On the path of service to humanity

“Annada, can’t you do anything for those unfortunate people?” – implored Netaji to Annada Prasad Chakrabortty (the pre-Sannyas name of Swami Asimananda Saraswati), tears rolling down his cheeks, as he picked up and embraced a poor old blind person who, in deep darkness of the night, had fallen down on the street in front  of their car. The year was 1940. Amidst the ongoing freedom struggle against the imposing British rule, Netaji accompanied by Annada Prasad was moving towards Adra Railway Station to get into a Train for Calcutta after attending a number of political meetings in the then Manbhum District (Purulia) of West Bengal. And that was the sowing of the seed in the benevolent heart of Annada Prasad  - Swami Asimananda in subsequent life, which germinated in 1953  with the organising of winter Cataract Eye Operation Camp for 15 days with the help of Bihar Govt. and Patna Medical College when Swamiji was a seating M.L.A. of Bihar Assembly. After that from 1954-55, when he observed that the cases in Camps treated there were not getting proper after-care medical treatment and other helps for which the most of the cases had been getting bad to worse, he thought over to establish a small 10-bedded eye care centre at Ramchandrapur Ashram, Purulia only for 3 months from January to March in the year 1954-55. Rest of the year he organised a weekly Camp for treatment of eye and other medical cases. From 1964 this Eye Care Institution was transformed into a 100- bedded Eye Hospital for 3 months only for winter season i.e. from January to March. After the demise of Swamiji in 1968, it became a full-fledged hospital with Eye, Maternity & Gynecology departments in the year 1970-71, as per his last wishes. Due to non-availability of competent & efficient Gyneaecologists  to look after the Maternity deptt. and for other associated problems, the Maternity Wing of the hospital had to be closed down from the year 1995. Subsequently it was switched over to a total Eye Hospital.

This hospital has now blossomed into a 250 bed super speciality Total Eye Care Centre, serving thousands & thousands of Eye patients of Eastern India free of charges throughout the year, in tune with the dreams of Swamiji.