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Coffee table book, talk show and performances to celebrate 190 years of Calcutta Medical College

British Council partnered the event that marked the 89th reunion of the Medical College Ex-Students’ Association

Udita Chakraborty Kolkata Published 30.01.24, 04:39 PM
(From left) Dr Sukumar Mukherjee, president of the reunion; Dr Amit Ghose, event convener; Gopal Krishna Gandhi, former governor of West Bengal; Andrew Fleming, British deputy high commissioner and St Xavier’s University vice-chancellor Felix Raj release the book. Other dignitaries for the evening were Rajya Sabha MPJawhar Sircar, British Council director (east and northeast India) Debanjan Chakrabarti; MCESA honorary secretary Dr Abhik Ghosh, MCESA honorary treasurer Dr Anirban Dalui and MCESA president Dr Nirmal Maji.

(From left) Dr Sukumar Mukherjee, president of the reunion; Dr Amit Ghose, event convener; Gopal Krishna Gandhi, former governor of West Bengal; Andrew Fleming, British deputy high commissioner and St Xavier’s University vice-chancellor Felix Raj release the book. Other dignitaries for the evening were Rajya Sabha MPJawhar Sircar, British Council director (east and northeast India) Debanjan Chakrabarti; MCESA honorary secretary Dr Abhik Ghosh, MCESA honorary treasurer Dr Anirban Dalui and MCESA president Dr Nirmal Maji. All photographs by Krishnungshu Gangopadhyay

January 27 marked the 190th year celebration of the Calcutta Medical College (now remaned Medical College, Kolkata) and the 89th reunion of Medical College Ex-Students’ Association (MCESA) in partnership with the British Council. The event was marked by the launch of the coffee table book ‘Calcutta Medical College: 190 Years of Excellence’, a talk show, and a performance by Bickram Ghosh’s musical band Rhythmscape, accompanied by singers Iman Chakraborty and Nirmalya Roy.

A garlanded photograph of Kadambini Ganguly, the first woman to gain admission to Calcutta Medical College in 1884 and one of the first Indian women to have practised with a degree in modern medicine, in front of the lectern while former Bengal governor Gopalkrishna Gandhi delivers an address.

A garlanded photograph of Kadambini Ganguly, the first woman to gain admission to Calcutta Medical College in 1884 and one of the first Indian women to have practised with a degree in modern medicine, in front of the lectern while former Bengal governor Gopalkrishna Gandhi delivers an address.

In his address to the audience, Gopal Krishna Gandhi suggested that the college alumni endeavour to compile a comprehensive, self-examining record with 20 chapters, symbolising each decade of the college’s contributions to public health as a mark of the college completing 200 years of existence. He also suggested creating a work noting the contributions made by the alumni of the college to medical services across the world.

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Highlighting the need for a future where the advances made by artificial intelligence (AI) in the field of medicine need to be regulated by the government, he noted that the alumni of the college can appeal to the government to impose restrictions on the limits of AI. Concluding his address he said: ‘I would like to invoke the name of the great Dr Bidhan Chandra Roy whose services as a chief minister and doctor were unprecedented.’

The alumni of the college working in US, UK, Japan, Dubai and France joined in during the conversation over video call.

The alumni of the college working in US, UK, Japan, Dubai and France joined in during the conversation over video call.

After the addresses by the dignitaries, a talk show followed. It was moderated by Dr Amit Ghose (centre). The panellists included (from left), Rev Fr Felix Raj, Dr Indrajit Sardar, Dr Debanjan Chakrabarti, Jawhar Sircar and historian Tapati Guha-Thakurta. The conversations revolved around various aspects of medical education and healthcare.

The musical recital that brought down the curtains on the event.

The musical recital that brought down the curtains on the event.

The evening concluded with an enthralling performance by Bickram Ghosh’s band Rhythmscapes. Singers Iman Chakraborty and Nirmalya Roy rendered songs such as ‘Kholo Dwar Bodhuya’ and ‘Aha Ki Ananda’ among others.

For the 190th celebrations, we chose five venues over five days where we will celebrate the legacy of Medical College. We had planned to reach out to the ex-students of all of the batches and we have been extremely successful. More than 2,000 doctors will be attending the reunion and almost 129 doctors have reached Kolkata from different corners of the world. I hope this reunion will be a memorable one for our ex-students

Dr Abhik Ghosh, honorary secretary of the MCESA
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