Rare insights on preventive eye care modalities for children wins high honours for long time crusader against childhood blindness!
A disturbingly high prevalence of visual impairment among children in the country has been a cause of great concern to Sankara Nethralaya, an institution passionately committed to eradicating blindness in the country. Visual impairment among children is a most cruel handicap as it comes as a stumbling block to education, games and a carefree childhood. ‘Vision’ contributes most to learning and knowledge absorption and most learning happens at childhood, which makes healthy vision most critical to this group. The Elite School of Optometry has been in the forefront of Sankara Nethralaya’s battle against childhood blindness. Finding its pride of place in the ‘Limca Book of records’ for screening the highest number of children in a day, being chosen as a partner by ORBIS in its in its children eye care initiatives in the rural parts of the country are shining examples of the institution’s expertise in eye screening for children. The institution has over the period developed unique protocols for eye screening of this delicate segment which has added value to its endeavours.
As the coordinator for screening of school children and a person with a deep concern in allaying childhood blindness and sympathy for visually impaired children Srimathi Anuradha . N has been playing a vital role in the above. It was a moment of crowning glory for her deep understanding of the subject and her undying passion to serve this segment most close to her heart when her insightful study titled ‘“Effectiveness of innovative approach in improving spectacle wear and referral compliance in school-students’ vision screening in Chennai: A mixed methods study” aimed at enhancing the quality and outcome of school screening camps in every aspect, was honoured with a doctorate by the SASTRA University.
Srimathi Anuradha’s in-depth study involving parents, children, teachers, social workers and eye care professionals and her hands on experience in school vision screening was evident by the fact that the thesis presented by her highlights an impressive 75 barriers and 45 solutions in spectacle compliance including making available trendy frames and 37 barriers and 31 solutions for referral compliance which includes a deep engagement of parents to address the two major issues that plague successful completion and impact of a school children eye screening camp.
The doctoral work , a critical combination of learning acquired through deep study and long field exposure promises to be a guide and referral to institutions/organizations engaged in vision screening of school children.
The Sankara Nethralaya family conveys its hearty good wishes and congratulates the first recipient of a doctorate for optometry from the SASTRA University and shares the joy of its passionate crusader against childhood blindness, whose findings have found the highest recognition.
A moment of crowning glory and global challenges for Sankara Nethralaya’s head of contact lens department
When winning awards and accolades become a matter of habit and recognition knocks the door at regular intervals, keeping track and giving an account of the same becomes a challenge by itself as the following report would indicate.
We are thrilled to share that the IACLE global member newsletter has just broken the great news that Dr Rajeswari Mahadevan has been elected as a member of the ‘Executive Board’, of the International Association of Contact Lens Educators’ IACLE, the highest forum of the global body dedicated to education and safe usage of Contact Lens.
It has been a remarkable journey in the field of her passion for Dr. Rajeswari Mahadevan, the Head of Sankara Nethralaya’s Contact lens department and Assistant Professor at the Elite School of optometry, with milestones embellishing every insightful length of her travel; the 2nd Indian to be awarded a doctorate in optometry and the first to be awarded so in the field of contact lens, she went on to become a Fellow of the Scleral Lens Education Society, was recognized as the ‘Contact Lens Educator of the Year’ by the International Association of Contact Lens Educators’ (IACLE) which was followed by a Fellowship by the prestigious American Academy of Optometry (AAO). If being chosen as the ‘Asia Pacific Regional President of IACLE’ in year 2016 came as a challenge for taking awareness levels, education and best practices on safe contact lens usage to the next stage, the premium body electing her as a member of the ‘Executive board’ is a strong testimonial to her work as the Asia Pacific Region President and an invite to duplicate it at the global level!
Let us join hands in a thunderous applause for the high level of awareness and understanding on contact lens and its usage that Dr Rajeswari Mahadevan has been creating among users and practitioners and the pride and prestige that she has been steadily bringing to the institution and on herself.
