Maria de Lourdes Bravo da Costa Rodrigues
This is a story of 28 young students who passed out their final exams of the medical studies fifty years ago in 1966 from the erstwhile Escola Medica de Goa, situated at what now constitutes the Old GMC complex at Panaji. The rooms used now for IFFI activities were once the classrooms and the Maquinez Palace functioned as the library.
These erstwhile students proudly walked away to take the responsibilities bestowed unto them by the degree they were holding of one of the noblest professions. Few of them migrated while others chose to stay here to take care of the health of their fellow Goans. Some joined the alma mater as doctors while a number of them joined the Directorate of Health Services, to work on the field at different Rural Medical Centres around Goa, before retiring as health officers or even deputy directors of Health Services.
These ‘young’ septuagenarians, and are there any octogenarians, I am not aware, are looking forward to meet to celebrate the completion of fifty years as doctors. Thirteen of them will meet with their families on Saturday, December 17. The senior most, Shyamrao Panandikar, will have the honour of cutting the cake. They are also happy to meet their teachers at the Escola Medica de Goa. Three of them, Javrubai P Kamat, Ramesh Dhume and Vilassini Gandolkar, are amongst us and will hopefully attend the function in reminiscence of the past.
Of the 28 students, six were women: Odette Dias Sousa, Fernanda Peres da Costa, Ema Avelar Barreto, Rajini Dhume, Laxmi Bhandari and Alice Correia. Sadly, eight of the 28 could not live up to the landmark. The latest to join them was Odette, who in spite of her illness was looking forward to the get together. But, unfortunately she drew her last breath her last on November 30, this year. However, the organisers have decided to invite the spouses on behalf of their colleagues.
When asked about the celebrations, Eduardo Fonseca says that Mario Cesar Braganca who lives in Gold Coast, Australia, asked him two years back, to organise a get together. The resultant telephone calls to classmates, Pedro Bravo da Costa, Prakash Nadkarni and Bikaji Ghanekar who accepted the idea thus led to the function. The get together will extend to the families of the classmates as well: spouses, children, grandchildren and their families.
Eduardo Fonseca, along with others behind the organisation has been in the process of organizing the event over the last two years. This full day event will also give space for the colleagues to share their views of their careers. Some of them were very proficient in extracurricular activities included football for the boys, stamp collection, and music interestingly, this batch had five musicians, who were a part of the Tuna da Escola Medica and performed at the annual concerts. These include Pedro Bravo da Costa, Eduardo Fonseca and Mario Cesar Braganca and late Eloy Gomes, three of whom will jam up to perform at the reunion.
Pedro when asked about this reunion says: “Yes, I am going to meet my colleagues after many years and that makes me happy.” Recollecting his student days in the Escola Medica, he says: “I enjoyed what my professors taught us. The lectures were very interesting and the teaching trained us to be able to handle patients when we passed out. The teaching was clinical and practical.”
I had an interesting talk with Prakash who is also eager on celebrating and meeting his colleagues. He says: “I never wanted to be a doctor, neither did I like medicine”. I was taken aback by the revelation. He candidly explained that his first love was math and for which he would score 20/20 and even won a scholarship to Portugal, which he had to refuse because his father would not allow him, because he was scared that Prakash would marry a paklin, a Portuguese girl! The only option left for higher studies was medicine. He candidly said that he might not have been a good doctor, but he was definitely a good health administrator!
A happy reunion to the doctors and all the best!
(The event is on December 17 at Clube Tennis Gaspar Dias from 10 a.m. onwards. The entry is by invitation only.)