Tributes poured in from political leaders and doctors for Sengamedu Srinivasa Badrinath, who passed away on Tuesday.
Born on February 24, 1940 in Chennai (then Madras), he studied at P.S. High School in Mylapore, and later at Sri Ramakrishna Mission High School in T. Nagar. He completed his intermediate collegiate studies at Loyola College in 1957 and MBBS in 1962 from MMC, scoring the highest marks in ophthalmology in the university exam. He pursued his graduation in ophthalmology at the Grasslands Hospital, New York University Postgraduate Medical School and Brooklyn Eye and Ear Infirmary from 1963 to 1968.
“As a child, Dr. Badrinath observed blindness up close when one of his relatives, who was blind in both eyes, came to stay with his family. The helplessness of a person without eyesight became deep-rooted in the young child’s memory,” an excerpt from an article on the ophthalmologist read. Under the guidance of his spiritual mentors at the Sankara Mutt, Dr. Badrinath established the Sankara Nethralaya in 1978. The institution has since established centres across the country, besides one in the U.S.
