Dr.S.S.Narasimhan ( 1932 - 2004 ) was the first son of the friendly family physician Dr.S.R.Srikantan and Nagalakshmi.
Dr.S.S.Narasimhan ( 1932 - 2004 ) was the first son of the friendly family physician Dr.S.R.Srikantan and Nagalakshmi. He hailed from a branch of the famous ' Sulur Family '. The family used to own lands in Sulur long ago. Dr.Srikantan was a well known family physician and he used to visit the homes of his patients everyday. He lived on the corner of D.B.Road and West Venkataswamy Road in R.S.Puram. The home was a home to quite a few dogs and a large number of cats. Dr.Srikantan had been a committed family physician. The good Srikantan had been a popular medical practitioner in Coimbatore, not only to the rich but also the poor. Old timers continue to remember Dr.Srikantan who had won a number of tournaments as a member of the Coimbatore Cosmopolitan Club.
Dr.Narasimhan was fondly known as ' Narsi ' to his close friends and relatives. The brilliant doctor had done his schooling from the R.S.Puram Boys High School. Its nice to learn that this school had produced top class citizens. Narsi had done his Intermediate from 1947 to 1949 and his B.A ( Biology & Zoology ) from 1949 to 1952 at the Government Arts College ( Coimbatore ). Subsequently he joined the Kasturba Medical College ( Karnataka University, Mangalore ) in the year 1953 and completed his MBBS in 1959. He did his Senior Residency at Christian Medical College, Vellore between 1959 and 1961. Cardiology interested him a lot and he worked for two years under Dr.Mrs. Vaidyalingam, one of the most senior cardiologists of the time in India. Later on Dr.S.S.Narasimhan went to the United Kingdom in order to do his MRCP in London and in Glasgow. Narsi returned to India in the year 1967 and joined his father Dr.S.R. Srikantan as a medical practioner. His father introduced Dr.S.S.Narasimhan to his patients in a gradual manner and very soon he became very popular like his father.
The bright doctor was an excellent Clinician with superb knowledge in numerous fields of Medical Sub Specialities like Cardiology, Nephrology, Neurology etc., He had been a hospital consultant with leading hospitals like G.Kuppuswamy Naidu Memorial Hospital for many decades. Narsi was very popular with his peers and the general public as well. He was a Free Mason and was also attached to the Lions Club. The good doctor had been a good sportsman and had played cricket and tennis during his younger days. He began playing golf from the year 1980 and played at both the Ooty and Coimbatore golf courses all his life. The doctor was an amazing man for he played golf even after his leg was amputated. His artificial limb did not prevent him from doing any of his normal activities. He had tremendous will power and never gave up hope till he died with his ' Boots on ' as in the ' Charge of the Light Brigade ', the famous English poem.
Dr.S.S.Narasimhan was a member of IMA ( Indian Medical Association ), A.P.I and the Cardiological Society of India ( Founder Member of the Coimbatore Chapter and also President ). He was a hands on 24 / 7 physician besides being an avid reader of medical bulletins and journals like the British Medical Journal. A lot of time was spent in Cosmopolitan Club library and he used to give his valuable inputs with regard to the magazine section. Members used to take prescriptions from him in the club itself. Some of them took prescriptions over the phone. On several occasions, members used to request him to attend on their family members and he used to visit the homes in order to address the ailment even during the after hours. K.Lalitha Bai, the first daughter in law of P.A.Raju Chettiar was his patient and he used to visit her everyday for decades. Her day would not be in order without consulting him. There have been instances when he used to get samples of the best globally available medicines for her.
The family of Dr.S.S.Narasimhan were deeply attached to him. He was very happily married to Rajeswari and the marriage had taken place in 1968.
The couple were blessed with Narsimha Prasad ( 1974 ) in the USA and Dr.Dinesh Narasimhan ( 1977 ).
Today the family is further blessed with three grandsons and one grand daughter. Rajeswari Narasimhan spoke about her husband Dr.S.S.Narasimhan while sharing his memorial photo album. " My husband was very fond of the family and he was a caring person. He was a man of few words and he used to say that the tension of the patients should be minimum. Scotland based music topped his list and both of us liked English movies. We used to go to watch a second show in Central Theatre. The owner V.Ramaswamy Naidu was our friend and he used to send us coffee along with snacks during the intermission. In spite of having issues with his own heart, he used to attend to emergencies in the night. He was not at all particular about money. One can say that he was like a drop of water on a lotus leaf. He was a close friend of all his patients. Dogs were very dear to him and if a dog was unwell, he would put two beds in the sofa room and stay with the dog.
