Every morning, women still walk through the gates of a quiet two-storeyed home in Hyderabad’s Sitaphalmandi. They come seeking the doctor who has been delivering babies and caring for women for more than six decades.
At 92, Dr Suri Srimathi still sees patients, performs surgeries and drives herself to work. Her career has touched an estimated two lakh births, with some families returning to her across three generations. But her journey began in a very different India.
Born in 1933, Srimathi was the eldest of seven children in an orthodox Brahmin family whose roots lay in Eluru. Her father, SR Deekshithulu, was an engineer with the Nizam’s Railways. Though her mother had been denied education because of traditional beliefs, she was determined that her daughter would study. Her father, too, insisted that Srimathi become a doctor at a time when women entering medicine was considered taboo.
The decision came at a price. Her family faced social resistance because her medical education required her to work with cadavers, something considered unacceptable for women in their community.
Srimathi was one of only four women in her medical class at Osmania Medical College. Money was another challenge. With seven children in the family, there was little room for expensive education.
Srimathi studied on a scholarship of just ₹15, which she described as significant money in those days. To support herself and her siblings, she also recorded audio plays for All India Radio.
In 1958, she completed her MBBS. Her first independent C-section came the following year at a government hospital in Sangareddy, where limited medical resources meant she had to take on multiple responsibilities herself. She later completed her MD in Obstetrics and Gynaecology in 1965 and spent about 35 years serving in government hospitals.
One experience stayed with her..She once witnessed a pregnant woman travel around 12 kilometres by bullock cart for medical help. The journey was too late. Both the mother and baby died. For Srimathi, it became more than a tragedy. It became a reason to keep going.
After retiring from government service, she opened her home clinic in 1999. She chose not to turn medicine into an expensive service. Even today, patients continue to come, often paying little or nothing for consultation.
Her personal life took a different path too. Srimathi never married, saying she could not find a partner who would allow her to continue her professional commitments. She instead dedicated her life to medicine and service, while living with her youngest brother, Sastri.
Her discipline has remained remarkable. She begins her day with yoga, keeps herself updated with medical journals and conferences, and continues to enter the operating room when patients need her. In 2026, she was honoured with the Mathru Murthy Award at the Zee Telugu Apsara Awards for her lifetime of service.
At 92, Dr Suri Srimathi is still there, quietly practising the profession she chose, and showing that for some people, service is not a phase of life. It is life itself.
