Dr. Venugopal Menon was born as the eldest of seven children into a conventional Hindu family in the state of Kerala, in the pre-independent, colonial India. He was raised with time-tested cultural traditions during the lean economic times of WWII, witnessed India gaining independence from the andBritish. He received his medical degree from the only Medical College at that time, in the state of Kerala. After graduation, he served the Indian army as a Captain in the Medical corps during the Chinese invasion, being decorated with a Sena Medal. With a responsibility to support his parents and younger siblings, as much as being ambitious to gain higher education, he left India, and after spending a year in Scotland, arrived in the United States in 1969.
He completed his training in Pediatrics, Allergy, Asthma & Immunology, getting Board Certifications and Fellowships in all the specialties. He worked as an associate owner of the famous McGovern Allergy Clinic in Houston for thirty-five years, serving as its President for eight years, before retiring. He was also invited by the prestigious Royal Society of Medicine, London and was conferred a Fellowship. During the early eighties, he spent two years in India, establishing a department in the nationally reputed Apollo Hospital in Chennai, returning after 2 years.
He is married to Devi and the couple has two daughters and a son, who are married and settled in the USA. They have six grandchildren.
Venugopal Menon, being an early settler from the Indian community, has been involved in establishing many Indian professional, civic, religious, charitable, and social organizations and served as the chairman and president of a few. He cultivated a variety of interests such as reading, writing, travel, photography, and being involved in social causes. He and his wife live in Pearland, Texas, in a Kerala-style home that they built adjacent to Sri Meenakshi Temple, of which he is a founder, past Chairman, and was conferred the title of Chairman Emeritus.
About his book: After retirement, he wrote his memoirs, the highly acclaimed book titled “My Mother Called Me Unni – A Doctor’s Tale of Migration”, as encouraged by his children who felt the need for such a treatise, being a source to establish a base and trace the roots of the family between continents and cultures. It is the interesting chronicle of a typical migrant who contributed much to enrich the USA, the country he has chosen as his domicile, thus presenting a bold case on the present, intense and interesting political migration dialog. It is the fairy-tale of a child who got his first pair of footwear in the sixth grade and who studied under the light of a kerosene lamp until High School, managing to become a doctor, serving the army, crossing the seas to get over to America, and establishing as a successful physician and the president of a nationally known medical clinic.
What makes this book unique, informative and interesting!
It is one of the first such publications from over 2.5 million Indians who have chosen the USA as their residence. It is the story of perhaps the ‘most educated, most successful and the most industrious’ group of migrants in the history of America. It is a unique orientation for the readers to know how life was in the pre-independent, colonial, British India during the WWII and global depression times, and about its rich, colorful, cultural customs, and traditions.
Some of the reviews about the book: An instant classic.
A fascinating and admirable history. The detailed and descriptive chapters in this book create entire cultural worlds for readers to learn from, enjoy, and remember: Chitra Divakaruni, international award-winning and bestselling author, Houston, TX.
An inspiring story, a wonderful saga of a migrant in America: Tom Reid, Mayor of Pearland, TX
A remarkable journey from his native land of India to America: John K. Graham, M.D., D. Min, President/CEO, ISH, Houston, TX.
A very interesting reading of life in the bygone era, enjoyable and authentic descriptions: touching; impressive: Late Professor E. C. G. Sudarshan, world-renowned physicist, UT, Austin, TX.
Migration is a rich and fascinating history, painted with culture, personal narrative, and family discoveries: Katelyn Hensel for Readers’ favorite. https://www.amazon.com/My-Mother-Called-Unni- Migration/dp/1478761717
Dr. Venugopal Menon's 'Thoughts of a Lifetime' 