Dr. M. R. Guruswami Mudaliar (1880–1958) was an Indian medical practitioner in

Madras Chennai (, ), formerly known as Madras ( the official name until 1996), is the capital city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost Indian state. The largest city of the state in area and population, Chennai is located on the Coromandel Coast of th ...

during the first half of the twentieth century.

Early life

Guruswami Mudaliar was born in 1880 in a Tuluva Vellala mudaliar family in

Nelamangala Nelamangala is a town in India. Its headquarters is taluk, which is located in the Bangalore Rural district of Karnataka state in India. Nelamangala is situated near the junction point of two National Highways, NH-75(48) (Bangalore - Mangalore) ...

, (now in

Bangalore Bangalore (), officially Bengaluru (), is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Karnataka. It has a population of more than and a metropolitan population of around , making it the third most populous city and fifth most ...

), then part of the

Mysore Mysore (), officially Mysuru (), is a city in the southern part of the state of Karnataka, India. Mysore city is geographically located between 12° 18′ 26″ north latitude and 76° 38′ 59″ east longitude. It is located at an altitude of ...

principality. His father, Ramaswamy Mudaliar, was a prosperous building contractor and he was born to his father's second wife. After completing his schooling in Mysore, he went to

Bangalore Central College Central College Bengaluru (1858) is one of the oldest colleges in India. This college was originally affiliated to University of Mysore in Mysore State. Rev. John Garrett was the first principal of the Central High School, which was afterwards re ...

for his B.A. degree.

Rajaji Chakravarti Rajagopalachari (10 December 1878 – 25 December 1972), popularly known as Rajaji or C.R., also known as Mootharignar Rajaji (Rajaji'', the Scholar Emeritus''), was an Indian statesman, writer, lawyer, and Indian Independence M ...

was a college friend of his.

Medical career

After completing his bachelor's, Guruswami Mudaliar joined

Madras Medical College Madras Medical College (MMC) is a public medical college located in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India. Established on 2 February 1835, it is the second oldest medical college in India, established after Calcutta Medical College. History The Governme ...

for a degree in medicine. He passed out with flying colours and he later practised at Government Hospital, Thanjavur. After a few years, he was pressed into service as a professor at Madras Medical College. He was the first Indian to be appointed Professor of Therapeutics at the Madras Medical College. It was a highly honourable post as back in those days, as it was previously open only to experienced and knowledgeable British doctors.

Speciality as a doctor

Guruswami Mudaliar was a renowned surgeon and was consulted by several famous people which included freedom fighters and political leaders. He performed the third surgery of a cancerous lump on Ramana Maharishi's arm in August 1949. He also treated

Periyar Erode Venkatappa Ramasamy (17 September 1879 – 24 December 1973), revered as Periyar or Thanthai Periyar, was an Indian social activist and politician who started the Self-Respect Movement and Dravidar Kazhagam. He is known as the 'F ...

several times in prison when he was not keeping good health. Others like V.V. Giri,

Durgabai Deshmukh Gammiḍidala Durgabāi Deshmukh, Lady Deshmukh (15 July 1909 – 9 May 1981) was an Indian freedom fighter, lawyer, social worker and politician. She was a member of the Constituent Assembly of India and of the Planning Commission of Indi ...

and

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also extol the services of Dr Guruswami in their interviews and autobiographies. Guruswami Mudaliar was widely known to be a past master at percussion diagnosis. In one case, Guruswami Mudaliar was asked to treat a young woman with a mysterious illness. He asked her to lie on her stomach and, pulling up her blouse, he kept his left hand on her back and began his percussion treatment. Suddenly he stopped at one spot and taking out a copying pencil he drew a circle around that spot. He then summoned the other doctors and showed them that the spot inside the circle in her body was the cause of her illness. He had located an

abscess An abscess is a collection of pus that has built up within the tissue of the body. Signs and symptoms of abscesses include redness, pain, warmth, and swelling. The swelling may feel fluid-filled when pressed. The area of redness often extends b ...

whose congealing during daytime caused fever to the patient. Though none of the other doctors believed him initially, the

X-ray An X-ray, or, much less commonly, X-radiation, is a penetrating form of high-energy electromagnetic radiation. Most X-rays have a wavelength ranging from 10 picometers to 10 nanometers, corresponding to frequencies in the range 30&nb ...

report confirmed the diagnosis was right. He prescribed sulpha tablets to dissolve the abscess and successfully cured the patient.

Ethical standpoints

Guruswami Mudaliar never treated anyone for free as he believed free treatment would be deemed valueless. He charged a very small fee from poor patients. During the 1950s, when

influenza Influenza, commonly known as "the flu", is an infectious disease caused by influenza viruses. Symptoms range from mild to severe and often include fever, runny nose, sore throat, muscle pain, headache, coughing, and fatigue. These symptoms ...

ravished

, Dr. Mudaliar suggested a tablet called Elkosin to cure an influenza attack in one of his interviews. The interview created a sensation and the sales of the tablet surged. However, many city doctors were highly critical of Mudaliar for prescribing a branded tablet as treatment which they felt strongly was against medical ethics. Mudaliar said he placed the welfare of the patient higher than ethics.

Recognition

* The

bridge A bridge is a structure built to span a physical obstacle (such as a body of water, valley, road, or rail) without blocking the way underneath. It is constructed for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle, which is usually somethi ...

connecting

Kilpauk Kilpauk is a semi residential area located in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India. The distance from Chennai's city to Kilpauk is about 6 km. The region is situated off the Poonamallee High Road in the west. Adjacent areas of Kilpauk include Chetp ...

and

Chetpet Chetput is a major town and a municipality in Tiruvannamalai district in the state of Tamil Nadu, India. Chetput's major economical activity is processing paddy and the town is home to one of the largest organised paddy exchange market of the s ...

Chennai Chennai (, ), formerly known as Madras ( the official name until 1996), is the capital city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost Indian state. The largest city of the state in area and population, Chennai is located on the Coromandel Coast of th ...

is named after Guruswamy Mudaliar, as is the road over the bridge. * A statue of Guruswamy is instated at the campus of Madras Medical College. Guruswami Mudaliar bridge

* He was honoured by a special Cover released by Indian postal service. * Dr. Guruswamy Mudaliar Thondaimandala Tuluva Vellala Hr. Sec School, chennai 1 is named after him.

References

External links

Madras Musings

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mudaliar, M. R. Gurusamy Madras Medical College alumni 19th-century Indian medical doctors 1880 births 1958 deaths Medical doctors from Bangalore 20th-century Indian medical doctors Medical doctors in British India