Jamini Bhushan Ray (1 July 1879 – 11 August 1926) was an Indian physician, as well as an Ayurvedic doctor (Kabiraj), an erudite Sanskrit scholar, and a philanthropist. Biography Early life Born in 1879 to Kaviraj Panchanan Ray (Kavichintamoni) in Poyogram village in the Khulna District of India (now in Bangladesh), he initially attended the local village school. At an early age he was sent to nearby Calcutta (then the capital of British India) and graduated high school at the age of 14 from South Suburban School in the Bhowanipore neighbourhood of South Calcutta. Education After high school, Kaviraj Jamini Bhushan Ray enrolled himself for his Bachelor of Arts studies at Government Sanskrit College, Calcutta. Upon completion of his bachelor's degree, he simultaneously started pursuing his Master of Arts studies at Government Sanskrit College, and worked towards getting his medical degree at Calcutta Medical College. All along this time, at home he was taking lessons on Ayurveda – the ancient Indian medical science – from his father – a renowned practitioner in his own right. While still studying medicine he earned his master's degree in Arts (M.A.) majoring in the ancient Indian language of Sanskrit. Then in 1905, when he completed his Bachelor of Medicine (M.B.) and also M.R.A.S., he stood first in his class and was awarded a Gold Medal; the accompanying citation mentioned his high proficiency in "Gynaecology and Midwifery". It was then that he decided that he would not pursue a career in western medicine – instead, like his father before him he would be a Kaviraj, or an Indian Ayurvedic doctor. That's when he started formally taking lessons on Ayurveda from Kaviraj Mahamahopadhyay Bijoy Ratna Sen, the leading Ayurvedic physician of that era. Subsequently, he embarked on his illustrious career when Bagala Marwari Hospital hired him as a Kaviraj for a monthly salary of Rupees Forty – a princely sum in those days. Medical practice He is a physician In 1906,Jamini Bhushan Ray started practising the ancient Indian system of Ayurveda – despite being educated in the western system of medicine. In those days the practise of Ayurveda was not glamorous, considered ancient, and way past its prime. His friends and well wishers tried to dissuade him from his chosen path, instead advising him to practice western medicine – in which he was already well-versed. But he refused, saying: “If I cannot make a living practising