysian Consulate Mr. Nazrul Izwan Ismail – Consular for Immigration, Mr. Kunaseelan – Consular for Labour Attaché, Dr SS.Badrinath, Chairman Emeritus and Shri PR. Ravindran, Chief General Manager, Sankara Nethralaya for gracing the occasion. She expressed her sincere thanks on behalf of Sankara Nethralaya to the Ram Dhingra family for their generous grant towards higher education of children of Sankara Nethralaya employees and for including the scope of beneficiaries to include students of Arts from this year. Mrs. Ganesan observed that 2011was a momentous year for the Twintech University and Sankara Nethralaya as what started as a an experimental effort in terms of sending students to Sankara Nethralaya to enhance their knowledge in various fields of Optometry had been formalized through an MoU between the two institutions, under which students pursuing Optometry at Twintech would spend a period of 4 months on an internship program at the Sankara Nethralaya. She closed her address with the best wishes and a bright future on behalf of Sankara Nethralaya to the Dhingra Trust awardees and the Malaysian students completing their internship.
Mrs. Reena Eapen DGM HR announced the names of this year’s beneficiaries of the Dhingra Trust scholarships with their marks scored and details of the institution where they have secured admission, to a thunderous applause from the audience with beaming parents looking on proudly. The names of the students who have successfully completed their internship was read out by TSNA faculty member Kalpa, what followed was a splash of colour and ethnic chic with Malaysian women students in gorgeous conjeevarams with colorful mehendi and a thoughtful strand of jasmine to complement their south Indian look and boys in their majestic sherwanis tip-toeing cautiously to receive their internship completion certificates from the dignitaries on the dais. Needless to say it was a day for posterity and cameras were clicking away capturing the golden moment.
Passing out students Ha and Yo speaking on behalf of the boys and girls expressed their whole hearted thanks to Sankara Nethralaya, describing the 4 months of internship as the best part of their 4 year course. They had a word of praise for the heads of the Glaucoma, Cornea, Computer Vision Clinic, Orthoptics and Contact Lens departments for their detailed and thorough imparting of knowledge and skills and added that the weekly classes in addition to the department-wise Continuing Medical Education programmes, and case presentations has helped them gain a high level of proficiency in the subject. In keeping with the saying ‘All work and no play make Tom a dull boy’ the students seemed to have had their share of fun and entertainment which is after all a part of campus life, with trips organized by the TSNA to Kodaikanal and Mahabalipuram. They recalled that the trip to India would ever be green in their memory both for the knowledge gained and the warm hospitality of everyone they interacted at Sankara Nethralaya. The exciting recollection of the roller coaster experience of traveling in Chennai’s very own three wheeled devils the autos and the wonderfully choreographed Tamil film song presented by the Malaysian students was a clear testimony of the impact that Chennai has had on them.
Shri Mahalingam, Academic Officer, TSNA proposed the Vote of Thanks with a special mention about the Consul General of Malaysia who had made his presence in the middle of his busy schedule to make the evening so special for the students from his country. The function concluded with proud Dhingra Trust awardees with their parents and the passing out Malaysian Interns freezing the memorable moment on film with Dr SS.Badrinath, Chairman Emeritus, Sankara Nethralaya
The ICICI Lombard – CNBC TV-18 award for the “Best Ophthalmic Hospital” followed by the “Best multi-specialty Ophthalmic Hospital” by The Week/Hansa Research in the year 2010 and now the “Best Hospital in Ophthalmology in India” for 2011 again by The Week/ Hansa Research. Yes we have done it again and done it in close succession, let us give ourselves a standing ovation and bring our hands together to clap for all those hands and minds that worked hard to win these distinctions.
Let the sound of our applause reverberate across the corridors of our OP waiting lounges, wards, research labs, admin blocks and be heard across the accounting, planning, purchase, commercial, patient relationship, creative departments which share the credit of this great honour. These awards are well deserved honours bestowed on our medical, paramedical and non-medical men and women, the shakers and movers of this great institution because they are given after strict scrutiny by eminent judges after applying very high parameters. The fact that such high quality in service and care are attributed to a non-profit eye care institution run on contributions from well-wishers and grants and such care and service are available to the poor patients treated cost free makes it a very special recognition for our efforts.
Let us pledge to keep the flag flying high and endavour to reach higher and higher goals that we set for ourselves year after year. It is a testimony to the perfect sync and team work and dedication of our staff; we have reached national eminence, let us now work as a team towards international acclaim and recognition.
