Dr. Hariharan Srinivasan (7 September 1929 – 21 December 2015[1]) was an Indian orthopedic surgeon who worked primarily with leprosy. He wrote under the pen name Charvakan in Tamil.[2] He retired in 2008.
Personal life
Dr. Srinivasan spent most of his working life in correcting the deformed hands and feet of leprosy-affected persons. During his active period he was highly regarded for his academic and research work in the management and prevention of deformities and disabilities in persons with insensitive and paralysed hands and feet in general and the leprosy-affected in particular. He retired from active work in 2008.
Dr.Srinivasan attended elementary and middle school at Vellore, and high school in the District Board High School in Arni. He studied at Madras Christian College in Tambaram, later joining the Madras Medical College and receiving his MBBS degree in 1952. He got his FRCS (Edinburgh) in 1957 and FRCS (England) in 1958. He was in UK from 1954 to 1958 and worked in Hospitals in Birmingham, North Wales and London in different capacities such as House Surgeon, Senior House Surgeon, Registrar and Locum Consultant.[2]
Dr.Srinivasan was interested in Tamil literature from an early age. His grandfather Krishna Iyer and uncle, Krishna Sivarman were Tamil scholars. Srinivasan himself is a writer in Tamil Stories and one of which was selected as "best short story of the year" by a Tamil Literary Forum in 1971.[2] His short stories are collected and published as Charvakan kathaigal.[3]
Career
Srinivasan worked in Vellore in 1953, and travelled to England in 1954. From 1954 to 1958 he worked in Hospitals in Birmingham, North Wales and London. He was later married in London in 1957. In 1959, he returned to India and joined Kasturba Medical College, Mangalore, and worked in Government Wenlock Hospital, Mangalore, Karnataka. His work with leprosy began there. In 1962, he became a full-time orthopaedic surgeon in Central Leprosy Teaching and Research Institute(CLTRI) in Chengalpattu, formerly Chingleput. After retiring from the Central Leprosy Teaching and Research Institute, He worked as a research consultant at the Portland Hand Surgery & Rehabilitation Centre in Portland, Oregon United States from 1984 to 1986, focusing on carpal tunnel syndrome.[2] He became a member of the WHO Expert Advisory Panel for leprosy in 1985[4]