Late. Miss. N. Seethalakshmi Iyer

 A Detailed note on Late. Miss. N. Seethalakshmi Iyer

 

 

 Born into an Orthodox Religious Family which believed that knowledge & resultant wisdom would make their lives greater than monetary benefits, Late Seethalakshmi grew up in Calcutta till her teenage.  Her father was a learned & wise Astrologer while her mother was a pious & religious housewife. She was diagnosed with Birth Heart Disorder and her parents were advised by the treating Doctors against her Marriage and Childbirth.  The Family had to relocate to their Native in Coimbatore before the outbreak of World War II but unfortunately her father died due to severe outbreak of Plague in Coimbatore during early 1940s. 

 

She and her Mother had to take care of the Family of 7 against all odds and minimal support.  She somehow managed to break all mental barriers backed by her revolutionary Mother’s motivation, and enrolled for a Midwifery Course under the Erstwhile British System of Education & Training. After completing her course and being posted in a remote village for 2 years near Sathyamangalam those days itself she was given the coveted title of a ‘LICENSED MIDWIFE’.  She was attached to the District Headquarters Hospital with minimal facilities and no C-Section for attending on women. She would practice midwifery at her will anywhere in Coimbatore District when births mostly happened at home only.  Her services would be required  at any point of time including midnights attending complicated cases, twin or more births and so on. Death of mother or child or both during delivery was quite normal. Sadly she had nothing to do but simply watch and pray but tried her best to save either the mother or the baby and ideally the both.

 

With such a Noble Profession which she had undertaken knowingly she served the society and brought great relief to Scores of Women of Coimbatore District in their Ordeal of Child Birth especially the birth of First Child which was more complicated those days given the fact the Average Age of Delivery of Girls, if not women,  was 14 -17 making them more vulnerable.

 

For her Professional Service sometimes she would be paid only upto ‘AN ANNA’ which she would accept graciously as Poverty ruled most of India in those times just before Independence. Also World Word II had ended just then and the entire world was witnessing the impact of the Great Economic Depression and all these had a great impact on the Local Economy which was under the control of the British regime.

 

She was successful enough to practice her Midwifery Profession before Independence and even after Independence when Legislative changes were made and India brought in its own System for Nursing and Midwifery and a resultant Council was Setup.

 

Her failing health trigerred by her Birth Heart Disorder started badly impacting her physically if not mentally.  She was very much committed to her young family members and was deeply concerned about their future and still continued her Practice braving all odds and challenges.  But there is always an end to all good things and with severe Heart Distress she was admitted to the same District Headquarters Hospital she worked with and for her Heart Problems just like her complicated Midwifery problems there was no solution or contemporary Medical Innovation at that point of time.  The treating doctors suggested her to visit Chennai but she was reluctant to travel as her Mother had to travel and her other young siblings would be alone.  So he decided to peacefully die in Coimbatore itself besides her mother and siblings.  But before her death she made each Sibling realise that there is a better future for them without her and to live strongly as a family.  Finally she passed away in the middle of 1950 at her young age of Mid 30s leaving behind a rich and impeccable legacy of Self Sacrifice, commitment, Professionalism and Empathy towards Society especially Pregnant Women & Children if not Huge Wealth for her family.  The question of Being Ethical did not arise because at the time of Independence almost each and every Indian was Ethical and those values and thoughts were deeply embedded in the Society itself in General.

 

Her Family continued to live the rest of their lives continuing with the same Legacy and core values, faiths and beliefs. Even the Second Generation descendents of her Siblings equally respect, admire and get motivated by her thoughts, deeds and contributions to the Society at a time when women would hardly step out of their house independently on their own for pursuing a complicated career like a Midwife. In line with the family legacy each individual try their best to contribute to the society and take care of the Family Members in the best possible way given all the challenges of current day world where Knowledge and wisdom , empathy towards others, Being Ethical, leading life of values, serving society at large  are taking a back seat and focus is more on materialism  leaving the society in doldrums.

 

Summaried on Behalf of the Family by

BALAKRISHNAN RAMKUMAR  ( Nephew ) 

Prof. V. VIDHYA ( Nephew’s Wife)