Mr. Jagaveerapandiyan, Senior Research Fellow, DBT project, Department of Biochemistry & Cell Biology, Vision Research Foundation, was awarded the Best Poster Award, in Systems Biology, for his poster presentation, at the 80th Society of Biological Chemists meet held at CIMAP, Lucknow on 13th Nov 2011.
The poster was on “Family of Small Leucine Rich Repeats Proteoglycans Binds to Transforming Growth Factor – through their LRR Domain: Insilico Analysis”. (Pandiyan JV, Muthukumaran, Umashankar V, Sulochana KN).
The M.V Hospital for diabetes and the Prof. M. Viswanathan Diabetes Research Centre organized a human chain in association with Sankara Nethralaya in observation of World Diabetes Day on 14, November, 2011. A total of 400 volunteers, from students of the Women’s Christian College, staff members of Sankara Nethralaya, MV Hospital, Prof M.Vishwanathan Research Centre and other organizations and popular Tamil film star Shri Prashanth stood as a chain with placards, banners and T-Shirts bearing awareness slogans on the need for leading a lifestyle inclusive of healthy food habits, exercise and a stress free life highlighting this year’s theme ‘Act on Diabetes now’
A brisk walk it is said is the best bet for keeping sugar levels well under control, so it was only apt that the volunteers took out a procession from the Women’s Christian College which culminated at the Sankara Nethralaya, their messages educating the general public on the need for early detection and prevention of one of the most dangerous pandemics of today. As an eye care centre Sankara Nethralaya used the occasion to draw public attention to a rather less known physical condition that unchecked diabetes could lead to in patients called ’Diabetic Retinopathy’ an ailment which could damage the most important faculty the ‘sense of seeing’ and cause blindness. Dr SS. Badrinath, Chairman Emeritus, Sankara Nethralaya observed that an alarming 25% of all diabetics have diabetic retinopathy, he added much to the relief of listeners that if detected at an early stage there are numerous treatment modalities available to cure diabetic retinopathy.
Multi colour posters with messages and illustrations educating people on the need for a balanced diet and physical exercise to keep diabetes at bay were placed at the Sankara Nethralaya campus. Participants were provided biscuits, snacks, coffee and tea at the closing of their walk by Sankara Nethralaya which also conducted an on the spot free random blood sugar test.
The opening statement of Dr Pratik Ranjan Sen presenting the day’s proceedings, that it was a day of reminiscing, thanksgiving and honouring captured the essence of the XVI Sri Venugopal Endowment Lecture being held on the 12th of November 2011 at the Sri VD.Swami Auditorium most aptly. The Sankara Nethralaya family was honouring one of its principal architects and guiding lights and the statement ‘Thank You Sir, you are always with us” was evident at every point of the function right from calling upon the proud members of Shri Ram Mohan Rao’s family to light the auspicious Kuthuvilakku to the end of the day’s proceedings.
The playing of the invocation song rendered by late Shrimathi M.Subbulakshmi at the Afro-Asian Congress of Ophthalmology back in 1976 was a tribute to the memory of Sri V.Venugopal and treated the gathering to the divinity and timelessness of a voice that has captivated listeners the world over like none other. Distinguished guests of the evening and close friends of the man being honoured, Sri Govindarajulu, Sri MK Kumar and Sri Krishnamurthy paid rich tributes to him through their recollections of a long and close association with him. What surfaced was the diverse traits of an enterprising businessman with a great acumen for business and commerce, an authority and pioneer in the fields of banking and insurance and a charitable individual who donated all his family lands to the Bhoodan movement of Sri Vinobha Bhave. Sri Venugopal’s philanthropy, patronage of fine arts and commitment to ethics in public and private life and the true gentleman that he was were recalled by friends who seemed to be dearly missing his absence.
Another surprise ‘down memory lane’ experience that held the audience in awe and rapt attention and reiterated the power of ‘divine will’ was a video clipping of Dr Puram Prakash from Boston, a relative of the Mohan Rao family recalling the sequence of events that culminated in the dispatch of a much elusive CT Scan machine to its divine destination the Kanchi Mutt. It all started with a rather simple sounding request from Dr SS Badrinath, Chief Emeritus, Sankara Nethralaya to Dr Puram Prakash that a CT scan machine was needed at the Kanchi Mutt to perform a medical examination of His Holiness the Kanchi Periyaval. Dr Puram Prakash to quote his own words was at the end of his wits as to where he should begin his search. What followed were exciting events which could make interesting stuff for a thrilling paper back. It was the peak of the US-Iraq war and there seemed to be an embargo on CT scan machines from being dispatched to anywhere else other than the war front. After frenetic calls to the 4 leading manufacturers of CT Scan equipment, a call to the White House and a call to the Chief of the US armed forces camping in the Iraqi deserts a formal request was made by Shri R.Venkatraman the then President of India through the diplomatic envoy at Washington, the CT Scan equipment was finally delivered at the Kanchi Mutt.
