Doctors really feel the heartbeat of their alma mater

Madras Medical College of the Nineteen Sixties and 70s inspired extracurricular actions from the get-go. Interviews pertaining to admission into programs accorded weightage to accomplishments in sports activities and music in addition to communication expertise. Once onboarded, college students discovered themselves being urged to take part in intercollegiate festivals.

Dr. N. Karthikeyan, an energetic member of MMC’s basketball and volleyball groups when he was a pupil on the school, recollects: “In July and August, an inter-medical faculties sports activities competition would happen for every week. I bear in mind going to CMC – Vellore the place basketball, volleyball, hockey and athletics tournaments have been performed,” says Dr. N. Karthikeyan, retired director of medical companies (ESI).

MMC had a good sports activities facility which was busy throughout weekends and busier forward of inter-medical faculties sports activities occasions.

“MMC’s greatest rival was Stanley Medical College as they they too had a superb basketball workforce,” says Karthikeyan.

Sports lovers from the 1975 batch recall a go to to Thanjavur Medical College the place they have been supplied with bicycles, the campus being huge in expanse and couldn’t be coated on foot.

“Once we went to Osmania Medical College, the place all preparations and bills have been met by our school in order that we might take part within the occasion,” says Dr Karthikeyan.

Skits and drama occasions have been a giant draw in school fests. V. Okay. Ramadesikan, who was professor of Biochemistry at MMC, remembers being a part of “Operation Garage” the place he performed the function of a affected person. The skit was staged on the fest organised by All India Institute of Medical Science in New Delhi and received the workforce of 12-13 the most effective skit award.

“It was a humorous mime about surgical procedure taking place in a motor service storage,” says Dr. Ramadesikan, including that it was later telecast on Doordarshan.

The 1975 batch has a health care provider’s satchel of recollections to relive in the course of the reunion on August 10. During the third 12 months of faculty, greater than 50 of them went on an abroad journey to Ceylon. The school additionally hosted a medical exhibition – a primary of its form – that widened the scholars’ horizons of data when it comes to developments within the subject of medication.

Notable members of the 1975 batch embody Dr. S. Natarajan, a Padma Shri and BC Roy awardee; Dr C.V Harinarayanan, an endocrinologist; and Dr T. Rajkumar, a most cancers researcher.

There are additionally batchmates who excelled outdoors the sphere of medication.

“Next to my roll quantity was Rajasekhar’s, who dropped out of faculty throughout the home surgeon days, to enrol with the movie institute and is at the moment a preferred actor in Telugu movie trade,” says Ramadesikan.

Plans on to restart an outdated initiative

In 2015, a clutch of outdated college students from the 1975-1981 batch of Madras Medical College began “MMC Batch of 1975 Trust” to free economically deprived college students of economic worries as they pursue their medical schooling.

The belief, which has Dr. N.V. Arulmozhivarman as managing trustee, has up to now supplied 15 college students with monetary help from the primary to the ultimate 12 months of their medical course. Doctors V. Okay. Ramadesikan, Shantha Ravisankar, G. Kumaramanickavel and Vasantha Jayaram are the member trustees.

“A card given to college students once they joined school would point out their mother and father’ occupation. We would determine essentially the most deserving college students and fund all their bills throughout their medical programme together with tuition price,” says Dr. V. Okay. Ramadesikan, who retired from the Department of Biochemistry, MMC in 2016.

Every 12 months, 5 college students have been recognized and helped to finish their research. “We spent a mean of ₹55,000 on a pupil for a 12 months,” he says, including that Dr. Sudha Seshayyan, who was his colleague, additionally helped get names of deserving college students.

The initiative ran for 3 batches, and misplaced the preliminary momentum because the workforce struggled to seek out college students.

“During this reunion, we’ll talk about how this initiative may very well be restarted,” says Dr. Ramadesikan, including that 70 batchmates from numerous geographies throughout India and overseas are anticipated to take part within the two-day meet being held in Chennai on August 10 on the school campus. The meetup will likely be adopted by a visit to Yercaud.

The meetup guarantees to be a union of medical doctors who’ve made important contributions in fields of medication, medical schooling, analysis and healthcare during the last 5 a long time. The 1975 batch has 161 college students and 19 of them handed away.