Critical findings on primitive tribal community win high honour for Sankara Nethralaya’s Social Worker
The ‘Social Worker’ plays a key role in any healthcare institution, his contribution in terms of analysing economic, social, cultural and life style factors that contribute to health impairments and the social/economic impact of various health ailments is invaluable to clinicians and researchers. The Social Worker helps in educating and counselling the public at large on the preventive and treatment aspects of diseases and provides useful tips on healthy living. In an ophthalmic institution like Sankara Nehralaya, with a strong societal responsibility, emphasis on research and creating social consciousness the role of the ‘Social Worker’ assumes great importance, he/she acts as a bridge between the target groups in terms of mobilizing and educating volunteers for a research study or those about to undergo comprehensive eye examination in a rural eye camp etc.
Shri G.Venkatesan who serves as a social worker at the ‘ Department of Genetics and Molecular Biology’ at the Kamalnayan Bajaj Institute for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology, the research arm of Sankara Nethralaya, discharges the above functions effectively and often contributes to studies conducted by the department.
We take great pride that and pleasure in sharing that his recent study and findings of the social, health and occupational aspects of a highly secluded and insulated tribal community living in one of the most remote regions of the country has come for great praise and recognition. Shri Venkatesan’s findings on the above titled “Maternal and Child health among Kurumbas of Nilgris District of Tamil Nadu: A Sociological study” was honoured with a ‘Doctorate in Sociology’ by the University of Madras. Shri Venkatesan was guided and assisted in this major study by Dr.M.Thamilarasan, Assistant Professor in the Department of Sociology, University of Madras. The Doctorate was conferred on him by Shri KP.Anbalagan, Honourable Minister for Higher Education, Tamil Nadu in the August presence of Professor P.Duraisamy, Vice-Chancellor, Madras University and Shri Sunil Paliwal, IAS, Principal Secretary, Ministry of Higher Education, at the 159th annual Convocation held at the University Centenary Auditorium, Chepauk, Chennai on the 15th of July 2017.
While the doctoral submission is exhaustive and voluminous we take pleasure in sharing some glimpses of the same
- Illiteracy remains the biggest cause of backwardness in the region
- Reproductive health issues and anaemia is prevalent among women
- Skin diseases are wide spread among children
- Drinking water is found to contain toxic substances in many places
On the positive side it could be said that the tribal community is largely self supporting and self sufficient as they produce all the agricultural and meat produce they consume, living in a totally unpolluted environment, covering long distances on mountainous terrain by foot and physical labour keep them in good health. The level of awareness on maternal and child health was also found to be reasonably good, considering the remoteness of the region and most child births happen at home with the help of the local mid-wife, with only complex cases being referred to the local maternity centre. The work of the state/central governments and NGO’s has resulted in a good number of tribal children attending school and the issue of anaemia is being addressed by dispensing of iron supplement to expectant women.
The ‘Temple of the Eye’ celebrates the ‘spirit of giving’ with great aplomb!
There could not be a more momentous occasion to an institution and its Founder ingrained with the quality of gratitude and reciprocity than acknowledging the deeds and honouring the great men and women who have empathized with its cause and made it what it is today. The Sankara Ratna and Dr MS.Subbulakshmi awarding ceremony being held at the stately Rajendra hall at the ITC Grand Chola on the 27th of Janary 2018 reflected this in no small measure. The high profile of the awardees and the Chief Guest conferring the awards had quite naturally raised a lot of expectation and made it a most keenly awaited event within and outside the institution. If the smooth flow of the proceedings were a testimony to the excellent planning that had gone behind the event, the spirited observations and spontaneity of the awardees and the Chief guest made it exceed all expectations, keeping the filled to capacity hall absorbed, informed and entertained.
The close to 3 hour program turned out to be an epic of sorts, little wonder that it did so, given thefact that the achievements, name and fame of the man and woman being honoured had assumed epic proportions and the award was being conferred by a legend. Srimathi Akila Ganesan, Director, Administration, Sankara Nethralaya set the tone for the evening with a succinct note on the awards, as the gesture of gratitude and honouring by an institution created for the people and by the people, to the great men and women who had empathised with its cause and supported it in its journey of providing quality eye care to those who could pay and those who could not!
