MAMCOAANA

As I embark on the next phase of my association with MAMCOAANA, as the president for year 2017-2018, I have a sense of responsibility and pleasure in welcoming you all to Chicago next year. The recently concluded convention under Dr. Tarang and Tony Sharma, was great fun,very well organized,  and I hope to recreate some of that fun next year, when we meet again.

It has been 30 years since I joined MAMC and 18 years in Chicagoland, my adopted hometown after Delhi. There has never been a day, when my identity as a Maulanian is lost on me. My first MAMCOAANA meeting was in Chicago, held under Dr Gupta. I got hooked on to it, and since that time, I have attended most of the conventions and have enjoyed every moment of my association.

In this day and age of Whatsap and Facebook, the question arises- what is the purpose of our existence ?  My answer to that is simple – Human touch. Having whatsap group for individual joining years is great, but it pales in comparison to the emotional connection that we make at the convention and fun that we have as MAMC family, irrespective of our joining years when we meet.

Next years’s agenda is already made up with a boat cruise in Lake Michigan on Friday and the Gala on Saturday. Chicago is an amazing city in summer. So get your bags packing and book your tickets for July 26th, Thursday to July 29th Sunday, 2018.

See you there.

I write to you all as the President of MAMCOAANA for 2016-2017. Frankly, as the editor of Sandesh for the past few years, and the random writer random things on Mamcoaana Digest and Whatsapp and MAMCOAANA Facebook, and, I admit, the tongue-in-cheek remarks from my brain that are forever ready to come out of my mouth, I think most of you who truly follow the goings on of MAMCOAANA need no additional word-footage from me.

I have no lofty personal goals, no great agenda, and no grand plan in mind. I simply want to emphasize that any organization and its executive committee is only in existence because of its membership, and active participation of that membership. So, much as I have this ‘president’ tag and a ‘message’ to write it is meaningless without YOU – the Maulanian – one who is ready to brave the wonderful madness of intermingling with its own kind again despite your responsible and busy personal and professional achievements.

So, take the plunge and join MAMCOAANA as a life member, and join me for the Annual Convention in Columbus, Ohio for 2017.

Tarang Sharma, MD

It is with a sense of great exhilaration and responsibility that I embark upon my tenure as the president of MAMCOAANA for the year 2015-2016. I am honored to serve my fellow Maulanians in this capacity.

It has been 24 years since I graduated from MAMC and 18 years since I came to the USA. It has been an exciting journey indeed. I have been associated with MAMCOAANA since the Boston Convention in the year 2010. Some of my batch mates were also visiting, and it was simply on a whim that I decided to attend. I am so glad that I made the trip! It was truly memorable; and, the warmth of conversations, sense of bonhomie and camaraderie anchored me firmly to the MAMCOAANA family forever.

As a president this year, my efforts would be to bring more Maulanians into the fold. We have a special life-membership drive going on until the end of this year at a discounted price to encourage people to join. We have seen tremendous success in the very first month, with more people having signed up than in any similar time frame in the past! Please keep it going: MAMCOAANA is an organization that represents each one of us: over 1800 proud graduates from MAMC in North America!

These are exciting times for MAMCOAANA. There are several new initiatives for the year. We now have in place a guest lecture series program with MAMC. MAMC journal was launched last year and there is a keen desire to have our members contribute to it. These are both excellent ways for us to give back to our Alma Mater and in a larger sense, to the medical education in India. In addition, we do hope to encourage some form of charitable/service related undertakings and hope to have some trips focused on these activities guided by MAMCOAANA in the future. The discussions are afoot with regards to involving our school and college-going children to participate in such activities. I would encourage you to please get involved in whatever form you wish.

I am immensely thankful to the entire Executive Committee of MAMCOAANA for volunteering countless hours of their precious time towards the association activities. It would be simply impossible to run this organization without their selfless dedication.

The recent convention in Houston under the leadership of Dr Randeep Suneja was fabulous! Randeep and Seema touched everyone’s hearts with their warmth and friendship. We are planning another unforgettable event in Minneapolis for all of you in July 2016. So, please join in… MAMCOAANA will be all the more strong with your support and participation.

Alok Maheshwari, MD