Hyderabad :

He was barely 15 when he had to choose between joining the Indian Cricket team and his dad’s unfulfilled dream of becoming a doctor. He opted for the latter, slogged 18 hours a day to land at Gandhi Medical College. Today, Dr Kannaiah Thalapally, a cosmo-dermatologist stands tall among the rest for being the youngest doctor in the world to perform more than 1,300 hair transplants in seven years.

What makes him a cut above the all is that he didn’t confine himself to needles and stitches. Interestingly, he plays for the Doctor’s Cricket League and has won more than 200 Man of the Match trophies all of which adorn his home and hospital. Not content with playing at the pitch, he went all the way to Phuket to become a certified scuba diver. Despite being swamped with work at the hospital, he went on to learn Carnatic music, western and hip-hop dance, photography and martial arts.

In 2014, he and his friends opened Livyoung hair transplant and anti-aging clinic at Jubilee Hills. “It was through word-of-mouth that the hospital grew than through ads and promotions,” he says.

“Thanks to my friend Praneeth Kumar Jangili, he took up my educational burdens and also munificently helped me set up my hospital. “Like any other doctor, I am bad at handling fiances. So handling patient’s expenses and still being non-commercial is difficult,” he shares.

He attributes his success to Dr Bhavani Prasad, Dr Krishna Kiran Echchampati, Dr Sharat Putta and Dr Sunil Aspingi, his friends, siblings Manoj and sister Mamatha. His 17-member team is apparently the largest hair transplant team in the world. “It is the only surgical centre in the world that does absolute painless transplants,” he informs.
Last year, he received the Vaidya Ratna Award from the State Council.

“I often find people hitting the rock bottom after they lose their hair or skin. How much ever we debate that beauty is secondary, we have to primarily understand that looks have imperceptible yet resilient connection with our confidence,” the doc says. He says that dermal fillers, botox, peels are helping people gain confidence and make them feel beautiful.

Talking of beauty, his photography page speaks volumes about his love for cameras and vision to create memories. “I own three cameras and 10 lenses. I am perhaps the the only guy in town to own a 400 F 2.8 lens. It was sheer passion that made me learn the craft thoroughly,” he beams.

From Ladakh to Kargil, from Rameswaram to Coorg, he has been almost everywhere with his camera. “I work for more than 20 hours in a day for 20 days. The other ten , I am off to some place with my camera or play cricket,” he reveals his mantra to unwind.

Just as you wonder how he manages to squeeze it all into his schedule, he throws yet another Googly. “I was lucky to have Savitri garu as my music teacher. She would come to my house at 10 pm to teach me. She understood my time constraints as a doctor. She passed away a couple of years ago and after that I haven’t sung much,” he adds.
He, along with his seven friends contribute 15 per cent of his income towards charity. They are supporting 178 children and 46 senior citizens financially, emotionally and physically.

Along with his friend cum trainer Jackson master, Kannaiah doesn’t skip a day at the gym to get trained in kick boxing. Thanks to Jackson master, Kannaiah sports a six pack today. Jack of all trades you say? Doc of all trades is more like it.

source:http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> Cities> Hyderabad / by Purnima Sriram / Express News Service / November 09th, 2016