“Learn to be calm, learn to be positive …!” – Dr. Chockalingam

‘Light Foundation’ a wing of Kalyanamalai honored the doctor-couple Dr. Chockalingam and his wife Dr. Senthamarai at a function got up to spread the message ‘Save the value of family system‘. Dr. Chockalingam had retired from service as a cardiologist, Professor& Head of the department of cardiology in the Government General Hospital, Chennai. When our correspondent met him for an interview, he was kind enough to spare his time and attention amidst the incessant ringing of his phone. His assistants were consulting him over phone on the treatment of his patients. We realized that unlike other fields, medicine doesn’t allow uninterrupted rest and retirement. His family is a family of doctors. Chockalingam got the first rank in MBBS graduating from Madras University. When he was doing his MD, he was chosen for government scholarship. He is a many-time gold medalist. Right from the beginning, he proved himself ‘Numero Uno’ in whatever he did. Even while talking to us, the words he chose brought out his softer side. His patience in answering our questions, concern for the society and the people, everything showed him as a very good human being, projecting the humanitarian side of his personality. Presently, he is a visiting cardiologist in Apollo Hospitals and a professor emeritus with MGR Medical University.

Excerpts from the interview:

Q: Were you interested in medicine even from your younger days? Please tell us about your schooling …

A: My father C. Venkatachalam was also a doctor. My mother Sampoornam was a housewife, lending all support to my father in his profession. Thirunagar in Madurai was where he belonged to though Ramanathapuram in Tirunelveli district is our native place. My grandfather Chockalingam was a collector. I was named after him. I had my schooling in different towns. I got admission in Madurai Government Medical College on merit. Then I got the opportunity to do MDDM (post doctorate in medicine). And, I used to get first rank in all the courses. The DM course is the completion level degree for medicine. My attention was, is and will be on how to serve the people best.