The Swedish Hospital at Thirupattur was started in 1909 by Dr.F.Kugelberg, a Swedish Eye Doctor . The land was gifted by the Raja of Sivagangai. It was patronized by Raja Sir Annamalai chettiar and also other wealthy families from the chettiar community. A host of Swedish doctors dedicated their service to the upliftment of this once backward area ..The campus was gradually handed over to the Tamil Evangelic Lutheran Church (TELC) and run by Indian doctors after Independence. The campus houses a nursing college and a blind school aswell. But due to mismanagement and internal politics of the Church in recent times, this once reputed institution has been closed down and has become a part of history.
 |
| The main entrance of the Swedish Hospital... a sad sight! |
 |
| the quite corridors that connect various wards & departments...now used only by cows, stray dogs and snakes |
 |
| Stone laid in 1930 ..in appreciation of 25 years of Dr.Kugelbergs' service |
 |
The Memorial built on the spot were the Marudhu Brothers were executed and burried by the British in 1801.
       UPDATE : Good news! The Hospital is in the process of revival...Pls click "SMH" for more updates |
adhu yaar marudhu brothers?
ReplyDeletePeriya Marudhu & Chinna marudhu ruled around this area (sivagangai seemai)...they gave refuge to Oomaithurai (brother of Kattaboman) and earned the wrath of the British...they fought bravely against the British but were finally captured and hanged at Tirupattur and their heads burried at Sivagangai...
ReplyDeleteVery sad to see this. While it is well known that we care very little for our history, what is sad is that, we let even essential and useful things go to seed.
ReplyDeleteSLN
very sad that the sedish missionaries work have gone in vain
ReplyDeleteReal sad :-(
ReplyDeleteVery enlightening. Marudhu brothers - the name sounds cool, right?
ReplyDelete*deepa, tilo...really surprised here..thought everybody knows Marudhu brothers...otherwise wud have made a seperate post for them :)
ReplyDeleteI have studied paramedics in this institution in 1979-1980 and my elder brother studied 1959-1960. My elder aunty Dr. Samathanam Masillamani was working as doctor in 1936. Now couple of days back Hon. Minister Mr. Chidambaram has dedicated this eye hospital and my brother Bishop of TELC Rt. Rev. Dr. H.A. Martin also participated in this function. I hope we will see the hospital in live again after some years.
ReplyDeleteMr.Henry...Its heartening to hear that some attention is falling on this neglected "heritage" hospital. Hope it will see its good times again...but lot will depend on the Bishop for this miracle to happen. I keep my fingers crossed as I have lost all faith in the TELC Church institution.
ReplyDeleteMr. Ashok, Please visit in Face Book "Swedish Mission Hospital"
DeleteThank you for these pictures. I am an American of Swedish ancestry. My Grandfather's sister, a Swedish nurse, worked here with Dr. Kugelberg around the time of World War I.
ReplyDeletehi iam qualified in swedish m hospital as a nurse in1993.nice to see some of the pictures of smh.i hope to see SMH as a reputed once again which will make me to feel very happy.i wish everything .hopefully my dream will come true
ReplyDeleteMy fathers oldest brother, Olof Sendel took over after Dr.Kugelberg as eyedoctor around 1930.The wife aunt Hanna was responsible for the scool for the blind. My cousins Barbro and Bertel also lived at the campus. As far as I remember the family reurned to Sweden in the early 1950's. I had a lot of Indian stamps as a child...
ReplyDeleteReal i'm happy as well sad to see this because i born in this hospital not only my hole family...thanks....
ReplyDeletemy dad is brought up in swedish mission hospital(school for the blind)by miss.sonja person the swedish missionary.he got married in old arokyanather church.its very pathetic to see and hear about what has happened to smh-sonya(i am named after my dad`s guardian sonja person,but she is no more)
ReplyDeleteWe were also there in SMH during 1980 to 1987. I can not forget all these beautiful memories are still alive & green. Soja Hall so many cultural programs, even my dad had sung so many times in there along with Mrs. Baskaran. Sorry to say Baskaran Uncle is no more :(. His son Anand is a very good friend of mine. We can't just forget the playground with Ratnam, nava tree & etc.,
Deletewho can ever forget that. And also the small play area near the cemetery.
DeleteMy cousing brought me to this Swedish missionary hospital ground which was already in ruins when I was visiting my parents hometown. Being an overseas born Indian, I was impressed by the sprawling hospital campus but also very saddened to see it in ruins. I was also impressed that the Swedish missionaries have gone this much inland to set up a hospital here in this rather quiet town. Good to know that someday hopefully in the future, this campus will be rejuvenated back to its glorious past.
ReplyDeleteThank you for the pictures. 30 years ago I spent some weeks as a medical student from Germany at the Swedish mission hospital. I never will forget the experience to live some days with the indian people, the patients and the staff. But I got no information that the hospital is given up. a real pitty!
ReplyDeleteH.-M. R.
hi my mother qualified in swedish m hospital as a nurse in1993 her name is amala .nice to see some of the pictures of smh.i hope to see SMH as a reputed once again which will make me to feel very happy.i wish everything .hopefully my dream will come true
ReplyDeletehi i am qualified in da same year but ur mum name doesnt sound familier,r u sure she is from 93 batch
ReplyDeleteHi,
ReplyDeleteMy name is Leo Williams. First of all Thank you for bringing back old memory to life. Most of you were either students or worked here. but I have a different attachment to this heaven on earth.
1. I was born here.
2.My Grandfather Mr.Paul Adolf worked for the Swedish doctors.
