"Old age is a time to celebrate. Its given by God to spend time for oneself. This is the time when we can do what we want. You do not have hurdles to cross. You are not answerable to anybody. You can relax all day, " smiled eminent surgeon Dr.P.C.Raju, President of Parivu, a senior citizens society. " The objective of Parivu is to educate senior citizens on leading a healthy life which is also spiritual. We make them aware of their legal rights and duties. The 'Living Will' is introduced as a concept to the seniors and it is for the purpose of ensuring a peaceful end. Vanitha Mohan , Managing Trustee of Siruthuli is a Patron of Parivu and she is extremely supportive, " added Dr.P.C. Raju. He is popularly known as PCR and was an extremely successful surgeon in this part of the country.
"Old age is a time to celebrate. Its given by God to spend time for oneself. This is the time when we can do what we want. You do not have hurdles to cross. You are not answerable to anybody. You can relax all day, " smiled eminent surgeon Dr.P.C. Raju, President of Parivu, a senior citizens society. " The objective of Parivu is to educate senior citizens on leading a healthy life which is also spiritual. We make them aware of their legal rights and duties. The 'Living Will' is introduced as a concept to the seniors and it is for the purpose of ensuring a peaceful end. Vanitha Mohan , Managing Trustee of Siruthuli is a Patron of Parivu and she is extremely supportive, " added Dr.P.C. Raju. He is popularly known as PCR and was an extremely successful surgeon in this part of the country.
The wooded split level residence of Dr. Raju is full of greenery. A wonderful painting done by a patient who had been treated by Dr.P.C. Raju welcomes the visitors. The phrase ' You are the most welcome guest ' is found on this lovely piece of art and it is sure to stay in the memory of the visitor for good. One can feel the old Ramnagar in this nice home which is embellished with black and white marble slabs from Makrana in Rajasthan. The beauty is further enhanced due to the presence of the two finely made pictures which were hand embroidered by his wife Late P.R. Ramalakshmi. Her father Kaliappan Gounder was the founder of Hotel Alankar in Ramnagar. It was a premium destination for food and lodging during the sixties and seventies of the last century.
Dr.P.C. Raju was born to Chinnuswamy Gounder and Saradhambal of Pooluvapatti. The family belongs to the 'Poochendu kootam' and the Kuladeivam is Lord Veerakumar of Vellakovil. However they treat Lord Muruga in Vellalapalayam near Gobi as the main family deity. The doctor did his schooling at the Diamond Jubilee High School at Gobi and Lawrence in Ooty. He belonged to the last batch of the intermediate in Loyola ( 1955 - 1957 ). The medical degree was from Madras Medical College ( 1957 - 1963 ). Dr.P.C.Raju did his F.R.C.S in the Edinborough University and was in the United Kingdom between the years 1964 and 1970. He married Ramalakshmi in the year 1964 and she joined him at the UK after the birth of their daughter Chithra Elango. The daughter Chithra and son in law architect Ilango have founded an eco resort ‘ My Village ‘ at Anaikatti. The son in law Elango is an architect and the daughter is a home maker. Dr. Raju is a great grand father now. The son Dr. Aravindkumar is a dentist and the daughter in law Dr. Suguna Priya is a diabetologist.
PCR was the Professor of Surgery at the Coimbatore Medical College. He came up with his own Saravana Surgery in R.S.Puram by 1974 and practiced until 2015. The hospital had been inaugurated by Dr.Black of the United Kingdom and industrialist Dr.N. Mahalingam. Dr.P.C. Raju had been associated with GKNM ( G. Kuppuswamy Naidu Memorial Hospital ) for many years. He joined the institution as the Chief Surgeon and started the regular surgical department in the hospital more than 30 years ago. The touch and experience of PCR did wonders in Coimbatore and he was a popular surgeon for decades.
