Dr. Kadiyala Ramachandra
(Padma Shri, 1974 – Medicine)

In the wards and lecture halls of Madras Medical College and the Government General Hospital, Chennai, Professor Kadiyala Ramachandra was known as a physician of quiet authority and wide learning. Born on 6 November 1919 in Tamil Nadu, he studied at Doveton Corrie Boys School and Loyola College before entering Madras Medical College. He graduated in 1949 with a string of distinctions—the Johnstone Gold Medal, the T.M. Nair Gold Medal, the Raja of Panagal Prize and the Dr. Rangachari Prize in Medicine—signalling the brilliance that would mark his career.

He rose to become Professor and Head of the Department of Medicine at his alma mater and later Superintendent of the Government General Hospital. During his tenure he played a key role in establishing two important new units: the Department of Oncology and Cancer Chemotherapy, and the Rheumatic Care Unit. These additions strengthened specialised care in a major public hospital at a time when such services were still developing across India. He also served on the Senate and Syndicate of the University of Madras and headed postgraduate examination committees, helping shape medical education in the region.

Colleagues and students remembered a doctor who combined rigorous clinical medicine with an interest in the usefulness of Indian herbs and the possibility of synthesising traditional and modern approaches. He published more than fifty scientific papers and delivered notable endowment lectures on the history of kidney disorders. Beyond medicine he was a poet; his collection Poems of Introspection appeared in 2003.

He was the personal physician to the respected social reformer Thanthai Periyar E.V. Ramasamy and to several other well-known figures, yet he never lost his concern for ordinary patients. One young doctor, watching him examine a poor patient with the same careful attention he gave to distinguished visitors, once asked about his approach.
Ramachandra replied simply, “Every patient who walks through these doors carries the same human dignity. Our duty is to meet it with equal care.”

The Government of India recognised his contributions with the Padma Shri in 1974, presented by President V.V. Giri. After retiring at the age of fifty-five he continued as Professor Emeritus of Medicine at Madras Medical College for more than a quarter of a century, sharing his knowledge until his death in February 2007 at the age of eighty-seven. Prizes in rheumatology and an endowment oration in oncology were later instituted in his name.

Dr. Kadiyala Ramachandra left behind the memory of a complete physician—teacher, administrator, researcher, poet and compassionate healer—who helped expand the scope of medical care in Tamil Nadu while remaining deeply rooted in service to his patients and his profession.