Dr KS.Vasan, Managing Director continued the Sankara Nethralaya saga where Srimathi Akila Ganesan had left, with a most interesting account of how the institution had grown from its humble beginnings to a world class, tertiary ophthalmic centre encompassing clinical care, research,teaching and training and community eye care within its fold. He traced the inception of facilities in the city and other parts of the country, the steady growth of an institution committed to reaching out its services without diluting its quality, principles and philosophy. The senior Sankara Nethralaya official touched a chord in every heart with his emphatic account of how the Founder and Chief steward of the institution Dr SS.Badrinath was seized by a single idea, dream and mission and how it controlled his life,brain,muscles as advocated by Swami Vivekananda and how it became a reality in the form of Sankara Nethralaya. Dr.Vasan closed his talk with a strong emphasis on the social and economic impact of the innovations and service rendered by the institution and a strong appeal to join its mission.
The awarding ceremony was a spell binder with interesting, inspiring and amazing glimpses of the day’s awardees and the celebrities assembled to honour them flowing as a steady stream. Less known, inspiring, moving facts like Shri AM.Naik the hero of corporate Indian folklore bequeathing 75% of his wealth to charity and how the Naik and Nirali trusts founded by him were revolutionizing the countryside with their trailblazing health and education initiatives. The deep commitment of Shri Deepak Parekh, the voice of corporate India,to the values of humility, accessibility, accountability and transparency and his simple logic and conviction that ‘corporate giving’ was a natural concomitant to ‘corporate earning’. The memorable day when legal legend Nani Palkhivala summoned Shri Deepak Parekh to his home and in a gesture of boundless generosity and faith requested him to divest his life savings in the form of shares and other holdings and transfer the same to Sankara Nethralaya, after just one visit to the ‘Temple of the eye’. The Sankara Ratna awardee’s invaluable role in bringing illustrious members from the nation’s business capital to empathize and support Sankara Nethrlaya, of whom was Dr BR Barwale, the father of India’s seed industry, whose company contributedto the setting up of the clinical care block at the SN main campus named after it as Mahyco block (Maharashtra hybrid seeds company). A touching account of how this key player in India’s green revolution donated the entire prize money he received with the ‘World Food Prize’ to research in agriculture. Srimathi Vani Jairam’s warm note on her experiences with MS Amma after whom the award she was receiving is named, the rich compliments she received for her manner of singing from the immortal, legend. Touching accounts of how the ‘Meera of Modern India’ had toured large parts of rural Maharashtra, propagating social values and causes through her golden voice, travelling all the way to Iowa to render the invocation at the function honouring Dr.Barwale with the ‘World Food prize’ known popularly as Norman Borlaug award.
The evening marked a giant leap in leveraging technology for better dispensing of eye care by the two times winner of the prestigious NASSCOM-KPMG awards for ‘Best IT adoption on the healthcare sector’ and ‘Best Electronic Medical Record (EMR) solution’ with the dedication of the Dr BR Barwale centre for ophthalmic technology and innovation, which would focus on developing and implementing technologies to enhance reach and quality of eye care to the masses. Speaking on the occasion Chief Technology Officer Shri Chandramouli explained on how the new centre will endeavour to make the enormous data available with the institution actionable for practitioners and stakeholders.
Speaking with a strong sense of nostalgia a visibly overwhelmed Dr SS.Badrinath recalled that he came to India with just four dollars and times have been indeed been very good and eventful and he considered himself very blessed to have been able to give shape to his dream of starting a world class eye care institution, he expressed that the past has been very good and the present is also very promising and hoped that the future will be good too. He thanked his colleagues for the hospital being rated as the best in its kind and went on to highlight a few major Sankara Nethralaya landmarks like the success of the MESU which reported absolutely no complications, being the only eye care institution providing technology support to 9 eye care institutions, the impact of Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) process aided by artificial intelligence developed by the institution. He recounted with gratitude Sankara Ratna awardee Shri Deepak Parekh’s rare gesture of sanctioning a huge loan from the HDFC to Sankara Nethralaya by instructing his officials from the USA, when it was negotiating for the acquisition of the erstwhile lady Willingdon Hospital.
