In the historic neighbourhood of Triplicane in Madras, a boy named Sengamedu Srinivasa Badrinath was born on 24 February 1940. His father, an engineer in the Madras Government Service, and his mother both died while he was still in his teens. The insurance money that remained after his father’s death enabled him to complete his medical studies at Madras Medical College, where he graduated in 1963 with high marks in ophthalmology.

He travelled to the United States for advanced training. After an internship and residency in New York, he worked as a fellow in vitreoretinal surgery under the legendary Charles Schepens at the Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary in Boston. He returned to India in 1970 determined to bring modern retinal care to his own country. For several years he practised at Voluntary Health Services and later at private hospitals in Chennai, steadily building both skill and reputation.

In 1978, guided by the blessings of Sri Jayendra Saraswati of Kanchi, he founded the Medical Research Foundation and its hospital wing, Sankara Nethralaya. What began as a modest institution in an old bungalow on College Road grew, under his leadership, into one of India’s foremost centres for ophthalmic care, training and research. Subspecialties that barely existed in Indian ophthalmology at the time were systematically developed. High-quality treatment was offered to the rich and the poor alike, with a large proportion of surgeries performed free of cost. Research and postgraduate training became integral parts of the institution’s mission.

One young doctor once asked him why so much effort was spent on free care and teaching when a purely private practice would have been far more lucrative.

Dr. Badrinath answered simply, “Sight is a gift. If we can restore it, we must offer that gift as widely as possible. The work is not complete until both the patient and the next generation of doctors are cared for.”

He received the Padma Shri in 1983 and the Padma Bhushan in 1999. The Dr. B. C. Roy National Award and many other honours followed. Colleagues and students remembered him as a meticulous surgeon, a demanding yet generous teacher, and a quiet administrator who placed the institution’s purpose above personal recognition.

Dr. Sengamedu Srinivasa Badrinath passed away on 21 November 2023 at the age of eighty-three. In the long story of Indian ophthalmology he stands as a transformative figure—the man who built Sankara Nethralaya into a national institution and who helped change the standard of eye care for generations of patients across the country.