V. D. Swami

Venkatarama Doraiswami (1910–1993) was an Indian industrialist and philanthropist who was one of the founders of the eye hospital Sankara Nethralaya in Chennai.

Swami was born in 1910 in Melattur in Tanjore District. In 1956, Swami founded V. D. Swami and Company in Madras along with M. V. Subramaniam and T. S. Narayanaswami of Sanmar Group. V. D. Swami and Company are pioneers in the steel export business. and one of Asia's major wholesalers and retailers. Swami was also one of the promoters of Kaveri Engineering Company Limited, a capital machinery and process machinery manufacturing company based in Tiruchirappalli.

In 1962, Swami attended a Bhagavata Mela performance in his native Melattur. Interested in promoting the art outside Melattur, Swami founded the Melattur Bhagavata Mela Natya Vidhya Sangam in 1964.

Swami was instrumental in persuading medical practitioner S. S. Badrinath to set up the eye hospital Sankara Nethralaya in Madras. He also designed welfare measures for its employees. The Sankara Nethralaya recognised his efforts by dedicating an auditorium in his memory on the occasion of his birth centenary.

Swami died in Madras in 1993.

Swami was the husband of Bharathnatyam dancer Vasantha Swamy and the father of prominent south Indian actor Arvind Swamy.

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