Dr Govindappa Venkataswamy was known as Dr V to his colleagues and patients. (Source: Google) Dr Govindappa Venkataswamy was known as Dr V to his colleagues and patients. (Source: Google) Dr Govindappa Venkataswamy, ophthalmologist and founder of the Aravind Eye Hospital, was honoured by Google on his 100th birthday with a doodle. Born on October 1, 1918, in Vadamalapuram of Tamil Nadu, he was known as Dr V to his colleagues and patients. Venkataswamy was a visionary ophthalmologist, who dedicated his life to eliminating needless blindness. Despite being stricken with rheumatoid arthritis at an early age, he learned how to perform surgery to remove cataracts, one of the major cause of blindness. Working towards the cause, he set up eye camps in rural areas, training programmes for ophthalmic assistants and also set up a rehab center for blind people. Acknowledging his contribution, the Government of India conferred him with the Padmashree award in the year 1973. His ambitious venture, Aravind Eye Hospital started as an 11-bed facility in 1976 but has since grown and spread across the nation and serves a huge number of people in need. Doctors mortgaged their homes and donated their own furniture in order to finance the facility initially. Out of the 11 beds, six were devoted to those patients who could not pay for the treatment and the other five beds to those paying only as much as they could afford. Having performed over 100,000 successful eye surgeries throughout his life, Dr V believed, “Intelligence and capability are not enough. There must also be the joy of doing something beautiful.” The doodle appears half blurred and half clear with the caricature of Dr Venkataswamy at the center, representing the vision of the ophthalmologist to help save people’s eyesight. It is an appreciation of the beauty of his endeavours and his role in helping people see the world better. He died on July 7, 2006.<doc-sep>Google Doodle features renowned ophthalmologist Govindappa Venkataswamy Born on this day in 1918, Govindappa Venkataswamy was raised in Vadamalapuram in Tamil Nadu. news Birth Anniversary The Google Doodle on Monday celebrated the centenary of renowned ophthalmologist Govindappa Venkataswamy, known as 'Dr V' among his patients, who flocked to the Aravind Eye Hospital that he founded in Madurai. Born on this day in 1918 in Vadamalapuram, Tamil Nadu, Venkataswamy was permanently crippled by rheumatoid arthritis. However, despite his own health issues, nothing could stop him from what he wanted to be. He attended a school in his village where students had to write on sand which collected from the riverbank as there was no pencil and paper. Later he went on to study Chemistry at the American College in Madurai and earned a degree of M.D. from Stanley Medical College in Madras in 1944. Right after completing his medical school Venkataswamy went on to join the Indian Army Medical Corps. However, a severe case of rheumatoid arthritis nearly crippled him and his career took a setback. He was confined to bed for a year. When he returned to academics, Venkataswamy studied for a degree in ophthalmology in 1951. Facing mandatory retirement at age 58, Dr V began the next phase of his career in 1976, establishing the GOVEL Trust in order to fund the first Aravind Eye Hospital. The 11-bed facility was financed by doctors mortgaging their homes and donating their own furniture. The vision was to devote six beds to those patients who could not pay anything and to cover those costs with the other five beds, serving patients paying only as much as they could afford. Despite his health issues, he learned how to perform surgery to remove cataractsâ€”the leading cause of blindness. Dr V could perform 100 surgeries in a day. Addressing the problem of blindness in a holistic fashion, he set up eye camps in rural communities, a rehab centre for blind people, and a training program for ophthalmic assistants, personally performing over 100,000 successful eye surgeries. In 1973, he received the Padmashree award from the Government of India for outstanding service to the nation. He used to organise eye camps in rural communities, which would serve as a rehab centre for the blind and a training session for ophthalmic assistants, during this period he performed over 1,00,000 successful eye surgeries, the Google blog post said.<doc-sep>Dr. Govindappa Venkataswamy: Indian ophthalmologist who dedicated his life to eliminate needless blindness NEW DELHI: Google on Monday marked the 100th birth anniversary of Indian ophthalmologist Dr Govindappa Venkataswamy with a doodle.Venkataswamy is the founder and chairman of Aravind Eye Hospitals , Madurai, the largest provider of eye care in the world.Incidentally, Google CEO Sundar Pichai too hails from Madurai, the city where Aravind Eye Hospital first came into being.The eye hospital has treated over 55 million patients and performed over 6.8 million surgeries and has played a crucial role in eradicating cataract-related blindness in the country.According to Google blog post, he was known as Dr V to his colleagues and patients. He founded the Aravind Eye Hospital, which started as “an 11-bed facility and has grown into a network of clinics providing life-changing care to citizens of a nation struggling with high rates of blindness.”Born on October 1, 1918, in Vadamalapuram, Tamil Nadu, Venkataswamy was permanently crippled by rheumatoid arthritis at age 30. However, despite his health issues, he learned how to perform surgery to remove cataracts—the leading cause of blindness.“Dr V could perform 100 surgeries in a day. Addressing the problem of blindness in a holistic fashion, he set up eye camps in rural communities, a rehab centre for blind people, and a training program for ophthalmic assistants, personally performing over 100,000 successful eye surgeries,” the post added.Venkataswamy was conferred with Padma Shri in 1973.He died on July 7, 2006, at the age of 87.<doc-sep>
Google on Monday honoured Dr Govinda Venkataswamy, a visionary Indian ophthalmologist, on his 100th birth anniversary with a doodle New Delhi: Internet search giant Google on Monday, October 1, 2018, honoured Dr Govinda Venkataswamy, a visionary Indian ophthalmologist, on his 100th birth anniversary with a doodle. Dr Govindappa Venkataswamy was born on October 1, 1918, to a farming family in Vadamalapuram, Tamil Nadu. Dr Venkataswamy dedicated his life to eliminating needless blindness. Dr Venkataswamy is the founder and former chairman of Aravind Eye Hospitals, the largest provider of eye care in the world. During his lifetime, he built a wide network of partnerships with institutions in India and abroad that continue to work with his organization. As Google celebrates Dr Venkataswamy's 100th birthday in a few countries with a doodle, here are five facts you need to know about Dr V. Dr Venkataswamy received his medical degree from the Stanley Medical College in Chennai and joined the Indian Army Medical Corps to practice obstetrics. But his career with the Army was short lived as he was discharged after contracting a rare form of rheumatoid arthritis at age 30, which permanently crippled his fingers out of shape and left him bed-ridden for two years. Upon his return to medicine, he trained as an ophthalmologist since his condition barred him from training in obstetrics - his chosen field. Despite his health issues, he learned how to perform surgery to remove cataracts - the leading cause of blindness. According to Google blog post, Dr V could perform 100 surgeries in a day. “Addressing the problem of blindness in a holistic fashion, he set up eye camps in rural communities, a rehab centre for blind people, and a training program for ophthalmic assistants, personally performing over 100,000 successful eye surgeries,” the post added. He is best known for developing a high quality, high volume, low-cost service delivery model that has restored sight to millions of people. Aravind Eye Hospital, which Dr V started as ‘an 11-bed facility’ in the late 1970s, has nearly 4,000 beds today performing over 200,000 eye surgeries each year, with 70% of patients paying little or nothing. Since inception, Aravind Eye Care System has seen over 55 million patients and performed over 6.8 million surgeries. In 1973, Dr V was conferred the Padmashree award by the Government of India for his outstanding service to the nation. Dr Govindappa Venkataswamy never married. He died on July 7, 2006, at the age of 87.