Dada Vaidya

Dada Vaidya was the name by which Ramchandra Pandurang Vaidya, born on 8 September 1859 and died on 6 March 1947, was widely known. He worked as an ayurvedic practitioner and was also a writer, social reformer and educator, recognised for contributions across medicine, literature, education, industry and culture. He prepared medicines from plants found in Goa and gave them to people who were ill. Although the Portuguese government encouraged allopathic medicine by law, he was held in favour by Portuguese officers because he successfully treated members of their families who had lost hope of a cure through allopathic remedies. A statue honours him at Ponda, Goa, at a place now called Dada Vaidya Chowk.