I still cannot believe that it has been 20 Years since I left MAMC for the United States. Like all of us, I too struggled to get through training. I terribly missed all good friends I spent 6 years of my prime youth with.
And then fortunately, came back to MAMCOAANA. It has been a great experience. Reconnecting with some old faces and some new, it was rejuvenating. Especially since now the relationship is more collegial.
Some of us got exposed to giving back at MAMC through the leadership of teachers such as Dr G.S.Sethi, a phenomenal pediatrician and humanitarian; and the National Service Scheme programs run by P&SM. department at MAMC. I saw an X ray machine at Tilak Vihar widow’s colony with the inscription “Donated by Nargis Dutt Foundation.” (www.nargisduttny.com). I am lucky to have been involved with them since 1996. This foundation has donated millions of dollars worth of equipment to various charitable institutions across India. It has also helped contribute towards natural calamity relief funds such as in Bhuj, Gujarat and Haiti.
I wish we could have such a structure in MAMCOAANA as well. I brought this idea up a few years back to my MAMC1986 yahoo group. There was a very mixed reaction. Some were apathetic, most were warm and then there were some who were very enthusiastic towards this program. The way we envisaged it was to raise a small to modest endowment, which sort of pays for itself through investments etc. My good friend, Anupam Sibal from Apollo Hospitals gave this brilliant idea of utilising these funds to encourage real and original research at MAMC. The idea was to institute an award to be provided to any student of MAMC who publishes an original article in a well known peer reviewed journal. I am looking forward to creating this through my class and would like to welcome the larger MAMCOAANA group to contribute and participate as well.
Looking forward, I and my family invite all of you and your families to spend a few days of your summer of 2013 with us in our hometown of Long Island, New York. In order to keep expenses reasonable, we are working on getting the best deals possible. Have a great rest of the year and a bright future.
– Inderpal Chhabra MD FACP