Sundaram Vivek AnandCourtesy of family
Sundaram Vivek Anand: Patriarch. Surgeon. Artist. Spiritual guide. Born Jan. 10, 1931, in Rangoon, Burma; died Oct. 3, 2022, in Burlington, Ont., of heart failure; aged 91.
At 16, Sundaram Vivek Anand was already fluent in four languages and an outstanding student and left home to attend medical school in Agra. Shortly after his graduation in 1953, his father raised money to send him to England to train as a surgeon. He set sail for Liverpool with just a banana and £5 in his pocket. But this meagre start led to a life filled with riches of the most important kind: family, art and love.
In 1958, Anand went to Ireland to give a lecture on the principles of moral rearmament where he met Saroj Daulat Ram, a medical student, and their love grew from a mutual respect for Mahatma Gandhi and medicine. Saroj and Anand married in 1959 and went to the University of Ibadan in Nigeria to work as a husband-and-wife medical duo.
This adventure was followed in 1965 by a bold immigration to Kentville, N.S. Their interest in Canada was sparked by a visiting Canadian physician who told them Canada was a great country to live in and short on medical professionals. In Kentville, the couple continued their medical practices and raised three daughters: Gita, Anita and Sonia.
While Anand routinely left family dinners “to do an appendix” his daughters never felt a lack of affection because he was also always busy baking for them and teaching them new skills and hobbies, including French, piano and skiing. Anand and Saroj balanced their busy medical lives with family time, and Anand often brought home trays of hospital food when Saroj was at work, to ensure the girls had warm meals for their dinner.
Anand took to Nova Scotian winters wholeheartedly, learning to ski and curl. However, it was his skill as a general surgeon that brought him the most satisfaction. He practised for almost 50 years, responding to calls from his community at any time: He had an instant bond with patients, many of whom write to his daughters to this day to express their appreciation of his care. Notably, Anand pioneered gastric bypass surgery in Canada, and published a paper about it the Canadian Journal of Surgery in 1984. He also completed short-term surgical locums in Canada’s North, in Iqaluit and in Moose Factory.
Anand was also an artist. As a young boy, he started to sketch and draw. In medical school, he excelled in the study of human anatomy and illustrated medical textbooks during his postgraduate studies. In Canada, Anand turned his attention to the beauty of the landscape. In his later years, he exhibited and sold his art in shows at McMaster University, in Oakville, Burlington and Georgetown.
For Anand, art was an integral part of his spiritual side. His father was a disciple of Mahatma Gandhi and as a young boy, Anand got to know the leader and became a devout follower of his teachings. He often said that the part of life that really matters is our values and how we live. Anand had learned Sanskrit and took to reciting Chapter 2 of the Bhagavad Gita every day. This section resonated with him most deeply with its focus on the importance of finding virtue in work; it inspired his life. In the last months, Anand’s daughters joined him in this recitation.
One of Anand’s granddaughters described him as the most positive person she had ever met. She was right. The others described their “Nanu” as always being interested in all aspects of their lives, keen to learn alongside them, just as he did with his daughters. Anand died with Gita, Anita and Sonia by his side, holding his hands and reciting his favourite shlokas, as the sun rose above Lake Ontario.
The movie of his life could be called “From Burma to Burlington, with love.”
Gitanjali Anand, Indira Anita Anand, and Sonia Savitri Anand are Anand’s daughters.
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