Dr NPP Namboothiri of Sreedhareeyam no more
Dr N P P Namboothiri, the doyen of ayurvedic ophthalmology, passed away here on Wednesday morning. He was 68. Namboothiri had been undergoing treatment following an illness for the past few months.He was the chief physician and managing director of Sreedhareeyam Ayurvedic Eye Hospital and Research Centre. Nelliakkattu Parameswaran Namboothiri was born on October 26, 1949, in a traditional family of vaidyas known as Nelliakkattu Mana. He completed his medical studies at Government Ayurveda College, Thripunithura, and gained his DAM degree in 1971.
Late Dr. NPP Namboothiri along with his elder brother Sri NP Narayanan Namboothiri, laid the foundation for Sreedhareeyam Group of institutions. Under the expert guidance and training of the seniors of Nelliakkattu mana, he had gained expertise in Ayurveda enriched by the extensive clinical experience and knowledge handed down by the ancients of the mana. He went on to acquire professional qualification in Ayurveda after which he was in government service for around 3 decades, when he made a name for himself as an Ayurvedic ophthalmologist. During his tenure, he was able to treat and cure many eye diseases that other medicinal methods had failed to cure. After retiring from the government service, Dr NPP Namboothiri along with his elder brother Sri N.P Narayanan Namboothiri laid foundation to Sreedhareeyam, the Ayurvedic Eye Hospital and Research Centre, in Nelliakkattu Mana. Set up in 1998, Sreedhareeyam has today grown into a 350 bed hospital, with all the modern facilities for treatment of eye diseases. Dr. N.P.P. Namboothiri became a phenomenon through his relentless inquisition, research and establishment of “Shalakya Tantra”, an important canto of Ashtanga Ayurveda, that synthesizes all diseases above the neck. He specifically chose to specialize on all ailments related to ophthalmology, diagnosed root-causes, delved into the anatomy and independently chiseled a curative system. In this time, before he passed away on 7th February 2018, he had received numerous awards and recognitions from all over the world for his unparalleled contributions to Ayurveda and Ayurvedic ophthalmology in particular.
Dr Namboothiri developed and popularized classical ayurvedic formulations and treatment procedures of Ayurveda (Netra Kriya Kalpas) – so far confined only to classical Ayurvedic textbooks.
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