The dhoti clad doctor was bubbling with energy while talking about the field of medicine, " It has been quite a long journey. Those were times when clinical diagnosis was relied upon. Nowadays it is lab diagnosis. We could understand the problems faced by the patients because of repeated clinical examination. Repeated questioning and observation helped us a lot and we did find good solutions. I had a good experience in UK and was really impressed with the approach of the doctors in the west. I joined under Dr.Black and he was good in investigating problems. He used to ask the patient to breathe out . He would 'smell ' for ' Foetor Oris ' and then see if it was an acute abdomen issue. Dr.Reilly was another good surgeon and I learnt much under him. He used to encourage me a lot and his assessment was great. I learnt a lot in the United Kingdom those days. My area of specialization was esophageal surgery and I was the first to introduce endoscopy in Tamilnadu. I underwent training for endoscopy in 1973 - 1974. Went to Japan for three months on a Ethicon Foundation Scholarship Programme. We at Coimbatore managed to be the first among the Government Hospitals to get the unit and it was when Dr. Sivalingam was the Dean. Well, life goes on. " The doctor counts Dr. Krishnaraj, Dr.S.S. Narasimhan, Dr.P. Rajendran, Dr.Duke Karunakaran and Dr.J. Sanathkumar among his friends.
Dr.P.C. Raju has built a retirement home at Mangarai called ' Arogya Kudumbam '. In functions under the auspices of the Saradhambal Trust. There are about 50 people living in this home. It is a vegetarian facility and one can learn more about it by visiting http://www.arogyakudumbam.org The facility has a mini golf course. The idea is to ensure that the mind, body and eye co ordination is maintained through ' putting '.
" We have a novel concept at our senior citizens facility. It is called ' Forest Bathing '. One has to enjoy the serene forest atmosphere without any gadgets. Fresh air, listening to the chirping of birds and breathing the forest aroma are recommended as part of forest bathing. Shinrin - yoku is a term that means ' taking in the forest atmosphere ' or ' forest bathing '. It was developed in Japan during the 1980s and has become a cornerstone of preventive healthcare and healing in Japanese medicine. Researchers primarily in Japan and South Korea have established a robust body of scientific literature on the health benefits of spending time under the canopy of a living forest. Now their research is helping to establish this concept throughout the world. We should work towards establishing natural forests on public lands as designated sites for forest therapy activities, such as walking and meditation. The scientifically proven benefits of Shinrin - Yoku include - boosted immune functioning with an increase in the count of the body's natural killer cells, reduced blood pressure, improved mood, improved ability to focus even in children with ADHD, accelerated recovery from surgery or illness and improved sleep among other benefits. Over all happiness is bound to increase and we will witness a deepening of friendships, " shared Dr.P.C. Raju.
Coimbatoreans are living near the forests and are trying to make the forest into a concrete jungle ! John Muir has written that ' Thousands of tired , nerve shaken , over civilized people are beginning to find out that going to the mountains is going home. Wilderness is a necessity,'. It is possible to recognize that forest therapy approaches such as Shinrin Yoku have roots in many cultures. Did not our sages of yore and epic heroes like Rama, Lakshmana , Nala and the Pandavas do a lot of wise things in the forest. Banishing one to the forests had done good for the person and the society at large! www.shinrin - yoku.org offers a guide to this kind of activity. The doctor ( Dr.P.C. Raju ) who had introduced endoscopy to Tamilnadu has also introduced ' Forest Bathing '. Our ancient civilization co existed in the riverside, lakeside, in the forest and on the shores of the seas. The fusion of these experiences enriched the land called India.
"M. Krishnan of Sri Krishna Sweets has been very supportive of ' Parivu ' Its also time to remember the support of my parents. My father was the backbone and he helped me without raising any objections. Mother was very supportive and today our Gobi property ( old heritage home ) has become a fine homestay because of the efforts of my son Dr. Aravindkumar. Its called ' The Bungalow '. Nowadays Dr.P.C. Raju is concentrating on Kriya Yoga and had recently been to Nainital for getting trained at the Auroville Ashram. He writes in his blog http://www.lifeafterretirement.blogspot.com.
He is going to the Himalayas in September to further his knowledge on Kriya Yoga. The message from Dr.P.C.Raju is very clear , " Try to be active all your life. Your mind should be active. Hobbies and service should be part of life. One should be in touch with old friends. Travelling will add to one's joy. I was in China recently. I am enjoying my old age. I spent a lot of time thinking of others and now I am happy that God has given me time to think about myself."
Well said sir.....