omlog: a blog by Sankara Nethralaya, Chennai, India!

Altruism Key To Healthcare in India

Dr. S. S. Badrinath received the Rameshwardas Birla National Award for an outstanding practising clinician in modern medicine on April 12, 2004.

Cream of the crop

Varuna Padmanabhan, an alumnus of the Elite School of Optometry (part of the educational programs at Sankara Nethralaya) has been recognized with the Outstanding Graduate Student Instructor Award for the year 2003 at the University of California, Berkeley.
 
Shrikant R. Bharadwaj, also an alumnus of Elite school of optometry bagged the very same award in 2003. He sent the following message to Dr. S.S. Badrinath:

"Ms. Varuna’s award has extremely pleased the faculty members and students at the School of Optometry, here at UC Berkeley. They have a high regard for the Elite school, especially since students from the Elite school have been awarded this honour for two consecutive years. These awards vested on us is a clear reflection of the strong optometry education the Elite school and its faculty provided us. I sincerely thank you and the others at the Elite school for making us good optometrists.”

Dr. S.S. Badrinath in his response to Shrikant conveyed the following:

"Varuna has indeed done very well and brought enormous laurels to her institution, the Elite School of Optometry. As one responsible for the founding of Elite school of optometry, I take pride in the achievement of our students."

Varuna Padmanaban and Shrikant Bharadwaj also helped Prof. J. M. Enoch to collect, catalogue and ship a very large number of books and journals in optometry. These are from the personal collection of Prof. Enoch who donated them to the Elite School of Optometry. Nethralaya also thanks these alumni for volunteering their services in building their alma mater.
 
Ms. Varuna belongs to the 1995-98 batch and Mr. Shrikant to the 1997-2000 batch. Congratulations Varuna and kudos to you Shrikant. Keep the Elite school flag flying high. You make us proud!

The Wind At Our Backs

“Your selfless services have been repeatedly recognized and you have been honoured by the Award of the title of 'Padmashri' in 1983 and again by the Award of 'Padmabhushan' in 1998. Besides you have been honoured by being made a Fellow of the Academy of Medical Sciences, India, and have been conferred the degree of Doctor of Science (Honoris Causa) by both the Annamalai University, Madras and Dr. M.G.R. Medical University, Madras. In recognition of your eminence in your field you have been appointed the Honorary Ophthalmic Surgeon to the President of India and have received various other appointments and honours.

Having attained to the ranks of the foremost ophthalmologists you have used your skills in restoring the sight of innumerable people and have opened up to them the wondrous experience of the beauty and grandeur of God’s creation and have thus earned their thankfulness and gratitude.

Your attainments and services rendered by you through "Sankara Nethralaya' founded by you, are a matter of pride to society and source of great pleasure to us.
 
And we pray to Hari and Vayu to bless you with health, wealth and prosperity and all happiness in the continued service to all His devotees and enjoyment of your unique status as 'SAMAJA RATNA' to which you have attained. May the Blessings of Hari and Vayu ever keep you company.”

This commendation was conferred upon Dr. S. S. Badrinath by His Holiness Sri. Vishveshatirtha Swamiji, Founder Chancellor of Poornaprajna Vidyapeetha on the occasion of the 48th Annual day function of the Poornaprajna Vidyapeetha held under the Presidentship of Dr. M.S. Thimmappa, Vice-Chancellor, University of Bangalore, on March 21, 2004.

Knowledge Is For Sharing

Dr. Lingam Gopal, or "LG" as he is called at our institution was in Nagpur on March 13th and 14th. His main mission was to deliver the Dr. Sudha Sutharia lecture organized by the Vidarbha Ophthalmic Society. His oration of 50 minutes on the 14th was on "The current management of Retinoblastoma." LG also participated in two more scientific sessions delivering talks on "Management of Intraocular Lens" and "Diagnosis of Endopthalmitis." The one-hour panel discussion was an interactive session. LG also utilized his visit to network with former fellows. He also visited the eye institutions of Dr. Vinay Nangia and Dr. Prashant K. Bawankole. Networking through knowledge-sharing is Sankara Nethralaya’s forte.

