Anyone who is from Chennai would easily recognise the name Thiruvengadam Veeraraghavan, or the ‘2 rupees doctor’ as he is affectionately referred to as. He died in August 2020 at the age of 70, catered to patients from north Chennai, has been. Born to Veeraraghavan, a farmer, and Radhabai, he did his schooling in Thyagaraya School and medicine from the Government Stanley Medical College. Hailing from a humble background, he was committed to helping the poor and downtrodden.
A resident of Vyasarpadi in Chennai, he had pursued medicine from a government medical college free of cost and hence intended to serve the poor for free in Vyasarpadi and Erukkancheri areas initially for ₹2 and for ₹5 after many years until his last breath. Every day, from 8 pm to 10 pm, he attended to patients in Erukancherry area, and from 10 pm to beyond midnight in Vyasarpadi area in the city.
Because of his low fees, he soon became very popular. But, this was met with backlash from his peers in the neighbourhood, who got together and protested, demanding he take at least Rs 100 as consultation fee. But, he was unfazed by it, and continued his service. In fact, he stopped accepting a fee from his patients after this incident. They could pay him just about anything — small sums they could afford, eatables, or nothing at all.
His wife Saraswathi worked as a railway officer and retired from service a few years ago. His son T Deepak and daughter T Preethi studied medicine in a college in Mauritius. Veeraraghavan hoped to get all his family members to work with him and fulfil his dream to build a hospital in Vyasarpadi and serve its residents. Unfortunately, he passed away before the realization of his dream last year. He has now been posthumously awarded the Padma Shri by the Central Government.
(Source: YourStory)
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