A doctor and his love for a neighbourhood

In Chintadripet, he is known as the physician who provides free consultation to poor patients.

One afternoon, a group of men met Dr. M.Venugopal at his Sundaram Clinic on Mangapathy Street, Chintadripet, requesting him to attend to a patient, who was too ill to visit the clinic. The men explained that the patient was bleeding and was at his house on Swamy Naicken Street, not too far away from the clinic.

The doctor hesitated, but changed his mind and went with the men.

The patient’s body had gone cold indicating that he might have died at least an hour ago.

Once Dr. Venugopal declared him dead, the gang demanded that he give a death certificate on the spot. Some of the gang members waved bundles of currency notes in front of him, while the others threatened him with knives.

Dr. Venugopal did not give in to their demand and when they realised that no degree of threat would make the man change his mind, the gang let him go.

Later, he learnt from the police that the deceased was a retired chief superintendent of the Madras Zoo and that it was not a natural death. The former government official had been ruthlessly stabbed, as many as 16 times. A property dispute had caused the murderous attack.

This was in 1972, and 43 years later, sitting in the same clinic, Dr. Venugopal recounts various other unforgettable events and incidents that had taken place at the clinic. The clinic, which recently celebrated 50 years, also has unforgettable memories for many poor residents of the neighbourhood. Over the years, the doctor has maintained a ‘no-charge policy’ while attending to poor patients. If the treatment went beyond consultation and basic treatment, he would refer the patient to government hospitals. Dr. Venugopal’s forefathers settled in the locality in the 18th century as textile merchants and were zamindars during the colonial era. They had rows of handlooms shops at Chitadripet, where a group of weavers made cotton clothes for the British.

In fact, the Mangapathy Street, where the clinic is located was named after his grandfather, Goday. A. Mangapathy. “Though he has shifted to Anna Nagar, his heart still is Chintadripet and he continues to practise at the clinic,” says S. Vivekanda, a resident of Chintadripet.

Though from a business family, Dr. Venugopal had to struggle in the initial days as his father had suffered losses in business. Scholarships saw him through school and college: he studied at Pachaiyappa’s Higher Secondary School and qualified in MBBS from MMC.

After completing medicine, he joined the Chennai Corporation as chief medical officer in 1967 and served the civic body till 1978.

Later, he worked as chief health officer at the Government Boys High School in Chindatripet for five years. Simultaneously, he started the Sundaram clinic (in memory of his mother Sundara Rajamma) in 1965.

“I was keen on having my own clinic as it would help the locals get timely treatment. As I have my own house here, I converted a portion of it into a clinic,” says Dr. Venugopal.

He supplemented his income by working as consultant for various hospitals. Around 50 patients visit the clinic in Chintadripet every day.

Patients come from as far as Ambur, Vellore, Walajabhad, Tirupathi, Sulurpet near Gummudipoondi, Thiruvannamalai and Kancheepuram.

For patients who can afford a fee, Dr. Venugopal charges Rs. 100 for a consultation, but for the poor residents of Chintadripet, the tradition of free treatment continues.

Keywords: Dr. M.Venugopal, Sundaram Clinic