After stumbling upon a tweet about a few doctors from Madras Medical College’s batch of 1951 celebrating a birthday, I decided to visit these 90-plus-year-old doctors settled in different parts of Chennai, for a walk into the past.
MMC Batch of 1951 reunion in 2022.
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Special Arrangement
Some of the first women students of MMC, Mary Ann Dacombe Scharlieb, S Mitchell, D White, and M Beale, graduated in the 1870s, and Dr. Muthulakshmi Reddy, the first Indian woman to get a medical degree from MMC, passed out of the college in 1912. As a college that documents a legacy older than Indian independence, there should be better archives for the same. Despite societal discouragement towards women pursuing Medicine, Madras Medical College still proudly boasts about their lady doctors who went on to become pioneers in many fields like Dr. Ayyathan Janaki Ammal, Dr. T. S. Kanaka, and Captain Lakshmi Sahgal, while also playing an important role in women’s empowerment since the pre-Independence period.
Doctor Neela Govindaraj at her MMC graduation.
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Special Arrangement
Dr. Neela being pipped as 2nd Lieutenant in the NCC in 1958.
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Special Arrangement
“There were around 30 women and 100 men in my batch, a 3:10 ratio,” says Dr P Chandra as she shared her experiences as part of the MMC batch of 1951, which underwent a meticulous interview process for admission. “For the first time in 1951, a panel headed by Dr A Lakshmanaswami Mudaliar selected the candidates for Madras Medical College and Stanley Medical College,” adds Dr Neela Govindaraj. MBBS courses used to be extremely difficult back then. “Only about 20 or 23 of the batch passed in the first attempt, and it was not an extraordinary thing in those days,” Dr. A Abraham adds.
All part of MMC’s batch of 1951, Dr Abraham is a physician and Lt Commander surgeon specialised in submarine medicine; Dr Chandra is a paediatrician; and Dr Neela is a forensic pathologist.
MMC ladies netball team with High Commissioner of India, Colombo, in 1954.
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Special Arrangement
Breaking invisible walls
With a giggle, Dr Chandra reminisces about her college days and how different social interactions between the different genders are today. “I rarely spoke to any of my male classmates until I was doing house-surgency. Later, I interacted because we were working together and there was a professional bond as well,” she says, fondly remembering events from over half a century ago.
“ Many female classmates went into the non-clinical departments where there is no night duty involved because it was easier for them to manage when they got married. People used to say lady doctors would not get grooms easily because they needed to find someone better than a doctor for her, which was a difficult task back in the day,” she adds Zooming back to 2024, when college students are not worried about careers being marriage-friendly, Dr Chandra jokes about her colleagues mentioning how they were born in the wrong era.
M A Muthiah Chettiar and Dr A Lakshmanaswami Mudaliar at the medical exhibition organised by the Madras Medical College in 1955.
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Hindu Archives
“There was still a stigma about opting for fields like surgery. I remember applying for MSc Surgery with a friend, and both our applications got rejected,” Dr Neela says, mentioning how they did not know what to do and that if it were today, legal measures could have been taken. “In my time, getting government jobs was far easier,” says Dr Chandra adding how back then there were only two medical colleges in Chennai — Madras Medical College and Stanley Medical College. “Even before completing my house-surgency, I got the posting orders for an interview.”
Annas, tea, and puffs
“Na yeh chand hoga, na taare rahenge, magar hum hamesha tumhare rahenge,” Dr Peter Fernandez hums the song, a popular tune from 1954 when he was in college. “I had used this song to express my feelings for my late wife back when I was a college student. She was a doctor and studied at Stanley College,” he said. “When I stood for the college elections, I got a lot of votes because of the very respectful bond we had with women,” he adds. “The canteen used to be a boys’ spot, and I used to compete with my friends for a matchstick game, and if they lost, I got their coffee and puffs,” says Dr Peter, his eyes glazing over while pondering over memories.
Doctor Peter Fernandez in the forces post his graduation from MMC.
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Special Arrangement
Dr Neela, however, remembers a particular prank they had played on their male classmates on April Fool’s Day, 1954. “We made the boys dress up and come to the canteen at 12 and made them wait for a few hours. We were so worried about how they would react, but they invited us all to the Dasaprakash Hotel later, and I think it just created a better bond,” she adds.
When asked about the matchstick game, the women of the batch merely laugh and say that they never had the time to go to the canteen and were always rushing from class to clinic. “We used to grab hot tea from the canteen window and add water to it to finish drinking and rush back,” Dr. Neela says.
Medical exhibition volunteers with Dr Philips at Dasaprakash hotel in 1957.
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Special Arrangement
There were also professors who quoted Shakespeare in class and gave the class treats in the canteen. Dr Neela talks about Dr Ratnavelu Subramaniam, professor of Medicine at Madras Medical College, who “ would pay for the meal at the canteen. ”Since most of us would not have had anything the whole day due to work we used to buy a lot more food than necessary sometimes,” Dr. Neela laughs.
“We used to have an account in the canteen because we never had enough money for coffee now and then. The amount we got in our final year was 99 rupees in those days. Out of which around 70 rupees would go for food and stay,” recalls Dr Abraham, when we met at his Chennai home. The movie theatres used to be a go-to spot as well during their college days. “There were a number of theatres like New Elphinstone, Globe, and Minerva where the cost of the tickets was barely a rupee or two. I used to mostly watch English movies, especially those cowboy ones with my best friend,” he says mentioning how Minerva Theatre had air conditioning.
NCC camp at Madras, 1958.
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Special Arrangement
NCC camp at Madras, 1958.
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Special Arrangement
“I remember going to Minerva for the screening of Queen Elizabeth’s coronation. I made my whole family go and watch it on screen. Even otherwise, we used to go to shows after our college work and make some of the boys chaperone us all the way,” Dr Neela remembers fondly. “We did have a picnic once a year, and I remember going to Vandalur for one of them.”
MMC students Tada picnic on September 19, 1954.
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Special Arrangement
Evolutionary changes
Dr Peter used to cycle close to 15 kilometres to and from college. This was the case with most students. “Buses and trains were a hassle on the route; cycling was the easiest, with shortcuts here and there,” adds Dr Abraham, speaking of how isolated Harrington Road used to be. “Chennai is one of the better metropolitan cities to settle-in,” points out Dr Abraham when ask him how much Chennai has changed over the past years.
With memories of some quick diagnoses to that of professors who were like family, they say “Any profession is noble only because of the dedication you have towards it.” After more than 70 years of graduation, their love for the city and their careers stands tall.