THE JOURNEY SO FAR..... AND LESSONS LEARNT

Ever since the first LAST LECTURE was delivered here in March of this year, I have been resisting my turn with the Principal, but with his immense charm and gentle persuation I could not refuse the Principal. Besides later, I realized that each of us who have journeyed through this awesome institution has our unique story to tell in our different ways and tell, we must or we would fail in our response to this sacred institution that has been our home for 2/3rds of our life.

So at the outset I want to tell the students that they must consider themselves fortunate to have such a charming principal who also loves them enough to expect discipline from them. At the end of this lap of the journey, I need to start with gratitude to God for this great privilege of having been part of this institution, for the many wonderful people encountered, for the opportunities which have come my way and for the great learning experience this has been.

The decision of entering medical college was mainly my father?s as in those days our parents had only 2 professions in mind for us medicine for girls and engineering for boys. My sister was already in this college and so this was my motivation to enter this college. I was fortunate to have done so on the second attempt at writing the entrance examination.

As my junior Dr. Colin John put it at the recent alumni gathering in August of this year,? it was not us who chose this institution nor our parents but it was God who in His master plan for each one of us had already thought of us having a place in this institution.?

Student days were very fulfilling with the discipline of not missing a single lecture or practical class or clinic. There was never a black Monday as each week had its own excitement and events to captivate us.

We had our share of brilliant teachers who inspired us in the various subjects.

Dr. James Verghese in Organic Chemistry a subject in our second year, who punctuated his brilliant lectures with jokes which I believe, were written into his lecture notes.

Dr. B.S. Harsha in Anatomy who taught us in his inimitable manner a very simple way to remember the intricacies of the subject by ( in his words) `writing a picture? . Anatomy was my favourite subject in the preclinical years and I still have with me 2 notebooks full of Dr. Harsha?s Embryology Lectures which only he could deliver with his self explanatory pictures which he `wrote? for us.

Clinical years were also very exciting with brilliant teachers like Dr. Cyrus Kapadia, Dr. V.I. Mathan and Dr. Selvyn Baker in Medicine, Dr. Anand Date in Pathology and Dr. Prema Bhat in Microbiology. Dr. Anand Date is a brilliant mind who analysed the subject and presented it to us in his own inimitable way. Lectures in nephropathology and gall bladder disease still resound through my mind. What of his excellent presentations on Osler the philosopher and physician and clinical epidemiology. Dr. Anand Date was considered one of the best teachers in our days and in my daughter?s student?s days as well (25 years later) and easily cannot be over shadowed even today.

Clinics were always a learning experience as we had teachers like Dr. Stanley John who even if just two of us turned up for the clinic would take us from bed to bed in the very full thoracic ward making us listen to the hearts of patients and explain very clearly the haemodynamics of the various heart conditions.

Who else did we learn from on the wards? Yes our seniors of course. Dr. David Rolston and Dr. Naina Sinha (Dr. Alka?s sister) who told us about interesting cases to examine and with whom we would go, to jointly examine cases on the wards and later discuss them.

Hostel life and activities of inter house games, sports, music and choir were always very enjoyable. There were no interclass events in those days, thank God for that, as we had such a disconnected class, that we would have lost all interclass competitions. The friend-ships we made across the classes were those that we cherished for many years and later renewed at our invigorating alumni reunions.

Final year retreat with Dr. Frank Garlic at Horseley Hills set us thinking about the bearings of the compass of our life and the question `which way do we go from here?? I am very grateful for the spiritual nurture that CMC gave us. I have learnt the power of prayer under all circumstances and at any time through the day.

Internship found several girls in the class married including me. The choice of a post-graduate subject after that was difficult but with the possibility of a family to care for a clinical subject did not seem practical however much I loved medicine and surgery. Pathology seemed to be the subject that needed a lot of clinical input so Pathology it was, in the times when there were no competitive entrance examinations.

I entered the department when Dr. Job was head and Dr. Edward Gault, architect of the Pathology Department was visiting from Australia. The amazing stories of the many people who helped build this awesome institution in its formative years is absolutely humbling.

First there was Dr. Scudder an obedient and faithful servant of the Lord who always kept her focus and eyes on the Lord despite her numerous obstacles and mountains in her way to build a medical college for women. Then in the 1940s with the stroke of a pen the LMP course was nonexistent and her only way was to find enough faculty to build a college fit to award the MBBS degree under the university. So she looked at all resources. She found Dr. Edward Gault an Australian surgeon working in the North of India at Azamgarh ? and invited him to start the Pathology Department which he responded to. A surgeon who taught himself Pathology in order to train medical students and later PG students in Pathology. We still see the early Pathology specimens which he painstakingly brought from Australia to start our museum. It is so humbling to think of these people of great stature and there were many of those faithful who were responsible for the firm foundations of this lofty institution. In the initial days, Dr. Gault used to practice both surgery and pathology till one day he decided to put down his scalpel, when he found to his shock that he was going to perform surgery and he was not sure of his method.

Several faithful, obedient servants and visionaries have been responsible for the growth of this institution as the torch passed from one generation to the next and for many it was sacrificial service where families and loved ones were abroad while they toiled in Vellore. Many biographies have been written about these great men and women of Vellore and I would urge you to please find copies and read them and get inspired.

