Dr. Maru, an endearing doctor and a passionate social worker, bids adieu

Renowned gynaecologist and social worker Dr. Maru, known for her pioneering work in women's healthcare, passes away at 80.

Noted gynaecologist and social worker Dr. Maru died on February 6 (Thursday) after a brief illness. She was 80 and is survived by husband Hari Subramanyam and son Olas Gora. Her husband, son, daughter-in-law Sudeepti Vardhan and grandson Sahas were by her side when the end came.

Dr. Maru was the fourth daughter of social reformer and freedom fighter Goparaju Ramachandra Rao, popularly known as Gora and his wife Saraswathi Gora, and sister of doctor G. Samaram. She, along with Dr. Samaram, had been serving people through Vasavya Nursing Home in Vijayawada for the past 55 years.

Soon after the news of her demise broke, people from various walks of life came to pay their last respects to the departed soul. Her family members donated her eyes to Swetcha Gora Eye Bank. Her funeral procession would start at 3 p.m. on Friday (February 7) from the Atheist Centre at Benz Circle in Vijayawada, said the family members.

A pioneer in women’s healthcare, Dr. Maru played a pivotal role in warding off superstitions in rural areas and ensuring free surgeries to polio-afflicted, cataract operations and imparting training in nursing to thousands of young girls coming from economically backward sections.

Born on October 25, 1944, Dr. Maru, as a child, keenly watched her parents’ passion to remove illiteracy and ignorance among the lesser privileged classes in the society through social reforms. After securing a Pre-University Certificate in biology and physics from Maris Stella College, she followed it with a B.Sc in CBZ with distinction and went on to pursue MBBS from Gandhi Medical College in Hyderabad, Telangana. She completed Senior House Surgency at Irwin Hospital, Delhi but returned to Vijayawada after the demise of her father Gora.

Dr. Maru along with Dr. Samaram started Vasavya Nursing Home in Vijayawada in 1970, which became a centre through which medical services were extended to all sections, breaking down cultural stereotypes and social taboos related to health sector.

She and her husband Hari Subramanyam played an important role in strengthening the integrated tribal development in over 100 Lambada hamlets and she was known for her transformative work in maternal and child health segments. She lived a simple life and stood for humanist and atheist values till she breathed her last.