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Veteran traditional health practitioner and exponent of Siddha medicine, Dr T Thirunarayanan, who dedicated his whole life for the growth of the Ayush stream, breathed his last at a private hospital in Thiruvananthapuram on June 21, the place where Sage Agasthya, the founding father of Siddha medicine, is said to be lived his last days.
He came to Thiruvananthapuram last Sunday to deliver a talk on medicinal plants as part of a project of the quality council of India. As soon as he came to the city, he suffered a brain stroke and was admitted to the Sree Chitra Thirunal Institute of Medical Sciences. Although he was under observation at the ICU, he died on Tuesday night.
After graduating from government siddha medical college at Palayamkottai in Thirunelveli district in Tamil Nadu, Dr Thirunarayanan joined as a faculty member at the GSMC at Arumbakkam in Chennai. After a few years, he joined the state health service as a Siddha medical officer. But he resigned from that post to work as an independent professional to escalate the Siddha system to the national level. A seasoned Siddha medical expert, he had over 30 years’ experiences in different spheres of Indian Systems of Medicine.
In the year 2000, Dr Thirunarayanan floated the organisation, Centre for Traditional Medicines and Research (CTMR) to give training to siddha students, medical professionals, teachers, medicinal plat cultivators and industry professionals. He was the secretary of the CTMR.
He has authored several books on siddha medicines and undertook several projects of the Ayush ministry to translate the old palm leaf manuscripts that contained siddha methods of treatments and disease management. He also worked as the principal investigator in documenting traditional health practices in different districts of Tamil Nadu.
His body was taken to Chennai for performing the last rites by his family members. He was 59 and is survived by wife, daughter and son-in-law.
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