Recent Visits

A KINGLY RECEPTION
 
Sir David King, FRS, Adviser to the Govt. of United Kingdom on Science and Technology, on a whistle-stop tour to Chennai attended a reception hosted by the British Deputy High Commissioner Stuart Innes & Mrs. Sue Innes at their residence on March 19. Leading scientists and technologists of the city were invited. Dr. S.S. Badrinath & Dr. Vasanthi Badrinath met Sir David King who express his keen interest in the activities at Sankara Nethralaya and assured them a visit during his next visit to Chennai.
 
Mr. Stuart Innes who had visited Sankara Nethralaya a few months within his assuming office in Chennai wanted know about new projects at Sankara Nethralaya and the progress of Diabetic Retinopathy and Glaucoma project studies.
 
REGENERATION PARTNERSHIP
 
Mr. Ash Verma, Chief Executive, Southall Regeneration Partnership Ltd, United Kingdom along with Dr. Venu Govind Kumar, Management Consultant and a member of the Sankara Nethralaya United Kingdom Trust paid a visit to Sankara Nethralaya on March 19. Since they had very little time at their command, Dr. S.S. Badrinath made a presentation after lunch “From dreams to reality, an Indian journey.” Deeply impressed by the commitment to excellence at Sankara Nethralaya, they assured us their commitment to garner support for our ongoing community ophthalmic services.
 
FROM DOWN UNDER
 
Bernard Fernandes, our friend from Perth, Australia visited us on March 19th and presented a cheque towards the corpus fund set up to support Sankara Nethralaya's community ophthalmic service programs. Barney’s munificence from down under is greatly appreciated!

Singing Praises

Indian born and hailing from a business family, Kumar Lakhani has lived abroad for 30 years. His garment business and his interests in music bring him to Chennai very frequently. Two years ago, while in Chennai he developed a retina problem. His neighbour Mr. Krishnamurthy suggested he visit Sankara Nethralaya. So far he has visited the hospital five times. What he admires most about our institution is "service above self,” as practised by a professional team of consultants.

As a bhajan singer, Kumarji's intense interest in music has led him to market his music in the United Kingdom under the label "Wide-Eyed Music." During his most recent visit to Chennai, he recorded his latest selection of bhajans with other noted singers in the South. The album titled "Yaman" (raag) is slated for release in the United Kingdom in April. It is dedicated to Sankara Nethralaya with the total proceeds from the sale earmarked for Sankara Nethralaya's community-outreach programs.
 
This is yet another model for philanthropy; the ability to leverage one’s skills towards a worthy cause!

Ides of March

March 15 was a great day for Sankara Nethralaya. Mr. Viral K. Purohit, Hon. Secy of Rotary Eye Institute, Navsari, Gujarat accompanied by Sri Bhakti Bhai Gopalji Bhakta, G.H. Bhakta Memorial Foundation Trust, Mahuva, Surat District (Gujarat) and its Vice-Chairman, Sri Nalin Bhai C. Vyas paid a visit to Sankara Nethralaya. Their mission was to see and understand the facilities of Sankara Nethralaya for patient care, research, training & community service. Their Trust has been supporting Sankara Nethralaya since 2002 contributing Rs. 2 million every year. They also took the opportunity to present a cheque of Rs. 2 million in person being the third tranche of a total of five. Sankara Nethralaya salutes G.H. Bhakta Memorial Foundation Trust for their committed philanthropy towards the cause of the poor and downtrodden.

Nethralaya Shining

On Friday, March 12th, Dr. Kulin Kothari, Chairman & Medical Director, Bombay City Eye Institute and Research Centre and Mr. Navnit M. Shah, Managing Director, VIFOR India Pvt. Ltd, Goregaon (W), Mumbai visited Sankara Nethralaya. They visited all the facilities, spending most their time at the Jaslok Community Ophthalmic Centre (JCOC). Dr. Kulin Kothari’s comment in the visitor’s book is of special value; he writes, "India is shining because of Institutions like Sankara Nethralaya."
 
He also took the opportunity to present a cheque to Mrs. Vasanthi Badrinath towards the corpus fund Sankara Nethralaya has set up to perform a minimum of 10,000 surgeries perpetually every year free of charge to the needy and deserving. Mr. Navnit Shah has also assured us of his support of Sankara Nethralaya in the community ophthalmic service through his network. It was a home coming for Dr. Kulin Kothari catching up with his friends and associates at Sankara Nethralaya.