Awards & Orations
In the year 1996, 21st Annual VOS Convention was held. It was in association with Vitreo-Retinal Society of India. It was largely attended by delegates from Vidarbha and outside Vidarbha and as well. Audited account gave a pleasant surprise that the Organising Committee had enough surplus amounts. Since the corpus was from Vitreo-Retinal Convention, President Dr. Sulabha Deshpande, Secretary Dr. Anant Gade and Chairman Organizing Committee Dr.Prashant Agnihotri, took the reins in their hand and started Vireo-Retinal Oration, to be held with installation of new President and other Office bearers of Vidarbha Ophthalmic Society.
Dr. Sudha Sutaria
Dr. Sudha Sutaria, “A Lady in White” ! She has her own style and grace.
Born and brought-up in a very affluent family at Mumbai, came to a small city like Nagpur in 1952. In the era of handful of private practitioners in Nagpur, She overshadowed not only Ophthalmologist but entire Medical faternity and was elected as the President of I.MA. Nagpur.
All Vitreo-Retinal Surgeons practicing in Nagpur owe to her as she is responsible for developing interest in posterior segment amongst P.G. Students. Way back in 1975 when even having a good Direct Ophthalmoscope was not possible, Madam would bring her own Indirect Ophthalmosope and teach visualization of retina and art of Retinal drawing.
All Vitreo-Retinal Surgeons practicing in Nagpur owe to her as she is responsible for developing interest in posterior segment amongst P.G. Students. Way back in 1975 when even having a good Direct Ophthalmoscope was not possible, Madam would bring her own Indirect Ophthalmosope and teach visualization of retina and art of Retinal drawing.
She is responsible for bringing two Legends of retina, Dr.P.N.Nagpal and Dr.S.S. Badrinath in 1980 and members of V.O.S. had enjoyed live demonstration of cryo-coagulation of Retinal hole done by Dr. P.N. Nagpal.
In the year 1995, for the 1st time, Mid year meet Of VRSI was held in Nagpur under aegis of V.O.S. and to pay tributes to Madam ,Dr.Sudha Sutaria Vitreo Retinal Oration was initiated. She is a founder member of V.O.S.
In the year 2000, According to recommendations of the committee, following changes in the Vireo-Retinal Oration took place:-
1. It would be named as “Dr. Sudha Sutaria Oration”
2. Instead of an yearly event it would be awarded once in 3 year’s time.
Dr. Sudha Sutaria is Instrumental in stimulating younger ophthalmologists to opt for posterior segment fellowship and to develop posterior segment surgery in Nagpur. Hence it was decided to name the oration after her. This Oration is awarded to following awardees:-
In the year 1995, for the 1st time, Mid year meet Of VRSI was held in Nagpur under aegis of V.O.S. and to pay tributes to Madam ,Dr.Sudha Sutaria Vitreo Retinal Oration was initiated. She is a founder member of V.O.S.
In the year 2000, According to recommendations of the committee, following changes in the Vireo-Retinal Oration took place:-
