Dr Shreekant Kelkar donates Rs 35 lakh to IMA in memory of his brother

Meanwhile, present on the occasion at IMA were Aruna Kelkar and IMA officials Dr Avinash Bhutkar, Dr Jayant Navrange, Dr Sanjay Patil, Dr Ajay Sancheti and Dr Virendra Ostwal and others.

Dr Kelkar's uncle Dinkar Kelkar (who set up Pune's iconic Raja Dinkar Kelkar museum) also had a small shop at M G Road where he would keep gramophone records.

Eighty-year-old Dr Shreekant Kelkar, founder director of the National Institute of Ophthalmology, has donated Rs 35 lakh to the Indian Medical Association, in memory of his older brother Raghunath Kelkar.

“Little do people know that my brother Raghunath, who would help our father dispense correct glasses to customers at a shop near the famous Dagdusheth Halwai Trust’s Ganesh temple, was the driving force behind my success,” Dr Kelkar told The Indian Express.

Dr Kelkar’s uncle Dinkar Kelkar (who set up Pune’s iconic Raja Dinkar Kelkar museum) also had a small shop at M G Road where he would keep gramophone records. Alongside Dr Kelkar’s father Bhaskar (Dinkar’s brother) would physically conduct eye examinations and dispense glasses.

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“My father (Bhaskar) would then open a shop at Budhwar Peth. My brother was very clever and had got admission then for engineering but did not want the textile branch. He then joined my father and later managed the shop,” Dr Kelkar said and recalled how his brother would give him money for procuring instruments and other necessities later on. “My brother was a great force in my life and this donation is entirely in his memory,” Dr Kelkar said.

Meanwhile, present on the occasion at IMA were Aruna Kelkar and IMA officials Dr Avinash Bhutkar, Dr Jayant Navrange, Dr Sanjay Patil, Dr Ajay Sancheti and Dr Virendra Ostwal and others.

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