DR. N.C. SURYA - The Lone Rider

I first became aware of Dr.Sruya in 1961 while preparing for my DPM Examination in London. I saw his name in the Acknowledgements section of the famous textbook, Clinical Psychiatry by Mayergross, Slater & Roth. It was not common in those days to find an Indian being acknowledged by English authors. I was naturally curious to know more about this person. I had my first meeting with him in 1964 in Bangalore at the annual conference of Indian Psychiaiatric Society. He presented a brilliant paper on "Basic Concepts of Psychotherapy in the Indian Setting". I later went to congratulate him in his office. He was then an Associate Professor of Psychiatry. He welcomed me and then for the next 15 minutes spoke non-stop about the relevence of Bhagvad Gita! I was bit dazed by his vehemence, but I was nontheless impressed with the intensity with which he spoke. Here was a man who talked out of conviction, unlike most others at the conference who only quoted foreign authors! Next year I got an opportunity to know Dr Surya better. By then he had become Professor of Psychiatry at Bangalore and was appointed the Chairman of the ICMR's expert group on mental health while