3. My grandmother Mrs. Manoranjitham Paul was a teacher in the school.
4. My aunt Mrs.Pauline Emmanuel dedicated her life service as a nurse in this hospital. She was incharge of the BWard.
5. My other aunt Mrs. Chandra Franklin also served her life service in this hospital as a nurse.
6. My uncle Mr.Franklin Paul was in charge of the radiography department and he also spent his complete life service in this hospital.
7. The above mentioned all my uncles and aunt and other uncle aunts were born and brought up in this hospital.
8. My Mom was a student from the famous nursing school.
9. All my cousins were born in this hospital.
10. And my mother and father got married in the Arockianather church.
11. My father was buried in the cemetery near the old church.
I can go on on on. Its sad to know all these memory are being destroyed. The day of glory have gone. There is nothing left there. Once it was a place were all the angels lived and strived to give people a good medical attention.
Hi,
ReplyDeleteMy name is Leo Williams. First of all Thank you for bringing back old memory to life. Most of you were either students or worked here. but I have a different attachment to this heaven on earth.
1. I was born here.
2.My Grandfather Mr.Paul Adolf worked for the Swedish doctors.
3. My grandmother Mrs. Manoranjitham Paul was a teacher in the school.
4. My aunt Mrs.Pauline Emmanuel dedicated her life service as a nurse in this hospital. She was incharge of the BWard.
5. My other aunt Mrs. Chandra Franklin also served her life service in this hospital as a nurse.
6. My uncle Mr.Franklin Paul was in charge of the radiography department and he also spent his complete life service in this hospital.
7. The above mentioned all my uncles and aunt and other uncle aunts were born and brought up in this hospital.
8. My Mom was a student from the famous nursing school.
9. All my cousins were born in this hospital.
10. And my mother and father got married in the Arockianather church.
11. My father was buried in the cemetery near the old church.
I can go on on on. Its sad to know all these memory are being destroyed. The day of glory have gone. There is nothing left there. Once it was a place were all the angels lived and strived to give people a good medical attention.
Hi,
ReplyDeleteFirst off thank you bringing the sweet memories back. I have a special attachment to this hospital.
There are so many reasons.
1. My grandfather Mr.Paul Adolf was working for this hospital.
2. My grandmother Mrs. Manoranjitham Paul was a teacher in the SMH Hospital primary school.
3. My Aunt Mrs.Pauline Emmanuel dedicated her full service to this hospital as a head nurse.
4. My Uncle Mr.Franklin Paul also dedicated his full service to this hospital as a radiographer.
5. My Aunt Mrs.Chandra Franklin also dedicated her full service to this hospital as a nurse in the OPD department.
6. And all the above mentioned people including my mom were trained in the SMH Nursing school.
7. The best part is I was born there and so was all my uncles and aunt and every single cousin of mine.
8. We used to gather in SMH for every Christmas. What fun we used to have.
And there are so many to go on and on and on.....
That place more of our families heritage. There so many things that remind us of our forefathers. Who were a part of the SMH Heritage. Like all the glorious kingdom has its fall this place has also lost its glory. You should have seen this place when this place was governed by the Swedish doctors. This was heaven on earth. The dedication the doctors showed to give this people a decent medical felicities. Imagine people coming from Sweden into a wilderness in the middle of no where. I have seen the photo graphs of the SMH when it began. It was just a hamlet in the middle of nowhere. And I have photographs of most of the Swedish doctors who worked there in SMH. They used to be like angels.
Thanks Ashok for bringing back those memories. And one question how come you know about SMH.
Regards
Leo Williams
Hi Leo,
DeleteI am writing as i know Pauline akka and Chandra akka. Where are they now. I worked as Pharmacist in SMH from 72-79. Chandra akka's house was just behind my quarters. Do you know jayamary akka
Mr. Ashok, It is nice to see SM hospital is back in action. Please pay visit "Swedish Mission Hospital" in Face book. Regards, Henry J Rajasekar.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the update Mr.Henry. I am so glad to hear that the campus is coming alive again...with efforts of the Bishop Rev.Martin and funding by Videocon. Kudos to Mr.Chidambaram for his help in the effort.
DeletePls visit
ReplyDeletehttps://www.facebook.com/pages/Swedish-Mission-Hospital/563354390388807?ref=br_tf
Great to see the hospital back in action !
Wonderful. Thank God for the hospital in action back.
DeleteMr. Ashok, This is all about your effort only. Thank you and God bless!!!
ReplyDeleteGreat to hear that the hospital is running once again. I spent my early childhood in SMH from 1980-88 with my parents n siblings. Last visited in 2001, much of it was in ruins, including the bungalow we stayed in . The huge banyan tree in front of the house was still there though, giving fond memories of childhood. Continue to serve the community and poor. God bless.
ReplyDeleteBoth of my children were born in this hospital.I used to admire the efficient and personalized service at a very negligible cost.
ReplyDeleteThank you for all friends.i'm was study in 1999 lab technology.
ReplyDeleteYakoop
A week, back I visited that hospital. I was expecting it to be in bad shape. In relation to services provided as of date, needs to scale up to a lot. But the buildings are in great shape. I am told that Mr. P. Chidambaram took effort to raise funds to support this hospital to make the place presentable and usable. Need committed team of health care professionals to take up the challenge to revive this place. Those commented on this can start the process of working towards a solution. I guess it is easy to bask on the past glory, keep whining, complaining and even give up. Aunt ida said said, "those who can see the invisible, can achieve the impossible."
ReplyDeleteAll of us have a role to play. Thanks Mr. Ashok for initiating...
I had to read up on Marudhu Pandiars...
Im just curious about this hospital I want to know why this hospital was majorly closed?
ReplyDeleteThe role of communication between healthcare providers and patients is crucial for effective and compassionate care in hospitals. WasteX biomedical waste
ReplyDelete