Pathology had its bevy of great faculty which allowed us juniors to blossom and find our niche. Amongst them, I must mention Dr. Minnie Mathan who was a visionary for our department and who in the early 80s thought of dimensions in which the department must grow. I was sent on a Wellcome Trust Fellowship to the RPMS at Hammersmith Hospital in London to do a period of training in immunochemistry under the very energetic Dr. Julia Polak an Argentinian who rose up to the top in British scientific circles. So you can imagine her drive. She had a huge international laboratory where scientists from far off Japan across to South America came to learn. It was a period of great learning camaraderie with the assortment of people in the lab, fun and the cultural life of central London was enthralling ? the music, theatre, plays, etc., etc.

The centre point of fellowship was however the Church – All Souls at Langham place in central London – where we made a lot of friends and felt secure.  Somehow it was the Church again which was the centre point of my fellowship at the two subsequent places where I spent sabbatical leaves – Muscat and Sohar in Oman this time the Protestant Church in Oman .  It is worth reaching out and finding a Church fellowship where one can get involved to both give, share and gain.
 
On my return to CMC it was Dr. Minnie Mathan again who encouraged me and helped me set up immunochemistry in the department which still is a very useful tool in our diagnostic armimentarium.  Ours was the earliest department in the country to offer this test. It was Dr. Minnie Mathan again who encouraged me to do GI Pathology and again she was instrumental in seeing FNAC estabilished in the 80’s when she sent Dr.Swante Orell from Australia,  a pioneer in FNAC to help us  set up the technique. 

There have been several teachers who have been inspiring role models but I must mention two amongst them. First, Dr. Robert Carman, Clinical Pathologist, Head of the Department, Associate Director  and choir director.  A very gentle person who never got ruffled under any circumstance; an excellent teacher who also had a superb tenor voice.

The year of his retirement, 1991, found the combined hospital and college choirs performing under his able direction, two cantatas “Light Eternal `and’ The Lord’s Supper”  Late Dr. Deepan Sudarshanam was the talented soloist in both performances.  At one practice session, the choir went off entry and rhythm as Deepan had made a wrong entry which misled the choir and which sounded awful. Deepan felt terrible and was very apologetic to the director.  Dr. Carman listened to him and at the end said “it is okay Deepan, mistakes only make you humble”.

Yes humility seems to be a scarce virtue nowadays when most feel that they are self made individuals. 

We, including me, have to all remind ourselves of the BIBLE VERSE: “For who makes you different from anyone else? What do you have that you did not receive?  And if you did receive it, why do you boast as though you did not?” – I Corinthians 4:7.

The second is late Dr. K.E. Mammen affectionately called Dr. Dicky Mammen.  He was an angel who walked the face of the earth  and we in CMC are privileged and humbled to have been associated with this gentle, always pleasant, paediatric surgeon.  He made time for everybody on the ordinary walk of life and each of his little patients were special to him.  As students in the theatre we would seem him carry his patients off the trolley at the entrance, gently cradle them in his arms and take them in for their anaesthesia in the operation room.  His gentle touch and caring ways must have contributed a great deal towards the healing of his little ones, complementing his brilliant surgery.

CMC offers each one us many opportunities of being of service to this great institution and it is for us to embrace them and ours also to be the richer for that.
 
Amongst the several things that Dr. Minnie Mathan encouraged me to do was to take on the Chairmanship of the YWCA canteen when she retired.  I had no idea what it involved but I would never say no to my mentor.  So that opened up a huge series of challenges and opportunities for service.  I am the richer for this experience for it has taught me how to stand firm in times of trouble and to be in partnership with a team that is both transparent and honest.  We were able to overcome and build a place which is worthy of its customers – our patients, their loved ones, our students and staff.  

Adversity and hard times come to the lives of each one of us at some period of our careers, as it has been for me as well. There is only ONE source of relief in all this despite having friends who support you and that is GOD himself who knows your pain.  I have learnt that when GOD permits trials.  He also provides comfort.

During my dark days when NOTHING seemed to make sense – the daily devotional EDWJ which I follow had just that to say to me at that particular time – ‘When nothing seems to make sense, GRIP GOD tighter for you will have to STEP where  you cannot SEE, TRUST what you cannot TRACE and ENDURE what you may never UNDER-STAND.  And that is exactly what I experienced as I saw God making our relationships wholesome again. What an amazing GOD!.

In conclusion I have this to say this: 
Dear students, GET INVOLVED in your hostels and college events, appreciate and value the high standard of education that you receive in CMC.

Faculty, GET INVOLVED in your departments and the various facets of this institution because you are what you are because of what this institution has given to you.  Ask not what you can gain from CMC but what you can GIVE to CMC as the bottom line is that you CANNOT give  ENOUGH to this awesome institution.

I have one concern about CMC at this juncture and that is that we are growing very rapidly in numbers and workload ,that the patients, the very reason for our existence, get compromised due to our stress levels.  It is time that we meet in smaller groups and ask ourselves the question `why are we here?’

Thank you for your listening.

I salute my Alma Mater - three cheers for the silver and blue.