Red-brick buildings are more than just brick and mortar. They are like a storehouse of stories.
On a partially busy Rukmani Lakshmipathy Salai in Egmore, Chennai, stands one such institution where the past and present co-exist: the 203-year-old Regional Institute of Ophthalmology and Government Government Ophthalmic Hospital (RIO-GOH), which is oldest ophthalmic institute in Southeast Asia. The institute was the second oldest eye hospital in the world, after Moorfields Eye Hospital in London, which was established in 1809.
The prevalence of eye diseases among soldiers led to the establishment of ‘Madras Eye Infirmary’ in July 1819 at Royapettah. The hospital moved to the present location in 1884, and was re-named the Government Ophthalmic Hospital in 1888.