While it was natural that the evening resonated with the greatness of the great personalities whom the ‘Temple of the eye’ had chosen to honour on this momentous occasion, the inspiring and laudatory references on the host institution, the detailed account of its services and achievements and the need to support it, made by the awardees and the chief guest and the guest of honour made one wonder if even the representatives of Sankara Nethralaya could have made such a strong case about themselves, as its friends and well wishers gathered on the occasion had done. The spirited references to the institution in their acceptance speeches by the awardees and the chief guest’s address made one wonder if SankaraNethralaya was felicitating its friends and supporters or was being felicitated by them on this memorable day! A glorious example of the Bard’s immortal lines ‘The quality of mercy is twice blessed; it blesseth him that gives and him that takes’.
Senior Sankara Nethralaya Consultants honoured with a globally respected and highly prestigious professional recognition in the world of Medicine
Being conferred with a ‘Fellowship by the Royal College of Surgeons’ is considered as the world’s highest professional qualification for Surgeons the world over, this highly prestigious recognition conferred by the Royal College of Surgeons Edinburgh, Ireland, England and Glasgow, dedicated to the pursuit of excellence and advancement in surgical practises, through their involvement in education, training, conducting examinations and liaison with medical institutions worldwide. This high recognition is also a prerequisite to practise as a senior surgeon in the United Kingdom and Ireland.
It is with a sense of great pleasure and pride that we share with all of you that Dr L.Vijaya, Distinguished Senior Consultant at the Glaucoma Department and Dr Pukhraj Rishi, Senior Consultant at the Vitreo-Retina department, Sankara Nethralaya have been identified for being honoured with this most coveted Fellowship by the Royal College of Surgeons (Edinburgh). They will be conferred with the title ‘Fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons (Edinburgh)’ at a future date to be announced by the membership director of the body.
It is a great feather in Sankara Nethralaya’s cap as they join their illustrious predecessors Dr SS.Badrinath, Founder and Chairman Emeritus, Dr TS.Surendran, Vice-Chairman, Sankara Nethralaya and Dr S.Ramasamy, Professor of Anatomy, Elite School of Optometry, who were honoured with this high recognition.
The Sankara Nethralaya family expresses its hearty congratulations and good wishes to the recipients.
World’s leading service organization crowns Sankara Nethralaya doctor with its most prestigious award!
It was a moment of great pride and fulfilment for an institution founded on the principles of compassion, love and service with a smile, when the Lions Club International, the world’s premium service, relief and support organization chose to bestow its highest award on a doctor who has been associated with its ‘cost free community services’ from the day it was started.
Dr.Sheila John, one of its long serving doctors and Head of the Department, Teleophthalmology, Multimedia and e-learning was honoured with a ‘Life Time Achievement award’ by the Lions Clubs International. The award citation richly lauded her meritorious service in the ‘Medical field’ and hailed her as a great person who deserves all accolades and commendations for her meritorious and dedicated services and underlined that the award was being presented in recognition of her remarkable services.
It was an unforgettable X’Mas gift for Dr Sheila John as she walked up to the dais to a round of loud applause from the distinguished audience, to receive the award from Lion G.Ramu, Regional Chairperson, Lions Clubs International district 324 A 6, on the 25th of December 2017, at a glittering ceremony held at ‘Hotel Savera’ Chennai to mark the regional meet of Region-9.
