THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Dr Varghese Paul was a prodigy of sorts. A selfless physician of great repute, a humble human being with empathy to the poor, a doctor with exceptional drive and an outstanding athlete from his school and college days.
As his cousin brother who watched him grow up to be a physician of great repute in Thrissur, I feel fortunate to have had a ‘ring side view’ of his unmatched personality.
A born athlete, he won medals after medals during his Ashramam (Perumbavoor) school days. He was the Madras University athletic champion and captain for three consecutive years ,while studying at St Joseph’s college, Trichy. As a fourth year MBBS student at Thiruvananthapuram Medical College, he won the bronze medal in the hop- step and jump- leaping a distance of 47 ft and 11 inches, Paul’s best which put him third at the National Athletic championship held in Chandrashekharan Nair Stadium.
I was a witness to this epic jump of my cousin brother’s. Above all, his style of running was so graceful and rhythmic - always a treat to watch. If trained properly by today’s standards, he would have become a world class athlete.
As a doctor, he was a force to reckon with. The Jubilee Mission Hospital at Thrissur had hired him along with Dr Edenwalla during its inception. At the peak of his professional career, the Jubilee Mission Hospital was synonymous with Dr Varghese Paul.
His efforts in developing affordable treatment for snake bite victims were legendary. When the present day hemo-dialysis was not developed or available, his efforts to save snake bite patients through perittonial dialysis - sitting by the side of patients for hours on end - was the hallmark of his endless patience, empathy and attentiveness. He is the founder of the snake bite and Medical Charities Foundation, Trichur.
Dr Varghese Paul was also the founding president of the Tennis and Sports Academy in Thrissur. Even though he was busy with his professional life, he took pains everyday to leave in the early morning to collect funds to set up the academy. He was a selfless humanitarian par-excellence. Rarely, we come across someone of his caliber, mental outlook, empathy and nobility. Let our state be blessed with many such vibrant sons of the soil.