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.
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.
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.
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 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.