Speaking to the corporate communications department Dr Sheila John strongly underlined that the concept of ‘Cost free community services’ to the indigent visually impaired was the brainchild of the illustrious founder and chairman Emeritus of Sankara Nethralaya, Dr SS.Badrinath, adding that the initiative assumed significance since there were few institutions offering, free eye care as an exclusive service and on such a large scale during those times. She recalled with pride that Outreach camps were started by Sankara Nethralaya at Thiruvallur and Kanchipuram districts in year 1992 and this year marks 25 glorious years of cost free service to the indigent visually impaired through outreach camps. Fondly reminiscing the renting of a building by the institution for its first community hospital at Pammal , a quiet hamlet close to Pallavaram, located at the periphery of the city in 1997, exactly 20 years ago, she recalled that there was an element of uncertainty in terms of financial sustenance of the initiative, since an operation of such magnitude was something that had not been tried in the past and how divine providence came in the form of generous support by the Lions Club, Tulsi Trust and individual philanthropists which made the initiative a huge success with a large number of patients from the nearby villages being dispensed totally cost free eye care, which encouraged many other eye care institutions to emulate the shining example.
The Sankara Nethralaya family expresses its hearty congratulations and best wishes to Dr Sheila John for being bestowed with this rare honour and wishes her many more honours and recognitions.
Sankara Nethralaya makes a very special gift to a segment most close to its heart, on a day celebrating the spirit of childhood!
As a leader in eye care, paediatric and children’s eye care has always had a very special place in Sankara Nethralaya’s endeavours towards eliminating blindness. The institution is credited as a pioneer and active player in this branch of ophthalmology, having developed special protocols in the diagnosis and treatment of children. As an institution with a firm belief that preventive eye care is the best form of avoiding blindness, it is well aware that detection/diagnosis and treatment in childhood is a major step in this direction, as eye ailments like most other health issues can be better diagnosed and treated at their early stages.
Dr Meenakshi Swaminathan, a senior consultant of the institution’s paediatric ophthalmology department being chosen to train paediatric ophthalmologists in China under ‘Children’s healthy eyes bring educational reward’ (CHEER) a joint initiative between ICO and ORBIS China chapter, the institution being identified by ORBIS to screen a large number of children in rural parts of India as a part of its goal towards eliminating childhood blindness globally, being accorded a pride of place in the ‘Limca book of records’ for screening the highest number of school children in a single day, are just a few examples of the care and concern that the institution has for this segment and its milestones in the same.
The institution made a very special gift to the segment close to its heart on the 14th of November 2017, being celebrated as ‘Children’s Day’ with a revolutionary solution to ‘Myopia’ or near sightedness, a refractive ailment which is the cause for a disturbingly high percent of vision impairment in this group. It launched a multi-pronged attack on ‘Myopia’ with the week from the 14th to 18th of November being observed as ‘Myopia Week’ with posters creating awareness on the ailment being displayed in the Paediatric ophthalmology department, a panel discussion by paediatric ophthalmologists, a meeting with parents of children in the vulnerable age group, followed by a press meet to take the message across to the public and an open house screening of children for ‘Myopia’.
Dr. Meenakshi Swaminathan, Senior Consultant, Pediatric Ophthalmology, Dr S.Viswanathan, DGM Optical Services, Sankara Nethralaya, who had recently been honoured with a PhD by the Anglia Ruskin University, UK for his in-depth research on ‘Myopia’ and leading paediatric ophthalmologists from the city enlightened the audience on ‘Myopia’ and steps to keep it at bay or check its progression. The speakers highlighted the age group in which ‘Myopia’ is prevalent, they emphasised that spending more time playing in the outdoors and less in front of the TV, computer screen, mobile phone and appropriate vision therapy can help in delaying or avoiding its onset. They cautioned that if left unchecked ‘Myopia’ could lead to progressive reduction of vision which would necessitate wearing of glasses that would keep getting progressively thicker every year and on a more serious angle it could lead to more critical eye ailments like cataract, glaucoma and even retinal detachment as the children reached their adulthood.
