Venkatarama Dorai Swami was an Indian industrialist and philanthropist who was one of the founders of the eye hospital Sankara Nethralaya

Sankara Nethralaya

Sankara Nethralaya is a not-for-profit missionary institution for ophthalmic care located in Chennai, India. "Sankara Nethralaya" means "The Temple of the Eye"....

 in Chennai

Chennai

Chennai , formerly known as Madras or Madarasapatinam , is the capital city of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu, located on the Coromandel Coast off the Bay of Bengal. Chennai is the fourth most populous metropolitan area and the sixth most populous city in India...

.

Career

Swami was born in 1910 in Melattur

Melattur, Tamil Nadu

Melattur is a panchayat town in Thanjavur district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is located 18 kilometres from the town of Thanjavur. It is famous as a place of origin of the Melattur style of Bharatanatyam founded by Mangudi Dorairaja Iyer and a series of dance-drama performances called...

 in Tanjore District

Tanjore District (Madras Presidency)

Tanjore district was one of the districts in the erstwhile Madras Presidency of British India. It covered the area of the present-day districts of Thanjavur, Tiruvarur and Nagapattinam and the Aranthangi taluk of Pudukkottai district in Tamil Nadu...

.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

Steel

Steel is an alloy that consists mostly of iron and has a carbon content between 0.2% and 2.1% by weight, depending on the grade. Carbon is the most common alloying material for iron, but various other alloying elements are used, such as manganese, chromium, vanadium, and tungsten...

 export

Export

The term export is derived from the conceptual meaning as to ship the goods and services out of the port of a country. The seller of such goods and services is referred to as an "exporter" who is based in the country of export whereas the overseas based buyer is referred to as an "importer"...

 business. and one of Asia

Asia

Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.7% of the Earth's total surface area and with approximately 3.879 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population...

'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.

Other activities

In 1962, Swami attended a Bhagavata Mela performance in his native Melattur

Melattur, Tamil Nadu

Melattur is a panchayat town in Thanjavur district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is located 18 kilometres from the town of Thanjavur. It is famous as a place of origin of the Melattur style of Bharatanatyam founded by Mangudi Dorairaja Iyer and a series of dance-drama performances called...

. 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

S. S. Badrinath

S. S. Badrinath or Sengamedu Srinivasa Badrinath is the founder and Chairman Emeritus of Sankara Nethralaya, Chennai; one of India's eye hospitals.-Early life:...

 to set up the eye hospital

Eye Hospital

-References:...

 Sankara Nethralaya

Sankara Nethralaya

Sankara Nethralaya is a not-for-profit missionary institution for ophthalmic care located in Chennai, India. "Sankara Nethralaya" means "The Temple of the Eye"....

 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.

Family

Swami did not have children of his own. He adopted Arvind Swamy

Arvind Swamy

Arvind Swamy is a former Indian film actor. He has acted in Tamil, Malayalam, Telugu and Hindi. Popular movies to his credit include Roja, Bombay, Minsaara Kanavu, Indira, Devaraagam, Alaipayuthey.- Early life :...

, the son of television actor Delhi Kumar

Delhi Kumar

Delhi Kumar is a Tamil stage, television and film actor who is known for performing supporting roles in teleserials like Metti Oli and Engey Brahmanan. He has also acted in a few Tamil films, such as Kannathil Muthamittal and Enthiran . He is the father of Tamil film actor Arvind Swamy....

.Arvind Swamy is a Tamil, Malayalam and Hindi film actor who was active in the 1990s.