John Louis Nayar

John Louis Nayar (1924–2011) was an Indian physician, singer, freedom fighter and social reformer who served as chairman for CBM High School, Main road, Visakhapatnam.

Early life and education[edit]

J L Nayar was born to K.K. Raman Nair of Palghat, Kerala and Prantoshini Nayar of Berhampur on 18 April 1924.^{[citation needed]}

Nayar received his early education at Berhampur. He graduated from the Andhra Medical College, Visakhapatnam, in 1949.

When he was barely 13, his friend Uma Charan Patnaik introduced him to Subhas Chandra Bose, or Netaji, in Cuttack in 1939. Through Bose's inspiration, and despite his tender age, J. L Nayar inducted himself into the Seva Samithi Scout movement which was formed by Netaji in Berhampur. J.L.Nayar used to sing Telugu songs to ignite the young minds who attended the public meetings held by Subash Chandra Bose at the Berhampur Barracks which were located at the old bus stand organised by the Seva Samithi Scout movement.

Being a great fan of the immortal singer Kundan Lal Saigal, Dr. Nayar, himself became a gifted singer. Being fluent in Hindi, Bengali (Urdu), Dr. Nayar used to sing every song of Saigal. He also gave several stage performances; the majority of which were held in Vizag and a few that were organised in cities like Delhi, Chennai, Kolkata, Bangalore, Berhampur and Bhubaneswar.

Dr. Nayar was also an innovative dancer and choreographer. As a Kathakali exponent, and with the help of his wife Shakuntala Nayar who were also a dancer, Dr. Nayar choreographed dance features like Dance of the Seasons, Temple dances and a dance ballet known as Prakrithi-Purushudu. Dr. Nayar gave his last special performance in aid of Kargil war heroes at the Kala Bharati auditorium. The donations collected from that performance totaled ₹1.2 lakh (equivalent to ₹5.0 lakh or US$6,200 in 2023) and were sent to the Central Army Welfare Fund through the District Collector.

Professional career[edit]

Apart from being a medical consultant to many public sector industries in and around Visakhapatnam, Dr. Nayar ran a non-profit, private practice within the slum areas of Visakhapatnam which created awareness about sexually transmitted diseases and public hygiene. After assuming the charge as chairman of the Canadian Baptist Mission High School from Padma Sri Hilda Mary Lazarus, Dr. Nayar dedicated most of his time to strengthening primary education in Uttarandhra. Donating his time in such a way is something that Dr. Nayar practiced throughout his life.

Honors[edit]

In 1999, Dr. Nayar was honored the title of "Abhinava Saigal" which was awarded to him by Andhra Medical College.^[1]

Death[edit]

Dr. Nayar died on 3 May 2011 at his Visakhapatnam residence after a prolonged illness.

References[edit]