This was followed by the most awaited event of the day, the launch of ‘Myopin’ a highly effective and proven drug which could delay the onset and progression of ‘Myopia’ among children between 6-12 years, by Dr TS.Surendran, a veteran of Pediatric ophthalmology and Vice Chairman, Sankara Nethralaya. Interestingly the drug whose generic name is ‘Atropine’ is being used with a good degree of success in Singapore and parts of South East Asia but is still not common in the advanced West. The drug to be launched was subjected to stringent tests for efficacy and safety under a study termed ‘ATOM’ (Atropine for the treatment of childhood myopia) by leading institutions like AIIMS etc. It is noteworthy to mention here that the drug which was available largely as a compound, which was formulated on the spot, is being successfully developed as a ready to administer drug and launched in India, thanks to the strong encouragement and initiative taken by Dr Meenakshi Swaminathan, Senior Consultant at the Paediatric ophthalmology department and Director-Academics, Sankara Nethralaya. The drug would be manufactured by Ms Appaswamy Ocular Devices, at their manufacturing unit at Solan, Himachal Pradesh.
Team from Elite School of Optometry emerge victorious in a high power knowledge and subject matter mastery evaluation
“Ask questions to find out something about the world itself, not to find out whether or not someone knows it” – says John Holt
In the Optometry world, ESO is known for its legacy and leadership. It was time again on the 19th November, 2017 to prove ESO’s quality and competence when the ESO’s Quiz team comprising four Optometry Interns, Mr Jude Remedios Menezes, Ms Mehal Prasan Rathore, Ms Vidhyasri, and Ms Gowsalya witnessed glorious victory during the Ahalia’s CME program (ACME III) conducted at Palakkad, Kerala. With participation from 22 Optometry colleges across the country, and 900+ audiences, ACME III had series of guest lectures by eminent Optometry clinicians and researchers. Not to everyone’s surprise, all the speakers were alumni of ESO, currently holding key positions in various institutions across India.
The quiz had preliminary round short listing 7 teams from 30 teams, and ESO made it to the finals by going through the tough prelims. In the Preliminaries, each team was challenged with 3 questions each against the timer of one minute. ESO got into finals despite some nerve-racking moments.
In the Grand Finale of the Quiz, ESO demonstrated a cool and composed lead, and displayed their fine academic spirit. The rounds of Optics, Anatomy, and Ocular Diseases and Clinical examination, being the Quiz master’s favourite hats, ESO emerged victorious taking the first place after four intense rounds. ESO’s team was followed by two teams from Vasan Institute of Optometry, Chennai. The audience and delegates were all in praise for ESO and the team.
The ESO and SN family takes pride in congratulating the students for standing up to ESO’s legacy and wishing them great success in all future endeavours!
Three cheers to ESO!
Pontiff of Sri Raghavendra Swamy Matha showers his blessings on Sankara Nethralaya, for demonstrating the Saint’s teachings through cost free eye care dispensed at his abode
The Mobile Eye Surgical team’s dedicated and compassionate service at the holy abode of Swamy Raghavendra wins the blessings of His Holiness Sri Subudhendra Teertha Swami Galu the Peetadhipathi of Sri Raghavendra Swami Matha, Mantralayam on the entire Sankara Nethralaya family.
The Sankara Nethralaya family bids a most befitting and emotional farewell to one of its stalwarts!
The evening of Saturday the 4th of November 2017 is sure to go down in Sankara Nethralaya’s collective memory as one of its most poignant moments, the institution was bidding farewell to one of its oldest ‘warriors’ against blindness and members of the Sankara Nethralaya family from across disciplines and levels had gathered in good numbers to pay their tribute and bid goodbye to its 7th oldest employee, a man who personified dedication, sincerity and humility in his 33 years of glorious service.
It was a fascinating journey down the times as speaker after speaker shared their experiences with him, their recollections bringing out the innovator, scientist, teacher, team player and the warm and humble human being that Dr Ian Sundararajan, fondly referred to as ISR was perceived by them. Program presenter Dr Sonali Raman, Senior Consultant, department of anaesthesiology gave the proceedings a vibrant start with her exuberant observation that the period that Dr ISR was associated with Sankara Nethralaya could be called the golden era of anaesthesiology, she captured the involvement and spirit of the man who had made Sankara Nethralaya his first home for 33 long years with a most touching couplet.