1. It would be named as “Dr. Sudha Sutaria Oration”
2. Instead of an yearly event it would be awarded once in 3 year’s time.
Dr. Sudha Sutaria is Instrumental in stimulating younger ophthalmologists to opt for posterior segment fellowship and to develop posterior segment surgery in Nagpur. Hence it was decided to name the oration after her. This Oration is awarded to following awardees:-
| Sr.No | Year | Awardees | Topic |
| 1 | 1997 | Dr. Babu Rajendran | Lasers in Ophthalmology |
| 2 | 1998 | Dr. Namperumalsamy | Eale’s Disease |
| 3 | 1999 | Dr. P. N. Nagpal | Posterior Segment Complications of Anterior Segment Surgery |
| 4 | 2000 | Dr. S. Natarajan | Age Related Macular Degeneration |
| 5 | 2001 | Dr. S. S. Badrinath | Research in Diabetic Retinopathy |
| 6 | 2004 | Dr. Lingam Gopal | Current Management of Retinoblastoma |
| 7 | 2007 | Dr. T. P. Dasl | Diabetic Retinopathy |
| 8 | 2010 | Dr. C. Shroff | Vitreous in health and Diseases |
| 9 | 2013 | Dr. Tarun Sharma | Diabetic Macular Oedema |
| 10 | 2016 | Dr. Kim Ramasamy | Diabetic Retinopathy care in India |
| 11 | 2019 | Dr. Mahesh Shanmugam | Paediatric Retinal Surgery |
| 12 | 2022 | Dr Rajiv Raman | How will AI help us manage Diabetic retinopathy ; Implementing AI in real time |
Dr. A.V. Madangopal
It is very difficult to describe the personality of Dr. A. V. Madangopal. People who have seen him and worked with him are really fortunate. He had a tremendous working capacity, deep knowledge of Ophthalmology and was very keen to learn new things and picked them up in his practice of Ophthalmology. Due to his extraordinary qualities even though he was never a teacher in Medical College, practiced in a small town like Amravati, he was recognized at all India level and became the 1st President from Vidarbha, of All India Ophthalmological Society. He received “Srinivasan Gold medal” from AIOS. Thus he was responsible for bringing Vidarbha on National Map. He was a multi-faceted personality, a good classical singer, active worker of Lions Club. He did enormous volume of surgery especially for cataract and extensive work for patients from leprosy whose corneas were damaged. This stimulated him to set up an Eye Bank at Amravati. Vidarbha Ophthalmic Society pays tribute to Dr. A. V. Madangopal by awarding an Oration in his name to Ophthalmic Surgeons who have excelled in their work in Cornea and Adnexa. This Oration is awarded to following awardees:-
| Sr.No | Year | Awardees | Topic |
| 1 | 2000 | Dr. H.S. Dua | Stem cells of Ocular surface-Science & Surgery |
| 2 | 2002 | Dr. G.N. Rao | Corneal Blindness & Corneal Transplantation |
| 3 | 2005 | Dr. A.K. Grover | Ptosis |
| 4 | 2008 | Dr. V. Sangwan | Limbal Stem Cell Science & Application |
| 5 | 2011 | Dr. S. K. Rao | Lamellar Corneal Surgeries |
| 6 | 2014 | Dr. Q. Maskati | PintucchiKeratoprosthesis result of 15 years – Study of 85 patients |
| 7 | 2017 | Dr. Tuhin Chowdhury | Amniotic Membrane Transplantation – Mother’s Own Remedy For Ocular Surface Reconstruction |
| 8 | 2020 | Dr N Venkatesh Prajna | My Work in Fungal Keratitis |
Dr S U JOSHI
Born on 1st March, 1922 in a village from Rajasthan, he had a higher training in Diploma in Ophthalmology at Royal College of Surgeons and Physicians in London in 1954. He started his private in Nagpur in 1955. He served the Indian Army as 2nd Lieutenant and Captain from 1945 to 1949 and was presented with U. S. Carbine by the battalion for his meritorious services on Kashmir in 1947. He was Honorary Ophthalmic Surgeon in Mayo Hospital, Nagpur from 1969 to 1980 and an examiner in Ophthalmology for M.B.B.S. of Nagpur University. He organized and assisted a number of free eye camps since 1959 in various parts of Vidarbha region and in tribal and backward areas of Rajasthan. Dr. S. U. Joshi was a unique combination of charity, military discipline and academics. Since he has done a tremendous work in Community Ophthalmology, Dr. Anil Bhonde, Chairman Organizing Committee of 19th and 23rd Annual VOS Convention, started Oration in the memory of Dr. S.U. Joshi. This Oration is awarded to following awardees:-
VOS Dr. S U Joshi Oration Award
List of Previous Awardees
| Sr. No | Year | Awardees | Topic |
| 1 | 1999 | Dr. Jeewan Titiyal | Therapeutic Contact Lens |
| 2 | 2001 | Dr. M S Ravindran | Ocular Trauma |
| 3 | 2003 | Dr. N.N.Sood | Paediatric Glaucoma |
| 4 | 2006 | Dr. Ramanjeet Sihota | Primary Angle Closure Glaucoma |
| 5 | 2009 | Dr. Minoo Mathen | Cataract in Difficult situations |
| 6 | 2012 | Dr. G. Chandrashekhar | Pearls & Perspectives in Glaucoma Management |
| 7 | 2015 | Dr. Arup Chakrabarty | Cataract Surgery in Eyes with Posterior Segment Diseases |
| 8 | 2018 | Dr. Jagat Ram | Achieving Excellence Combining Talent, Focus & Ophthalmology |
| 9 | 2021 | Dr Lingam Vijaya | Top Ten Evidence Based Adoptions in Glaucoma Clinical Pratice |
Dr. Ishwarchandra Award
Dr. Ishwarchandra known as the best teacher all over the country. He is a dedicated & extremely disciplined person. Being a Professor of Ophthalmology in Govt. Medical College, Nagpur for 27 years, he has been responsible for shaping career of many Ophthalmologists in India and abroad either by teaching them or as an examiner for M.B.B.S., D.O., and M.S. Examination. He is truly a father figure for all the members of Vidarbha Ophthalmic Society. All the members salute him and bow in front of him. Organising Committee of Silver Jubilee Annual VOS Convention under the president ship of Dr.Anand Pangarkar decided to start a special award known as “Silver Jubilee VOS Dr. Ishwarchandra Award.” Award is given every year during annual VOS convention as a token of respect to this towering personality. Following are the awardees.
