December 2016

Sankara Nethralaya employee exhibits wide knowledge and extraordinary literary skills with absorbing works on national leaders

It was a proud moment for an institution ingrained with a deep sense of patriotism, national pride and reverence for its national leaders when biographical works on two most respected leaders of the nation by its employee Shri A.Selvamani, serving in the house keeping department at the main campus received rave reviews from both general readers and literary critics. A book on Sardar Vallabhai Patel described as the ‘Iron man of India’ is the 3rd in the author’s series on the founding fathers of the nation titled ‘Architects of Modern India’. The first book in the series was on Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru followed by one on Dr.Rajendra Prasad, the first Prime Minister and President of free India.

The second book is on ‘India’s Missile man’ and Visionary and most adored President Dr.APJ. Abdul Kalam, titled ‘The Genius of Dr Abdul Kalam’. Shri Selvamani ‘s works bring out many less known and unknown facts about these great personalities and the eventful times they lived in and are most absorbing and fast paced. The book on Sardar Vallabhai Patel has been hailed as a ‘Must read for today’s youth’ by the ‘Daily Thanthi’, the Thuglak review describes the book as ‘thought provoking and full of facts’ and ‘The Hindu’ has praised the ‘Architects of Modern India’ series by the author as well strung beads of knowledge.

The Sankara Nethralaya family expresses its pleasant surprise at its member’s judicious time management in compiling these voluminous and informative works alongside his official responsibilities at a time when most people do not find time for a glance at the day’s paper and expresses its hearty Congrats for capturing the glory of the great leaders and their times in simple, breezy language with great felicity.

The books have been published by Shri Hindu Publications and are available in all major book stores. Employees can also borrow the books from the Shri V.Parthasarathy Memorial Staff library at the Sankara Nethralaya main campus.

Congratulations Shri Selvamani!! We are most proud of you indeed!

The Divinity and compassion of Maha Periyava are remembered on his 23rd Aradhana

The institution that owes its existence to his blessings and Will paid homage to the Maha Periyava on the occasion of his 23rd Aradhana, on 26th December 2016, at its main premises. The evening started on a mellifluous note with the rendering of ‘Pallandu Divya Prabhandam’ by Ms Sahana Narayan, daughter of Dr Nividetha Narayan.

Chief Guest of the Day Dr Kala Tawker, Retd  professor and HOD Tamil Dept and scholar from the World Tamil Research Foundation regaled the audience with golden moments of the living god, she observed that his detachment was so total that he even considered food as an earthly temptation, often refraining from it, The learned professor recalled how the Jagadguru cured a paralytic and dementia patient with his divine grace and concluded her talks with an example of the  astounding memory of the guru who enquired about her father referring to him by his surname ‘Bhatta’.

The highly charged event left a deep impact on the audience and filled them with memories of the God who lived during our times amongst our midst.

Senior Cornea Consultants from Sankara Nethralaya shine in major topical meet

Keracon the high power annual meet of Cornea specialists was held  on the 15th, 16th and 17th of December 2016. The event titled Keracon-2016 opened to a packed hall at the Lavasa International Convention Centre at picturesque Lavasa City, Pune. The three day session witnessed intense deliberations, debates and exchange of latest developments in the field of Cornea including recent diagnostic and treatment modalities, by experts in the field.

We take great pleasure in sharing that senior Cornea consultants and Cornea Fellows from Sankara Nethralaya made their and their institution’s presence felt at the meet with their highly interesting and informative presentations.

Dr. Geetha Krishnan Iyer, Senior Cornea Consultant and expert in Modified Osteo odonto Keratoprosthesis (MOOKP) presented a paper titled ‘100 ookp’s – The long and the short of it’ in the first free paper session which was very well received, her video presentation titled ‘Melt Medley’ won the first prize in its category. The second prize in this category was bagged by researcher and Cornea fellow Dr. Arusha Anil Kumar Goyal for her presentation titled ‘Boston type 2kpro surgical technique’. Dr. N. Radhika, Senior Cornea Consultant presented an absorbing and informative video on subconjuctival parasite titled ‘Catch me if you can’ which had a good impact on the audience. She was also a part of the winning 5 member team ‘Microbial terminators’ which won the Keracon film challenge, contested by four teams consisting of Cornea specialists from all over India. Cornea Fellow Dr. Anuja Ketan Desai presented a well researched paper titled ‘Oomycete Keratitis – Pythium insidiosum case series’ which provided a lot of food for thought to the audience.