Speaking on the occasion senior Consultant and Medical Director Dr Girish Shiva Rao observed that Dr ISR left an indelible mark on whatever he did, with his innovations and resourcefulness, which were nothing short of sensational. Saluting his sterling role, he expressed that Dr ISR was among the few men who left a deep impression on him through his abundant knowledge. Lauding Dr ISR as a hallmark of hard work, he expressed the collective gratitude of all the Surgeons at Sankara Nethralaya who owed their success to his expertise and co-operation. Dr TS.Surendran, Vice-Chairman and Director of Pediatric ophthalmology began his talk with a note that it would be impossible to capture all of what he called the ‘Treasures’ of his association with Dr ISR and that he would recall just a few of them. He described the veteran anaesthesiologist as a man who was constantly reviewing the operation theatre to explore scope for changes, enhancements that could make it a safer and easier procedure for the surgeon and his patient. He recalled the matchless dedication exhibited by Dr ISR during the brief strike by the support staff, when he would personally shift the patients to the anaesthesiology room and back to the OT after being anaesthetised, which ensured that all the 13 surgeries scheduled for him could be performed without a hitch. Beaming with a sense of pride and attachment Dr Lingam Gopal, Senior Consultant at the Vitreo Retina department started his note with an observation that he had the privilege of having the longest association with Dr ISR, he described him as a genial genius who made jaws drop with his innovation, a never say die workaholic who accepted sudden additions to his long patient list for the day with admirable readiness and smile. Dr Lingam Gopal expressed the collective tribute of the surgeons of the Vitreo retina department to the amazing anaesthetist who made their surgeries a great success and his gratitude to a great man who made every one strive for excellence by setting a great personal example. If Dr ISR was recalled as an amazing anaesthetist, a permanent feature in the operation theatre while the surgeons took their turn, a man of incredible energy levels and confidence who never shied of taking challenging cases in his stride, by Senior Consultants Dr L.Vijaya and Dr Nirmala Subramanian, he was recalled as a calming influence, giving the others in the OT a sense of calmness by his composure and reassuring presence, by Dr Vineet Rathra. While the OT assistants and maintenance staff hailed him as a warm, simple and patient man who never once lost his temper or been rude to them, the head of patient counselling and education Shri Irungovel highlighted a little known facet of his personality, his ‘poetic skills’. Dr ISR’s daughter, son-in-law and grand children brought out the caring, loving persona in him while Dr Bhanulakshmi from New Zealand wondered aloud if someone could even think of Sankara Nethralaya without Dr ISR and vice versa??
Delivering his acceptance speech a visibly moved Dr ISR started on a highly emotive note that he would serve in Sankara Nethralaya if he were to be born again, he expressed his sincere thanks to Dr SS.Badrinath whom he described as the moving force behind starting and developing ophthalmic anaesthesia as a specialty in India, when it was still unheard of in most eye care centres. He expressed his happiness on the decision to resign from government service and join Sankara Nethralaya that he had taken years ago, as he would have gone unnoticed if he had not done so.
While every speaker of the evening had expressed his/her good wishes for a restful, peaceful and healthy retired life to the veteran who was calling it a day, the observations of the person whom they were bidding farewell seemed to reveal a different agenda, he started off on a couple of strong observations ‘We should develop paediatric anaesthesia as a specialty’, ‘We should share the experience, expertise and knowledge gained by our long years in the practice of ophthalmic anaesthesia and the treatment of a large number of cases,’ ‘Our learning and experience should not go in vain and we should share it with the world by publishing a book’. These were typical Dr ISR observations to those who knew him well, the word ‘We’ in every objective he underlined making the assembled gathering wonder if the irrepressible teacher and anaesthetist was just about to begin another glorious innings for his cherished institution!!