Shriram Ilakkiya Kazhagam, the literary wing of Shriram Group, will present the Thiruvalluvar Aram Award for the year 2012 to renowned physician Dr K V Thiruvengadam.
The announcement of the award was made by R Thyagarajan, Chairman, Shriram Group, here on Wednesday.
Founded in 1987, Shriram Ilakkiya Kazhagam is working towards the betterment of society by highlighting value-based living as underscored in Thirukkural.
Thiruvalluvar Aram award was introduced in 2003 to recognise and honour noble institutions or individuals whose activities and achievements have showcased high ideals in life, as portrayed in Thirukkural.
Till date, the award has been presented six times to various persons and institutions.
Professor Avvai Natarajan, president, Shriram Ilakkiya Kazhagam said,“This year, we received a total of 63 nominations for the award. The search committee of Shriram Ilakkiya Kazhagam finally chose one among those nominations.”
Announcing the award, R Thyagarajan, chairman, Shriram Group, said, “Dr K V Thiruvengadam’s service in the domain of medicine is invaluable. He has given lives to many suffering patients. He always believed that government hospitals provide much better treatment. We take pride in honouring such a role model who stood for a social cause all his life. Through Aram awards, the message we take to the younger generation is that the greatest height of one’s achievement lies in how humane one is to the society.”
Dr K V Thiruvengadam (87), popularly known as Dr KVT has served as a professor of medicine in Stanley Medical College and Madras Medical College for 31 years. After retirement, he continued to teach for another 25 years in private institutions. He has authored several research papers and books on medicine. He is the recipient of several awards, including Padma Shree and Dr B C Roy Awards.
The award selection committee comprises Prof Avvai Natarajan, president, Shriram Ilakkiya Kazhagam and members G Ranga Rao, IAS (retd), Dr A M Swaminathan, IAS (retd) and R Kannan, director, Shriram Group.
Earlier awardees include individuals such as Dr G Venkataswamy, Founder, Aravind Eye Hospitals, Madurai; R Elango, Founder, Trust for Village Self-Governance, Kuthambakkam, Tiruvallur; Dr R Sakthivadivel, water resources engineering expert and institutions such as DHAN Foundation, Madurai Gandhigram Trust, Dindigul, and The Banyan, Chennai.
The award function will be held on July 24 at Narada Gana Sabha, TTK Road, at 6 pm.
Governor Dr K Rosaiahwill confer the award.