List of Awardees:
| Sr.No | Year | Awardees | Topic |
| 1 | 2002 | Dr. Patnaik | Past, Present & Future of Retinal Detachment |
| 2 | 2003 | Dr. P.Vijayalaxmi | Childhood Blindness & Low Vision |
| 3 | 2004 | Dr. M.Srinivasan | Corneal Blindness Indian Perspective |
| 4 | 2005 | Dr. Mahipal Sachdeo | Recent Advances in Phacoemulsification |
| 5 | 2006 | Dr. Pradeep Sharma | Nystagmus Simplified |
| 6 | 2007 | Dr. Shridhar Rao | Medical Treatment of Glaucoma |
| 7 | 2008 | Dr. H.S. Dua | Journey ThroughMillenniumnFrom Couching Era To Multifocals |
| 8 | 2009 | Dr. H.K.Tewari | CSR |
| 9 | 2010 | Dr. D. Bhattacharya | Disha Experience |
| 10 | 2011 | Dr. RamaMurty | Refractive cataract surgery |
| 11 | 2012 | Dr. T.P. Lahane | Advances In PhacoTechnology ForVarious Grades Of Nuclear Sclerosis |
| 12 | 2013 | Dr. Santosh Honavar | Retinoblastoma- “They Live They See” |
| 13 | 2014 | Dr. B. Shanta | Surgical management of complications of filtering surgeries |
| 14 | 2015 | Dr. Aashish Bansal | Keratoconus management : step by step |
| 15 | 2016 | Dr. Haripriya | Measuring outcomes following cataract surgery. |
| 16 | 2017 | Dr. Kasturi Bhattacharjee | Navigation Guided Optic Canal & Orbital Surgeries |
| 17 | 2018 | Dr. Partha Biswas | Navigation Guided Optic Canal & Orbital Surgeries |
| 18 | 2019 | Dr. Rasik Vajpayee | Less Is More – Journey Of Corneal Transplantation |
| 19 | 2020 | Dr Soosan Jacob | Treatment of advance Keratoconus |
| 21 | 2021 | Prof. Dr. Mohan Rajan | Handling Phaco complications: : Be a master |
Dr R N Gandhewar
Dr. R.N. Gandhewar did his MBBS,DO & Ms from GMC with Laurels. Did his fellowship FACS in 1984. He has taught under &postgraduate. Has worked as a Lecturer, Reader & Professor at various Government Medical Colleges in the state for more than a decade. He was a post-graduate examiner in these years. In spite of his busy schedule he persued his training in advanced technique in the field of Retina, Neuro-Ophthalmology, IOL implantation, & the subspecialty close to his heart i.e. Paediatric Ophthalmology. He has experience of working overseas at Oman for 19th long years. Coming from a very small village Sawana in Yavatmal district, he had an urge to serve the poor & community at large & he did so by successfully conducting numerous, diagnostic & surgical eye-camps &delivering talks on eye & health related issues on AIR
His lifelong work was present in numerous papers in Indian & International Journals. His professional excellence is carried forward by his son and daughter who with their spouses are pursuing ophthalmology overseas. VOS acknowledges his invaluable contribution, by instituting “Dr. R. N. Gandhewar Award” to be given annually to ophthalmic surgeons who have excelled in their field of expertise. Following are the awardees.
