Dr.Para – a healer with a vision – A Tribute to Dr.R. Pararajasegaram – Among the greats of our times by H. L. D. Mahindapala
Source:Island
George Bernard Shaw once said that the reputation of a doctor grows by the number of great people that die under his care. Dr Ramachandra Pararajasegaram’s reputation grew with the number of eyes that regained sight under his care, the sight to wonder at the immensity of the immeasurable depths of glorious creation perpetually expanding into further unknown depths. He was at the forefront of the global movement combating avoidable blindness. He was a leader of the UN-sponsored Right to Sight. And he gave of his time, his energy and skills to make the world a liveable place for thousands of those who would never have seen the twinkling of the stars, the soft shine of the moon, or the first light that breaks at dawn with the rising glory of the diurnal sun and beyond.
His life was filled with the joy of giving. Imagine the joy of standing in the shoes of “Para”, as he was known to his friends, and walking out of global operating theatres – from the wilds of Ghana to the outback in Australia — knowing that another human being had gained the most precious gift of life: sight. He was, above all, a wonderful human being — and that is saying a lot considering that in our time it is rather difficult to find somebody human, let alone wonderful!
I can’t remember where, when or under what circumstances I met Para but that meeting was a match made in heaven, I think. It blossomed into one of the closest relationships in my life. It was so close that one day he, in his characteristic calm and quiet way, told me: “Why don’t you come and share our house?” He was then at the peak of his career and he was living in the palatial house built by the legal luminary, N. K. Choksy, near the Liberty Cinema, on Dharmapala Mawatha. How closer can you get than sharing a house? My wife and I happily moved into the self-contained wing of the house upstairs.
The life we shared was memorable. We are ever grateful to him for letting us share a fragment of his life at so close quarters. He was the indispensable ophthalmologist of his time and much in demand. One moment he would be rushing to Queen’s House to attend on Governor-General, William Gopallawa, and the next he will be beside Stanley de Zoysa, the Finance Minister who had a glass splinter embedded in his eye – a splinter that had come flying from a fracas at Thaha’s gambling club the previous night. In between, he would be at public eye clinics run for the poor by the Lion’s Club. He had to balance all this with his crowded private practice. All this meant that, like all successful professionals, he had less time for his family. His wife, bubbly Ruby, was constantly at loggerheads with him demanding more time. But Para’s priority was his duty to his patients. He was an indefatigable sight-giver and would have been hailed as a miracle worker if he had lived in Biblical times.
He was tall, tanned and handsome and had that touch of eternal youthfulness etched in his face even at 93-years. But it was the inner luminescence of his spirituality, humane philosophy, and humility that lit his eyes, smile and countenance. Most of it was derived from his father who was a dedicated spiritualist. He inherited his father’s placid demeanour and pietude. When these qualities intertwined with his charming personality it had a magnetic effect on those who interacted with him.
As in everything he touched he excelled in his studies. He began his studies at St. John’s, Nugegoda. Just before World War II, Para and his siblings were sent to Jaffna. There he joined the oldest Methodist school, Jaffna Central College. After he Matriculated he entered Ceylon Medical College in 1945. He did his MBBS in 1951 and passed – guess at what level? — first in order of Merit in First Class with distinctions in all subjects. He was awarded the Best Final Year student for the triennium. In a note sent to me Bala, his younger brother, wrote:”…..(T)he leading Scientist in Sri Lanka, Vidya Jyothi Dr.R.O.B.Wijesekera is of the opinion that Param was the best student to pass out of Medical College in Ceylon/Sri Lanka.”
Needless to say that at the award ceremony at Medical College Para carried away prize after prize. Claps that rained on him at the prize-giving hall didn’t stop there. It rained on him for the rest of his days. The outpourings of sympathy and praise showered on him on his passing in Chennai last month came from different and distant points of the compass. It indicated the length and breadth he travelled to serve his fellow man. He waded into rivers in Ghana to study the insect that caused blindness to the Ghanaians. He slept under open skies with only the Southern Cross as a canopy in the vast stretches of Australia to serve the poor and the abandoned Aborigines. In his fight to protect the Right to Sight – an UN-sponsored project — he knew he had to organize and mobilize global forces. Eventually, he was successful in forging a global movement to combat needless blindness. Mourning his death diverse sources poured out their hearts to him. At one end it came from the Aborigines of Australia and at the other end, it came from Jimmy Carter, former President of the United States. He wrote:
May 27, 2020
To the Family of Dr Ramachandra Pararajasegaram
Rosalynn and I were deeply saddened to learn of Dr Para’s passing. His spirit and generosity were evident through his passion for the Lions Clubs Sight First Program and its partnership with vision-related humanitarian work.