The anti rabies vaccine used to given by him and he would give ' drips ' if the dogs were unwell. The dogs at the golf club used to be fed by him. Even the dogs in the homes of his patients used to come running to him with joy. If a dog passed away, he would become very upset and would close the clinic for the day. He would have tears in his eyes. It would be rare to find such a good husband. He would never interrogate and had given me full freedom. I was treated as his equal. He would let me take care of all the home related activities. All the investment decisions were left with me and he would just come along to affix his signature. Oh, he just loved Godhumarava uppuma and spicy pickle so much that he would have it everyday. His patients were family for him and whenever his car broke down, patients used to offer him their car instantly. The receptionist at the clinic was Parvathi and the driver was Ramaswamy. Our driver knew everyone whom my husband knew. We had a great ' Dampathyam '. He had just let me manage everything for him. The auditor, lawyer etc., etc., were handled my me. I used to drive him to places which were far away in order to attend to patients. I still remember the names of the dogs which used to play with him - Lassy, Rex, Tommy, " stated Rajeswari Narasimhan while sharing snippets about her husband.
Dr.S.S.Narsimhan led a simple but qualitative life. He had been a member of the Kantirava Narasaraja Sports Club ( Mysore ), Ootacamund Gymkhana Club ( Ooty ), Coimbatore Golf Club and Coimbatore Cosmopolitan Club. The meticulous doctor used to maintain a ledger on all his patients. He made notes on their conditions, predispositions and medical treatment undergone by them. Each one of them relied on him fully. His advice was paramount whenever they had to visit a specialist, be it a dermatologist or a dentist or a surgeon. People remember the mild mannered Dr.S.S.Narasimhan in his double knit trousers carrying on with his visits. His clinical diagnosis was on the dot and perhaps his regular observation of people as a general physician must have added to his genius. His siblings were S.S.Balasubramaniam, S.S.Ramamurthy and Susheela Ashwath. The doctor in him believed that too many tests and scans caused a lot of stress and the physician should be better equipped to do a clinical diagnosis for that was the most important step. He used to read even while having his food for he was in the process of enriching his knowledge further all his life.
Rajeswari Narasimhan used to manage the Coimbatore Diagnostic Centre and the Cardio Bio Clinical Laboratory for some years. It had been a joint venture of some doctors and Dr.S.S.Narasimhan. Today Dr.Dinesh Narasimhan is following the footsteps of his father. He is both a medical professor and a doctor. The old patients are now with this third generation doctor. Dr,C.V.Shanmugham, Dr.S.Srihari and Dr.P.C.Raju were among his close friends. G.K.Vijaykumar, G.K.Rajagopal Suresh Gokuldas, K.V.Balasubramaniam and K.Govindarajulu were among the friends who met up with him regularly in the clubs. Dr.S.S.Narasimhan had served in the Government General hospital for 10 years and many of his students went on to become big doctors. The man was a legend and was absolutely non commercial.
" Many of his patients who have spoken to me about him said that he was friendly, caring and made them feel comfortable. He would also reassure people who did not have serious health conditions, that it was nothing to worry about and that made them feel better, " stated the second son Dr.Dinesh Narasimhan.
Sujani Balu remembers Dr.S.S.Narasimhan, " Doctor was an amazing person. He used to be a great friend of my husband and would visit us everyday. I remember him having just a dash of coffee. Doctor Narasimhan was known as ' Narsi ' and he was not at all bothered about money. He was a true ' Karmayogi '. Most of his patients continue to miss him. His humane touch saved many a life. The timely attention given by him personally has no substitute. He was there with his patients for life. Family physicians are a rarity today and doctors like Narasimhan even more rarer. The people of Coimbatore were really fortunate to have the great and good Doctor Narasimhan amidst them." This kind doctor used to be the family doctor for not just the wealthy but their employees, household help and lots of the poor people in the society of the day.
Dr.S.S.Narasimhan will be remembered as a great and humane physician who put the well being of his patients above anything else. The city should institute an award in his name.