by K. Vijaya Kumar, Former Jt. Director of Information & Publicity
October. 10 is World Sight Day, an annual day of awareness to focus global attention on blindness and vision impairment.
Having undergone cataract surgery for my right eye just a couple of weeks ago at the Sushrutha Eye Hospital in city by Dr. C.A.P. Prabhu, who runs it with his wife Dr. Pallavi Prabhu and as I turn 77 (on Oct. 14, Vijayadashami Day), it occurred to me to remember this day and offer my gratitude to all those ‘eye-care’ fraternity engaged in protecting our vision. The reason to mention the date is that after several years, Vijayadashami this year has occurred on Oct. 14 as per the Hindu calendar.
‘Cataract King’ Dr. Modi
When we speak of cataract surgery, the immediate name that occurs to our mind is that of Dr. M.C. Modi. A legend of his time, he had dedicated his full 90 years of life to provide vision to lakhs of people all over by conducting cataract surgeries and was rightly known as ‘Cataract King’.
Look at this description on himself — “Like a circus company I have toured all over India since 1943 to provide free eye relief service. In the process, I have examined over 10 million patients and performed a record nearly six lakh eye operations.” It is a fact, even when he was travelling by train, he would examine the eyes of the passengers moving from one bogie to another. While his wife accompanied him on a rail journey once, he was so engrossed in eye examination that he completely forgot about her and got off from the train at a wrong station leaving his wife in the train itself !
Gandhiji’s influence
The ‘human dynamo’ in Dr. Modi was triggered by Mahatma Gandhi (whose 145th Jayanthi was observed just last week) whose speech he had listened in 1942 at Beelagi near his own native place in Koppala district. Helen Keller had described him as a “light piercing in darkness in selfless service” at a felicitation in New York.
He was also decorated with Padma Bhushana award. “One man’s war,” a documentary on him, had been produced by our Information Department, directed by M.S. Satyu.
Eye camps in Mysore and Ln. M.S. Nanjundaswamy
I recall here Modi’s several mass eye camps held in Mysore in seventies and eighties when I was serving in Mysore. The person behind organising most of these camps was late Lion M.S. Nanjundaswamy.
An active member of Lions Club, who also became the Lions District Governor, having a motto ‘Gift of Eye-Sight to five persons every day,’ he had organised four major free eye camps in 1977-78 when Dr. Modi examined 34,320 eye patients and 1,342 eye operations were performed. Nanjundaswamy had become close to me because of the publicity support I was extending for this noble cause with charity undertaken by him and his wife Smt. Jagadishwari.
Their son Lion M.N. Jai Prakash, following the footprints of his parents, continued conducting free eye camps and serving as a Lion member becoming Governor twice.
A surprise visitor
I was greatly surprised one morning when Nanjundaswamy walked into my residence with Dr. Modi, who was such a modest person. My mother’s joy was beyond words. Even before she greeted him he made her to sit and started examining her eyes with his ready torch in his coat saying they are ‘perfect’.
After introducing me to the Doctor, both of them asked me to join them for the inauguration of eye camp by Suttur Seer. When I went there, they made me sit on the dais as a chief guest. A salute to them on the World Sight Day.
e-mail: kumarkv59@gmail.com
source: http://www.starofmysore.com / Star of Mysore / Home> Feature Articles / October 09th, 2013