One of Tamil Nadu’s most prominent advocates for mental health today, Dr C. Ramasubramanian did not arrive at his life’s mission by chance. His deeply personal journey in psychiatry was shaped by tragedy and loss, undergirding a quietly powerful resolve to stand by the most marginalised individuals battling mental illness. When his youngest brother began showing signs of a severe mental condition at a young age, Ramasubramanian, the eldest among seven siblings, saw how it shook their affluent family despite access to the best available treatments as nothing seemed to work. Today the youngest brother is in long-term care at one of the psychiatric rehabilitation centres founded by the eldest. These facilities would not exist if not for a pivotal decision rooted in grief and love.