CHENNAI: A cornerstone in pioneering the treatment and rehabilitation of people addicted to alcohol and drugs, the TT Ranganathan Clinical Research Foundation (TTK Hospital) celebrated its 40th anniversary here in the city on Thursday. With its founder and Padma Shri recipient Dr Shanthi Ranganathan in attendance, the joyous occasion also marked the release of a memoir honouring her by the team at TTK Hospital.
A career defined by love and selflessness, spanning decades, Dr Shanthi Ranganathan is the epitome of grace as she interacts with guests at the small gathering. A social worker by profession, she defied all expectations launching her day-care centre in 1980. “Of course, there was the problem of people, particularly men in the medical profession, telling me that alcoholism is a lost cause and considering that I was from a non-medical background, I should leave it be,” she says. It was advice she didn’t heed to, steaming on ahead confident in her philosophy that rehabilitation works better in groups, with the medical field eventually catching on.
Dr Ranganathan’s steely determination and stubborn passion for alcohol and drug addiction treatment and rehabilitation is better understood from her own life. “In 1979, I lost my husband to alcoholism, and I launched TTK Hospital soon after. If I think about it, the past 40 years have been a healing process for me as well. Yes, I’ve helped people, but they’ve played a role in my healing too,” she says. Now retired, neither age nor health has been able to stop Dr Ranganathan from continuing her life’s mission of helping people, as she now takes care of a school and an Industrial Training Institute (ITI) in Manju Kudi. “I’m very grateful for the happy life that I have,” she says. “Most days I wonder if God feels guilty for taking away my husband so young, that he’s overcompensated by showering me with love and grace the rest of my life,” she adds smiling.
The memoir, chronicling her rewarding career, was presented to her by Meena Muthiah, founder of Chettinad Vidyashram. Abuzz with staff, friends and family, the 350-people event was organised by the team at TTK Hospital headed by Mayah Varadarajan. “Taking the helm after Dr Ranganthan is a big spot to fill, but today is a beautiful moment to take some time out and thank her for her strength and vision,” she says.