Edinburgh: A bronze bust statue of Maharishi Sushrut – revered as the Father of Surgery – has been unveiled at the prestigious Royal College of Surgeons at Edinburgh in the United Kingdom.
Installation of the bust at the world’s oldest surgical college was considered a befitting tribute to the Maharishi whose ancient Sanskrit text – the ‘Sushrut Samhita’, is the earliest known surgical treatise.
The initiative for installing the statue of Sushrut was taken by Chandra Cheruvu – an eminent surgeon based in the UK – who is originally from Andhra Pradesh, as reported by The Hindu.
It was K Govindaraj, national president, Indian Association of Gastrointestinal Endo Surgeons, based at Tiruchi, who entrusted the task of making the bronze bust was to Raghavanantham Sthapathi of Swamimalai, near Kumbakonam in the Thanjavur district of Tamil Nadu.
Raghavanantham is a highly respected sculptor and master craftsman.
The sculptor and five of his highly-trained assistants used used the traditional lost-wax method followed by the single bronze casting technique, preserving the ancient craftsmanship of Swamimalai, to cast the bust. It emerged in its full glory in a span of a little over two months.
The bust of the legendary surgeon and pedestal weighing about 90 kilograms travelled from Swamimalai to Edinburgh after completion of necessary customs formalities in India and the UK. Parallelly, Chandra and his colleagues from across the world worked on a publication titled “Compendium of Sushrut” featuring contributions from 40 authors with 36 chapters explaining the timeless contributions of the Maharishi to surgery and medical science.
The bust was unveiled by Siddharth Malik, counsel general of India, Edinburgh at the Royal College of Surgeons in the presence of Clare McNaught, president of the Royal College of Surgeons, immediate past president Rowan Parks, council members of the College, eminent surgeons and medical professionals from around the world.
“The unveiling of the bust is a matter of immense pride for Indians worldwide,” said Govindaraj, who was present at the ceremony said, explaining the significance and craftsmanship behind the it. A few other medical professionals from India were also present on the occasion.
The bust is to be permanently installed near the well of the staircase leading to Playfair Hall where Fellows receiving their degrees will walk past it, creating a symbolic connection between ancient Indian surgical tradition and modern surgical excellence.
