Paying tribute to the medical legends of Basavanagudi with Vintage Salute

Vintage Salute pays homage to doctors from Basavanagudi work by way of a photo exhibition

A leafy neighbourhood steeped in history and heritage, Basavanagudi is one of the oldest localities of the city. While it is synonymous with the Bull temple, kadlekai parshe (annual groundnut fair) and the vibrant Gandhi Bazaar, did you know it was also home to several stalwarts from the field of medicine?

For instance, the first lady surgeon of India hailed from Basavanagudi as did the first eye surgeon of Mysore State. Some of these doctors were the founding members of renowned institutions such as Vani Vilas Hospital and Bangalore Medical College, while others served as personal doctors to dignitaries such as the President of India, Nizam of Hyderabad and Mysore Maharaja.

Celebrating the legacy of these achievers who scaled great heights despite all odds is Vintage Salute, a curated photo exhibition of these doctors who practiced in Basavanagudi from the 1940s to the 1980s. It was conceptualised by Maya Chandra, founder-director of Maya Films, a history buff and an old-time resident of Basavanagudi herself.

The photo exhibition covers the journey of 34 doctors who were all trailblazers in their own right, many of them having completed their LMP (Licensed Medical Practitioner) degree before Independence. They pursued specialisations abroad on scholarships despite their humble backgrounds.

“As a native of Basavanagudi and having been treated by neighbourhood doctors, I always knew we had several of them amidst us. Looking back, I cannot help but feel immense gratitude to their contribution to our lives. So, on the occasion of Doctor’s Day this year, I thought it would be a great idea to pay tribute to medical practitioners from our locality. Their stories needed to be told as an inspiration for all of us, including present-day doctors,“ says Maya.

The exhibition covers the key milestones of these doctors from diverse fields and includes professionals from Allopathy, Homeopathy, Ayurveda and mental health streams. The photos are a treasure trove of information. One gets to see Dr Y N Krishnamurthy (1890 - 1975) who did his schooling from Fort High school, Chamrajpet and studied Radiology at Edinburgh University after his education at Presidency College, Madras. He was one of the first Indians to specialise in Radiology abroad and was commissioned by the Maharaja of Mysore to establish Karnataka’s first Radiology Department at Victoria Hospital. 

Then, there is Dr B N Balakrishna Rao (1910-1995) — the first to perform neurosurgeries in India and was appointed as the honorary surgeon to President of India. The life of Dr B V Ramaswamy who practiced in Gandhi Bazaar from 1952-1994 is as interesting as it is inspiring as apart from practice at his clinic, he would go on house visits every morning, earning himself the title of “poor man’s doctor”.