It was an unusual function at Anna University on 9th December. Nine women personalities were honoured by the Anna University and the Science City at the Valedictory function of the seminar 'Academic Challenges for Women in the 21st Century'.

92 year old Dr. E.V. Kalyani, was naturally the first choice for this honour. She is the first Obstetrician and Gynaecologist of Tamil Nadu. Her contribution to the development of the Obstetrics and Gynaecology department at the General Hospital was immense. After more than four decades of service in the government hospital, she founded the E.V. Kalyani Hospital, the hospital that people prefer even today for its quality treatment.

As her name was announced she stood up to walk to the stage. But the personalities at the dais felt it was too much for that active 'young' woman and walked down to her, instead.

'I am not interested in talking about myself,' she said when I approached her for an interview. Her firm resolve not to talk was matched by her light but firm steps. I had to use all the persuasive skills at my command to convince her and make her speak to me in the first place.

'What do you want me to say?' asked Dr. E.V. Kalyani rhetorically when I finally succeeded in persuading her to talk.

'When our family moved to Edward Elliots Road (now Dr. Radhakrishnan Salai), I was barely six or seven. My grandfather, who was a Deputy Collector, bought and developed the place,' began Kalyani as we moved about her garden, full of trees and rare plants.

'In this compound, you see, three generations lived together. 'The front entrance of the house was on R.K. Salai and back entrance Brindavan Street. Only a wall was dividing the Buckingham Canal and our house. I remember rainwater flowing through the 'vaikal' inside my house and draining into the canal. It never used to disturb us because there was no stagnation at all,' she fondly recalls.

And their house was flanked by the Kalyani Mission Hospital on the left. On their right was the Judge of Chennai High Court of those days, Vepa Ramasamy. All the bungalows were massive. There were only about four or five houses in a street.

'The place opposite my house was a paddy field and I had seen several 'aruvadais' (harvest). The place near the Music Academy was a 'thennanthoppu', she recalls.

Later the property was divided. Her father built up a nursing home on his share of the property, for her daughter to set up practice. 'My father, C. Srinivasa Iyengar, was an eye specialist. He was a very famous doctor in the locality,' she says.

'It was my father who built this medical centre too,' she says. Kalyani started this centre with just four beds. 'I handled everything single-handedly. I had a team of paramedics - nurses, pharmacists, ward boys who were very sincere.'

Kalyani Mission Hospital is also an old and reputed hospital. 'Many of my patients go there thinking that it is my medical care centre. So we renamed our hospital 'EV Kalyani Medical Centre' to avoid confusion. After serving the EV Kalyani Medical Centre for five full decades, I retired from work in 1990. But even now I visit the hospital whenever there is a get-together. My nieces Gita Arjun and Uma Ram run one of the best education centres, training medics and paramedics. They have equipped the hospitals with modern equipment and have employed specialists in various fields to take care of welfare of the patients.'

'Since I grew up here I don't want to leave this place and I hope to enjoy the warmth of this place forever...' she says.

 - Mangala