The Sankara Nethralaya family conveys its hearty congratulations and good wishes to the participants.

Sankara Nethralaya Academy’s session on a niche topic receives enthusiastic response

Sankara Nethralaya Academy’s much awaited session on Neuro-Optometry was held on 27th November, 2016 at the Sri V.D. Swami Auditorium, the event witnessed a large attendance of 185 participants comprising of Optometry Interns, candidates pursuing fellowship, PG students and experienced practitioners assembled to explore a new field. The session started with an introduction to the topic by Sr. Optometrist, In-charge of the BV clinic and Chief Resource Person for the daylong event Ms. Rizwana. This was followed by a very engaging session on Neuro Optometry titled, ‘The need – A Neuro ophthalmologist’s perspective’ by Dr. Smita Praveen. Ms. Revathy, Ph.D Scholar and ex-Optometrist from Sankara Nethralaya who is currently based in Australia conducted a Skype session on components of Neuro-Optometric assessment which was well received by the participants.

The well attended event with a record numbers of registrations saw the students lapping up the presentations and hands-on training sessions ably coordinated by Ms. Rizwana and her team. “I have a good idea about the field of Neuro-Optometry, but I want such discussions to go on for at least 2-3 days. Overall very good interactive and enjoyed” said D. Meenakshi a participant from Chennai.

“It was a wonderful experience, lots of knowledge about neuro-optometry and will be remarkable for the rest of my life. Everything was perfect in my view but just one suggestion that it would be good to conduct the session for more than one day”, gushed Susan Joseph – Optometrist from LF Eye Hospital, Angamaly, Kerala.

The session ended with a concluding talk by Anuja R Singh on the selection process for Neuro Optometry fellowships.

Sankara Nethralaya Academy’s much awaited session on Neuro-Optometry was held on 27th November, 2016 at the Sri V.D. Swami Auditorium, the event witnessed a large attendance of 185 participants
comprising of Optometry Interns, candidates pursuing fellowship, PG students and experienced practitioners assembled to explore a new field. The session started with an introduction to the topic by
Sr. Optometrist, In-charge of the BV clinic and Chief Resource Person for the daylong event Ms. Rizwana. This was followed by a very engaging session on Neuro Optometry titled, ‘The need – A Neuro
ophthalmologist’s perspective’ by Dr. Smita Praveen. Ms. Revathy, Ph.D Scholar and ex-Optometrist from Sankara Nethralaya who is currently based in Australia conducted a Skype session on components
of Neuro-Optometric assessment which was well received by the participants.

Senior Sankara Nethralaya consultant wins prestigious award and rich accolades for lifelong and exemplary contributions to his field of specialization

It gives us immense pleasure and pride to share that Dr. Jyotirmay Biswas one of our senior most Consultants and Head of the Uveitis Department has been conferred with the highly prestigious ‘Dr.G.Venkatsamy Endowment Award’ for the year 2016. The award was conferred on him at a glittering ceremony organized at the annual meet of the Uveitis Society of India, on the 26th and 27th of November at Colombo, Sri Lanka. The awarding committee has cited Dr J.Biswas’ outstanding contribution in the field of Uveitis and Ophthalmology for being chosen for this high distinction.

The felicitation plaque accompanying the award lauds the pioneering and passionate Uvea expert from Sankara Nethralaya as an exemplary teacher, mentor, leader, role model and one who has made his mark in the field of Ocular inflammation and Uveitis not only in India but the entire world. The award and tribute are something that every member of Sankara Nethralaya can be proud of, let us express our collective congratulations and good wishes by putting our hands together for a standing ovation!

Hats off to you Sir!