List of Awardees:
| 1 | 2010 | Dr. Abhay Vasavda | Paediatric Cataract |
| 2 | 2011 | Dr. Ronnie George | Paediatric Glaucoma |
| 3 | 2012 | Dr. S. Haldipurkar | Fine Timing Cataract Surgery Result |
| 4 | 2013 | Dr. Pramod Bhende | Paediatric Retinal Detachment |
| 5 | 2014 | Dr. Karobi Laheri | ROP screening guidelines and recent management |
| 6 | 2015 | Dr. Milind Naik | Management of congenital ptosis |
| 7 | 2016 | Dr. Meenakshi Swaminathan | Small steps and giant leaps: advancements in peadiatric ophthalmology and strabismus |
| 8 | 2017 | Dr. Sujata Guha | The Journey Of Paediatric Cataract Surgery |
| 9 | 2018 | Dr. Subhadra Jalali | Newborn Eye Health And Rop: Lessons Of A 20 Years’ Journey |
| 10 | 2019 | Dr. Rohit Shetty | Joy Of Believing |
| 11 | 2021 | Prof. Dr. Mangat Dogra | My journey with retinopathy of primaturity |
Late Dr. Neelima Pawade
Dr. Neelima Pawade, a coveted member of our organization met an untimely death on 5th November 2006. Dr. NeelimaPawde did her MBBS & MS in Ophthalmology from GMC Nagpur. She then quenched her thirst for learning by doing her FRCS (Edinburgh) from UK in the first attempt. On coming back to India she joined Lata Mangeshkar Hospital and NKPSIMS Medical College. She was instrumental in starting the eye department there. In short time due to her talent and dedication, she developed the eye department to such heights that it was considered as a referral center for complex eye problems by colleagues.
She was a gifted surgeon, an excellent academician and teacher par excellence.
She is blessed with two sons are now pursuing their careers in animation and computer engineering. With generous donation from her husband Dr. Milind Pawade, a radiologist of repute, VOS has started “Late Dr. Neelima Pawade Lifetime Achievement Award” in 2008. This award is given to an eminent person in the field of ophthalmology. Following are the awardees:
List of Awardees:
| Sr.No | Year | Awardees | Topic |
| 1 | 2008 | Dr. Babu Rajendran | Back to Surface Ablation |
| 2 | 2009 | Dr. Jeevan Titiyal | Lamellar Corneal Surgeries |
| 3 | 2010 | Dr. Keiki Mehta | Frontiers in Refractive Surgeries |
| 4 | 2011 | Dr. Vimala Menon | Approach to a Patient with Swollen Discs |
| 5 | 2012 | Dr. Anil Kulkarni | Group Practice |
| 6 | 2013 | Dr. H.S. Dua | Lamellar Corneal Surgery reveals a new lamella “Dua Layer” |
| 7 | 2014 | Dr. Rajeev Choudhari | Presbyopia correcting IOLS |
| 8 | 2015 | Dr. Rajesh Sinha | Component corneal surgery |
| 9 | 2016 | Dr. Vishali Gupta | My Travelogue with intra ocular tuberculosis |
| 10 | 2017 | Dr . Lalit Verma | Vitreo Retinal Inter face Disorder |
| 11 | 2018 | Dr. Ragini Parekh | Going Rural – My Experience |
| 12 | 2019 | Dr. Tanuj Dada | Glaucoma : Looking Beyond IOP |
| 13 | 2020 | Dr Samar Basak | Boston Keratoprosthesis Beyond IOP |
| 14 | 2021 | Prof Dr Namrata Sharma | “Microbial Keratitis – Beating the Bug” |
Instituted in 2013 from the savings of Drishticon 2010 VOS Conference. The award is given to young Ophthalmologist less than 40 years doing exceptional work in the field of ophthalmology.
| Sr.No | Year | Awardees | Topic |
| 1 | 2013 | Dr. Soumya Dulani | Psudotumor cerebri in rural India |
| 2 | 2015 | Dr. Sabyasachi Sengupta | Imaging of retina: Newer modalities |
| 3 | 2018 | Dr. Shrinivas Joshi | Two Faces Of ILM – The Culprit & Unsung Hero |
| 4 | 2019 | Dr. Rupesh Agrawal | Choroidal Vascularity Index |
| 5 | 2019 | Dr. Jay Chhablani | Central serous chorioretinopathy- Newer Classification |
| 6 | 2021 | Dr. Ashish Sharma | Carving your own path – lession learnt from my journey of academia and innovations |