We are keeping your family in our prayers. We hope that your warm memories of Dr Para and the love and support of the many lives he touched will be of comfort to you in the days ahead.
Sgt. Jimmy Carter.
In Western Australia, the ICARE centre for community eye health management was renamed the “Ramachandra Prarajasegaram Community Eye Health Education Centre”. ICARE said it was renamed in honour of Dr R. Pararajasegaram, former WHO Regional Advisor and Consultant, and former President, International Agency for the Prevention of Blindness. (IAPB)
In 1994 the 5th General Assembly of IAPB was held in Berlin. Para was elected as the president of IAPB at this session. This gave him the opportunity to work on a WHO- based resolution to lead the global VISION 2020 -the Right to Sight movement. He held that position for five years.
The sixth General Assembly of IAPB was held at the Friendship Hotel, Beijing, People’s Republic of China, September 5-10, 1999. The meeting was co-sponsored by the World Health Organization, the Japanese National Society for the Prevention of Blindness and the American Academy of Ophthalmology. It was organized by Param.
There was a warm welcome from the Chinese hosts. Nearly 600 people attended, over 200 from China and 350 delegates from other countries. When he handed over the Presidency in Beijing he was congratulated not only for organizing the 6th General Assembly but also for the progress in eye care during his tenure.
Quite early in his career, he pioneered the Right to Sight movement when he ran eye clinics for the poor in Sri Lanka. He worked among the poor in and around the suburbs of Colombo with the volunteers of the Lions Club. He also opened up a clinic in Jaffna and he would fly every other weekend to offer his best skills to the blind. Most ophthalmologists are found only in urban areas. But he knew he was needed mostly among the rural poor. And he was happy to spend his life among them. He was happy to leave the maddening crowd. It was also his dream to build a haven in Jaffna and lead a quiet life ’in the bee-loud glade”. (W.B. Yeats). To enrich his retirement in his old age he would bring in seeds and plants from various parts of the globe. But then the violence that swept Jaffna also swept away his dreams.
When he took his mission to the world new vistas and opportunities opened up for him to combat needless blindness globally. He was driven by the hard reality that cures and answers cannot be found without research. He advocated innovation, technology, organization, leadership to lift the people out of blindness. It was indeed a mission impossible. At that time there were 43 million blind people – mostly among the poor – in the world. The looming threat was that it would double within a decade or two if left unattended. The task was huge. But he took on the challenge with courage and dedication. He first waded into the rivers of Ghana to research the causes of river blindness. He trekked down the highways and byways to help those afflicted with, trachoma in Burma and Australia. He did the first national survey of blindness in Nepal. He was in forefront of the eye care programs in the Maldives.
As the Regional Head of WHO he was focused on the developing world. He argued cogently that blindness cannot be tackled only with medical means. He pointed out that blindness was not caused only by diabetes, ageing, injuries, or genetic factors. He emphasized that the movement must focus on “the social determinants”, mainly poverty, to eradicate needless blindness.
Some of the distinguished Sri Lankan names that share the honours in the cause of serving humanity at the highest level through the UN are Justice C. G. Weeramantry, Vice-President of the International Court of Justice, the highest court in the world, Shirley Amerasinghe, who headed UN explorations of the laws of the sea, Gamini Corea, Secretary-General of UNCTAD, Jayantha Dhanapala, Under-Secretary-General to re-establish the Department of Disarmament, Radhika Coomaraswamy, Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations, Special Representative for Children and Armed Conflict, Nandasiri Jasentuliyana, the Director of the United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs and the Deputy Director-General, United Nations Office at Vienna etc. Though Para’s name diminished in size in Sri Lanka it ballooned into huge proportions abroad. His name was respected, praised and honoured in WHO, UN, and ophthalmological circles the world over. He won the prestigious Hermes award in Paris and later the Dr G. K. Venkatswamy Award in Madurai.
He is better known in India and Australia than in Sri Lanka. His services both to Sri Lanka and the world are indeed constructive and memorable. It is time that we in Sri Lanka make him shine in the light he gave the world. He was a leader who showed us the way by opening our eyes to the blessings of sight/ light. If the Africans, the Australians and the Indians remember him with affection should we not honour Para’s contribution to humanity? His honour, his integrity, his humility, and his sense of duty to his fellow-man deserves not only emulation but a special recognition. The relevant authorities should consider issuing at least a postage stamp in honour of a great son of Sri Lanka.
