TIRUVANANTHAPURAM : As a schoolboy, V Suresh Kumar was so fragile that he was stopped from taking part in the long jump competition as the authorities feared he might hurt himself. But he beat the odds to emerge as a middle-distance runner and bodybuilder, and went on to claim the Mr Trivandrum title. In a similar vein, an impoverished childhood that forced him to eke out a living by tapping rubber and working as a headload worker could not beat his indomitable spirit to become a doctor at the age of 31.
Sounds unbelievable? Meet V Suresh Kumar, hailing from Ottasekharamangalam in Thiruvananthapuram district, who has made it a reality. His endeavour to set new goals and achieve it have seen him going places. Initiated to bodybuilding at the age of 17 , he won laurels, including the Mr Trivandrum title.While striving hard to become a bodybuilder, he started practising yoga and kalaripayattu. But he had a strong urge to become a doctor. After graduating in chemistry, he opened a tuition centre at Kattakkada which earned him a good income. But by the time he equipped himself to write the medical entrance exam in 1996, he was already 31.
Dr Sankaran, the then director of medical education (Ayurveda), was his mentor during his BAMS studies. His temporary assignments at the Panchakarma institute helped him a lot. By August 2003, he shifted to Malaysia to work at an Ayurvedic clinic.Kumar will lead a mass yoga programme at Marine Drive in Kochi on May 20 as part of the World Ayurvedic Congress.