Kiruthika Ramalingam

Coimbatore in the 1920's was a small town with meagre medical facilities. There was just one hospital - the District Head Quarters Hospital to cater to the growing population of the town. The facilities available in this Hospital however were grossly inadequate. It was about this time that the Late Sri G. Kuppuswamy Naidu's step-sister, Rajammal, was expecting her first baby. After a complicated labour, a baby girl was born. But Rajammal died suddenly and the child passed away a week. Kuppuswamy Naidu was greatly shaken by these two tragedies. He dreamed of a Hospital to care for the mother and child. Kuppuswamy Naidu did not live to see his dream come true, but before he died he ensured that money was set apart for this noble cause. On 29th of October 1948, the G. Kuppuswamy Naidu Charity Trust for Educational and Medical Relief was registered. In 1950, "Bhoomi Pooja" was performed by Bheema Naidu for the construction of the Hospital. By May 1952, a fifty-bedded Hospital had come into existence. The Hospital was inaugurated by his Highness the Maharaja of Mysore in the presence of Dr. Sir A. Lakshmanaswamy Mudaliar, the doyen of Obstetrics and Gynaecology. The Hospital was christened as G. Kuppuswamy Naidu Memorial Hospital for Women and Children. The wish of the founding father was thus fulfilled.