The Chief Guest for the evening was Justice Shri Shivraj N.Patil, Honourable Justice of the Supreme Court, a man rightly described by Shri NDJ.Renganath, Member SSSN Trust as a man of truth, fairness and trust, well-known for his jurisprudence, air of advocacy and dispensation of Justice. A learned man of great eloquence he delivered a speech on a topic most relevant to the present and the future ‘Spirituality and Ethics for the future of India’. The learned Judge started with a warm reference to the services of Shri Mohan Rao’s family and the Medical Research Foundation. He had a special word of praise for Dr SS Badrinath, Chairman Emeritus, and described the Sankara Nethralaya which he heads as a place which has the 3 key attributes needed to help humanity1.Talent 2.Environment and 3. Equipment, in abundance. He touched on many burning issues of the day like whether to ban capital punishment, should the constitution be amended to should we have the right to recall our elected representatives etc while clearly underlining the need for spirituality and ethics in everyday life from public governance to education and corporate world. He exhorted that spirituality be made a part of the curriculum to attain high spiritual standards in life.
The day’s proceedings closed with the rendition of the Sankara Nethralaya anthem and the gathering dispersed with a lot of food for thought provided by the Chief Guest’s speech and the highest regards for Late Sri V. Venugopal.
A simple function was organized at the “Haddows Campus’ on Thursday, November 3, 2011 to give shape to the MoU signed between Stanchart Bank –Scope International and Sankara Nethralaya earlier in the month. Senior personnel representing both sides were present at the function. Dr SS.Badrinath, Chairman Emeritus, Sankara Nethralaya began the proceedings on an auspicious note by lighting the Kuthivilakku. A sum of rupees 30.25 lakhs was donated as Scope aid by Stanchart Bank-Scope International towards fulfilling its Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) under the vibrant theme ‘Seeing is believing’. The amount would be used for acquiring the bus and the necessary Teleophthalmolgy equipment needed for the mobile eye care unit. While Scope aid to the tune of rupees 30,000 a month will be made available to Sankara Nethralaya towards meeting the operational costs of the joint eye camps under the provisions of the MoU, Stanchart-Scope has also promised to raise funds from its staff members towards performing free of cost cataract removal surgeries to indigent patients at the base hospital.
Edwin Nevis, Group Head, GSSC & Banking Operations, Stanchart Bank delivering the welcome address observed that the real objective of the mobile eye care unit would be accomplished only when it reaches out to patients in remote villages with poor access to eye care.. Mr. Jan Verplancke, Chief Information Officer & Group Head of Technology and Operations, Stanchart Bank expressed that the partnership would go a long way in battling blindness in the rural areas, he could be seen spiritedly discussing the modalities of the joint project with Dr SS.Badrinath which indicated his high personal involvement in the project.
Dr SS.Badrinath, Chairman Emeritus, Sankara Nethralaya expressed his deep gratitude for the generous gesture and appreciation for Stanchart- Scope International’s passion in providing eye care to the poor and needy and role in eradicating blindness. He recalled the generous aid and assistance that Scope was making towards the Aditya Birla Sankara Nethralaya, Kolkata through the Tulsi Trust and expressed his special thanks to Stanchart Bank, Botswana for making a generous donation through the Botswana Tamil Cultural Association towards Sankara Nethralaya’s cost free eye care initiatives being undertaken in that country. Ms Geetha Karunakaran of Stanchart Bank proposed the Vote of Thanks.
The meeting was attended by Dr S.Bhaskaran, Chairman, Sankara Nethralaya, Dr Vasanthi Badrinath, Shri PR Ravindran, Chief General Manager, Shri Alagiri, Manager-Resource Mobilization and Dr Sheila John, Project coordinator and Head of Teleopthalmology Department, Sankara Nethralaya.
