It was so painful and heartbreaking to me when I heard the news of the demise of our teacher Dr srinivasa Acharya.I don’t know what to say…..because there are seldom it happens in my life that people will strongly and very deeply inspire……and always carrying their memories will be cherishing and nourishing everyday life.Achar sir was such a person who is inspirational and instrumental to making me myself what I am now.From the day I joined SDM Udupi he was always trying to correct me at every moment of my time and he took a different path way from the beginning itself.When I joined in Udupi college I was always speaking about Ashtanga Hridayam always try to say that modern medicine knowledge is not very essential for learning. But with his deep knowledge in Sanskrit, and modern science he was showing me the depth of Charaka Samhita, the depth of Harrison’s, the depth of many modern books and he was pushing me to learn these books including the Sevill’s clinical medicine, which was very thought breaking in my life, that ultimately he want to communicate that there is a possibility of knowing a body through different dimensions via different medical sciences.
His rounds in Udupi college for fun we say “Ambalpady Express”because he was staying in Ambalpadi and a big group of students follow him always. He was taking us to different Diagnostic perspective, he was teaching us X-ray, ECG, and all the modern techniques. Parallelly his lessons on Jwara chikitsa was also wonderful.
During our PG time he insisted us to publish papers, he inspired us to write articles regularly.
Even in a short period he took us to many many dimensions of Ayurveda.
During my postgraduate period he insisted me to do many works, I made a small work on alcoholic liver disease with the usage of gomutra, made a work with dhatura Patra dhumapana study….many many small works but it was very very inspirational and also directing towards making a clinician for the future.
More than that he never get angry, always smiling, always directing…… and never interrupted in any of the personal matters too.
More than that he always tried to add values to highlight the need of the profession, how we will practice, what is the importance of consistency of the practice and what not…..?
He was always inspirational in such a way that I was always a shadow following him and try to learn whenever the time permits.
In his demise a huge vacuum which is highly impossible to say…. Even today whenever we get challenges in our clinical practice if I want to ask someone, Shrinivasa Achar Sir’s name come first in my mind.
When I start teaching Western students I invited Sir to my place and he gave wonderful lessons to our Italian doctors about the basics and clinical applications of Kayachikitsa. He was so humble and highly communicative to any part of the world and so respectful to all over the world.
His book “Panchakarma illustrated” is one of the best book available in Panchakarma. And I was so fortunate to be part of that book working in whole years. The amount of time he worked for such activities, the amount of computer skills he learnt during that period are enormous. Every time he try to learn something new. Even when I went last time to meet him some of the PG students told that he was using new new methods in clinical practice.
During the covid period being the principal of Ashtamgam Ayurveda vidhyapeetam I have decided to have eminent speakers ie Teachers of teachers to address our faculties. We started the program with the oration of P R Krishna Kumar ji and we also had a wonderful lesson by Dr srinivasa Achar Sir. He inspired all of us and shared lot of clinical experiences and clinical methods.
I don’t have more words to say……….. He was a very deep rooted clinician, down to earth scientist, very enthusiastic teacher, more than a great human being always thinking from the students perspective.
At this moment I don’t know am I able to go and touch his feet in the last moment, but I bow my head and doing sashtanga Pranamam….
Once again pray for Atma Shanti for him….
Narayanan Nambi