Dr.S.Sengaliappan ( 1904 - 1965 ) was known for his valuable and timely medical attendance to the people of Coimbatore. He was the pioneer of affordable medicine all his life. The good doctor was born to S.Sellappa Gounder ( Jailer in the Central Jail ) and Sellammal on the 29 th of December 1904.
Dr.S.Sengaliappan ( 1904 - 1965 ) was known for his valuable and timely medical attendance to the people of Coimbatore. He was the pioneer of affordable medicine all his life. The good doctor was born to S.Sellappa Gounder ( Jailer in the Central Jail ) and Sellammal on the 29 th of December 1904. He did his education from the St.Michaels High School in Coimbatore until the year 1923. Subsequently he pursued his medical studies between 1924 and 1928 at the Coimbatore Medical School. Thereafter, he studied at the Madras Royapuram Medical School ( 1926 - 1928 ) and obtained the L.M.P Diploma Degree in order to become a doctor. His elder brother was a Sub Registrar while his younger brother was a civil engineer.
The Government Headquarters Hospital was the only place to serve those days and the chief doctors in the facility were mostly Europeans. Dr.Sengaliappan used to visit the hospital and also the residences of patients on his cycle. The surgeons Lt.Col. Dr. Cox and Dr.Samuel Johnson preferred the co operation of Dr.Sengaliappan and he was their assistant during surgeries. These opportunities helped Dr.Sengaliappan to excel as a noteworthy surgeon.
Dr.Sengaliappan gained enormous experience because of the hard work and commitment displayed by him while working with the Europeans. Later in life, the good doctor used to state that it was only because of his association with the European doctors that he had become a successful surgeon. He used forever remember his days with the doctors who had nurtured him.
The Second World War began in the end of 1939 and Dr.Sengaliappan was invited to serve the military. He served in Baluchistan, Assam, Secunderabad, Pune, Kirkee and a number of places. His service at the time of the war earned him many credentials. He began to serve at the Government Headquarters Hospital after the war and his re entry was eagerly received by the people of Coimbatore.
Dr.Sengalippan started a very basic dispensary at a time when medical facilities were nascent. If this was the condition in the city, one can imagine the condition in the villages. Therefore Dr.Sengaliappan used to visit the neighboring villages in order to serve the mofussil. His car used to be a mobile hospital and he used to carry emergency medicines, surgical instruments required for attending deliveries along with him. At times, he used to bring back patients who were seriously ill in his car for further treatment at Coimbatore.
Dr.Sengaliappan did not differentiate between the rich and the poor. He treated everyone alike. Fees given by the patients was not very important for he was much interested in providing succor to the suffering. He used to spend all his time with his patients and never bothered to spare time for ceremonious occasions for he was a committed doctor. Seriously ill patients used to get round the clock attention from him.
The sincere and devoted service of Dr.Sengalippan made him very popular and the milling crowds at his dispensary encouraged him to open a full fledged Nursing Home at North Coimbatore in the year 1950. Dr.Sengaliappan's Hospital was made of 60 beds and equipment that was required for investigation and treatment.
Dr.Sampath, the grandson of Dr.Sengalippan shared some snippets about his grandfather, " He used to deliver kids with the aid of petromax and hurricane lights in the villages. A fee was never demanded. At times, he used to pay the bus charges of his poor patients. We were pleasantly surprised to see his picture in a number of pooja rooms of his patients decades after his passing away. He stopped smoking because of the reciprocal advice received from one of his patients.
Grandfather did not issue a bill but only a slip to his patients. He never counted the money received. The money collected thus was put into his coat pocket. In just over one and a half decades , he made a big name for the Dr.Sengalippan Nursing Home in Western Tamilnadu. My grandmother Ramalakshmi Sengalippan was of great assistance to my grandfather. She used to take care of the hygiene and maintenance of the nursing home. She passed away all of a sudden in the year 1962 and grandfather was deeply upset about her passing away. Later on my mother Suseela Shanmughasundaram ( only child of Dr.Sengalippan ) and father Dr.K.Shanmugha Sundaram took care of the hospital and its associated facilities. "
Dr.Sengalippan had the great fortune of treating His Holiness Kandaswamy Swamigal of Kaumara Madam from his residence in the years 1946 and 1948. His Holiness Sundara Swamigal had stayed in the Jail Road residence of Dr. Sengalippan along with the senior Pontiff. In fact His Holiness Kandaswamy Swamigal had attained the upper realm from the residence of the doctor. He used to treat the students, teachers and people associated with the Kaumara Madam or Mutt in his hospital with utmost care ad love. His Holiness Sundara Swamigal was thus personally associated with Dr.Sengalippan.
Later on , he constructed a Murugan Temple and rooms at the Vanna Charabam Thavathiru Dhandapani Swamigal Mutt in Palani but he had passed away before the completion of the project. His Holiness Ramananda Swamigal had spent time in this sacred spot. It was fructified by his daughter Suseela and son in law Dr.Shanmughasundaram. A icon of Saint Arunagirinathar was also installed at Palani. During his course of treatment , His Holiness Kandaswamy Swamigal had converted his room in the premises of Dr. Sengaliappan into a marvelous place which became a home for discourses on religion and theology.
Suseela Shanmughasundaram, the only daughter of Dr.Sengaliappan used to rush from school during the evening hours in order to enjoy listening to the stories from the puranas and epics of our country. His Holiness Kandaswamy Swamigal used to render the stories in a simple manner and any child of today would have loved to listen to him.
Dr.Sengalippan had wanted to hand over the administration to his beloved son in law Dr.Shanmughasundaram and lead a spiritual life. He had wanted to build a Thiruppugazh School in the Mutt but passed away in the year 1965. On his passing away, the family members constructed a dining hall at the Kaumara Mutt in his memory.
The Pontiff of Thavathiru Santhalinga Adigalar Mutt at Perur, His Holiness Santhalinga Ramaswamy Adigalar was well known to Dr.Sengalippan. He had got to know him while the doctor was treating the Pontiff of Kaumara Mutt. The association with His Holiness Kandaswamy Adigalar had created a marvelous impact on the service minded Dr.Sengalippan. His entire family was involved in the process when the Pontiff was being treated by the doctor. The doctor's daughter, Suseela used to collect flowers for the pooja during her tender years from the homes in the neighbourhood. The doctor had allotted a portion of his residence for the Pontiff. He began to voluntarily offer free medical treatment to the students of the institutions associated with the Santhalinga Adigalar Mutt. Dr.Sengalippan used to make these students recite verses from sacred Tamil religious texts while treating the students in order to make them forget the pain while administering medication through a syringe.
Dr.Sengalippan used to often seek the guidance of the Pontiffs of Santhalinga Adigalar Mutt and Kaumara Mutt with regard to philanthropy. He had been keen to spend a part of the money earned by him on spiritual activities. His wife Ramalakshmi Ammal was a noble lady and she used to offer her kind counsel while helping orphans and senior citizens alike all her life. The noble minded lady used to travel by car all by herself and offer her services and financial help to the needy regularly.
The Dr. Sengalippan Nursing Home has been a four generation facility thus far - Dr.S.Sengaliappan, Dr. K.Shanmughasundaram , Dr.S.Sampath and Dr.S.Adharsh from the family have been working in the hospital. Institutions are founded and made ' Good to great '. However noble ideals ensure that they are ' Built to Last '.