Saturday, the 29th of October 2011 was a day of dark clouds, heavy downpour and water clogged roads in Chennai but none of it had apparently dampened the spirits of the ‘Sankara Ratna Award’ function at the AVM Rajeswari Kalyana Mandapam. The Sankara Nethralaya family had chosen to honour one of its most illustrious members with a rare distinction and the bad weather was of no significance to its ‘rearing to go’ members. Volunteer teams formed for the occasion and SWAN volunteers took their strategic positions at the pre-decided spots at the venue like men of a disciplined army 2 hours before commencement of the function.
The venue wore a gaily look and the artistry of Shri Sankardas and his team were evident right at the entrance. Sankara Nethralaya and SWAN volunteers engaged in the process of giving the last minute touches to the function were pleasantly surprised at the sight of a familiar figure in spotless white working feverishly along side them, AVM Rajeswari was after all his home turf and there was no way this incorrigible workaholic could be kept confined to his allotted chamber. The only difference was that the man in white happened to be the ‘Man of the evening’ Shri SP.Muthuraman on whom the award would soon be conferred upon. He was typically unmindful of this fact and was going around instructing his men and making sure that everything was going the way they it should, something he had been doing for ages.
Ace compeer Shri Nellai Jayantha got the evening started in his inimitable racy style at the stroke of 6:00pm, the proceedings started on an auspicious note with the playing of the Tamil Thai Vazthu followed by Shrimathi Vani Jayaram’s melodious invocation song.
Shri Sugalchand Jain, Honorary Treasurer, Sankara Nethralaya, delivered the welcome address followed by an introduction of the Chief guest Shri RM.Veerappan by Dr SS.Badrinath, Chairman Emeritus, Sankara Nethralaya. He recounted Shri RM. Veerappan’s deep devotion to Kanchi Mahaperiyaval and quoted the rich complements made by eminent people on him.
Dr Tarun Sharma gave an eloquent audio-visual account of Sankara Nethralaya from its inception to its present stature for the benefit of the audience, highlighting Shri SP.Muthuraman’s long and fruitful association with it. He underlined Shri Muthuraman’s association with the institution honouring him with the closing remark that even the presentation he was making was directed by him, drawing instant applause from the gathering.
Dr TS. Surendran introduced the award winner who had already won the hearts of everybody at Sankara Nethralaya and the Film world, his emotional tie with Sankara Nethralaya and long service to it. This was followed by a wonderful rendition of Kaviperarasar’s Citation of the awardee by the Nightingale of Sankara Nethralaya Dr. S. Meenakshi.
If Sankara Nethralaya had chosen to honour a man with a close emotional bonding to it for his contribution to its growth, it found wholehearted support from the film fraternity and the literary world whose stalwarts had made their presence to make common cause with it. Praise, adulation and gratitude for the Sankara Ratna awardee flowed free in the speeches made by his contemporaries, mentors and those whom he had identified and groomed to their present stature. Speaker after speaker recalled interesting anecdotes, real life events and hitherto unknown facts that highlighted his sterling qualities of hard work, sacrifice, honesty, charity and simplicity driving home the point that Shri SP.Muthuraman richly deserved the Sankara Ratna award and more in the coming years.
Shri SP.Muthuraman thanked Dr SS.Badrinath and Sankara Nethralaya for the rare distinction bestowed on him and for placing him on par with illustrious predecessors like Shri Ratan Tata. He thanked the esteemed dignitaries for their presence and complements, the men and women from Sankara Nethralaya and AVM Rajeswari for their efforts in making this programme a great success. He closed his speech with a poignant account of Sankara Nethralaya’s philosophy, service to the poor, work ethics, and caliber and made a fervent appeal to all those assembled to contribute their mite for its noble mission.
The surprise element of the evening was the unexpected and electrifying appearance of Superstar Rajnikant, a name conspicuously absent in the invite. A man known to value old friends and associates he made his appearance for one of his old mentors who had helped to carve his career and the man who had the distinction of making the most number (25) films with him in the lead role. Shri Rajnikanth’s first appearance after a long health imposed sabbatical added a new dimension to the function and put an end to all speculation about his health and came as a huge relief to anxious fans around the world.
The Superstar is known for his sharp observation and crisp comments, his remark that he wanted to make his reappearance after a long gap on a very special and noble occasion and that there could not have been a more appropriate function than the ‘Sankara Ratna’ award being conferred on Shri SP.Muthuraman, summed up the essence of the evening in one strong line.
Dr S.Bhaskaran, Chairman, Sankara Nethralaya proposed the vote of thanks and concluded the function.
Titans of film world shower praise on veteran director
The Hindu
Daily Thanthi 30 October, 2011
Dinamani 31 October, 2011
|
|
Donate Now
Recent Comments