Exactly on the 30th May, 2026 – Saturday @ 5.00 pm – Dr. Ganji Kusuma will be retiring voluntarily from the government service. She has served government as a senior scientist in Ayurveda for almost 21 years. 21 years are not small. It is a life time! She may be having a residue service of around 7 years to be eligible for regular retirement. She should have done or submitted or applied for voluntary retirement two years earlier, when her father late Shri Ravi Shankar was alive. But I guess, she may not have been eligible for voluntary retirement then as it stipulates a minimum service of 20 years. Had she done it, or if that were the case, she could have spent few years with her father, which could have satisfied her soul.
Post voluntary retirement she plans to return to Rayachoti (a rich town with many NRIs in Andhra Pradesh and very near to the temple town Thirupathi), where she has setup her own Ayurveda practice titled “Good Health Ayurveda”. While there is no doubt that she would easily earn more than her present government monthly salary besides the unfathomable love of the people of Rayachoti, I would have felt good if her father were there to see all these changes and to feel proud of her illustrious daughter.
There could be many Ayurveda doctors in India. I would say ‘Dime a Dozen’. But it is extremely rare, rather impossible to have an Ayurveda doctor with a PhD in Ayurveda from one of the world-renowned universities – the Banaras Hindu University! This shows the pinnacle of learning and involvement of Dr Kusuma in the ancient medical system of India. I think this is what makes Dr. Kusuma uniquely special.
I have known Dr. Kusuma’s father & her family for over 30 years. I sold an endowment policy from LIC to her after convincing her father. That sale has evolved into a lifelong friendship. Dr. Kusuma has a handsome husband in Dr. Vijay Kumar PhD, who has a post doctorial qualification in chemistry from IIT Chennai. He is truly a wonderful man, a man of wisdom and few words. I pray for the good health of both, sincerely wish Dr. Kusuma peace and stability post – retirement. She is a woman of essence & principles. Please note madam – the ever-interesting beautiful life has just begun for you.
Her father constructed, as per the then modernity and principles of construction, a massive stone house. The thickness of the stone walls is almost three feet! It cannot be imagined by us. It is a simple and yet a unique house. The uniqueness lies in its simplicity. The specialty of this great house is that it is very cool in summer and warm in winter. The less I talk of the beautiful Ayurveda garden surrounding the house the better. Rayachoty as a city may have fast developed, but the ancient house of Dr Kusuma has its own lasting and soothing presence.
I am happy to know that Dr. Kusuma has finally reached to her permanent residence. That house is simply owners’ pride and neighbor’s envy! I had the honor of meeting Late Shri Ravi Shankar ji few months before his demise; and I believe to say that the house itself is filled with infinite good wishes and blessings of Late Shri. Ravi Shankar ji. I further believe that both Dr. Kusuma’s medical practice and her health will bloom a thousand-fold in this sacred house. Congratulations Dr Kusuma. Insha Allah and very soon I shall make my pilgrimage to see the foot prints of your late father in that splendid house – a promise I make to myself. The divine blessings of Ravi Shankar ji will continue to guide you now and forever.
About the Author
Dr. K. Raja Gopal Reddy is a seasoned internationally qualified Insurance professional. What you are reading here, may not answer all the questions we have, but has the absolute power of asking unsettling questions which increase the interest in the strange world, and show the contradictory wonders lying just below the surface of the commonest things of life. Look at this disturbing but beautiful thought of Friedrich Nietzsche “God is dead. God remains dead. And we have killed him”.
Dr. Reddy can be reached at: raja66gopal@gmail.com
