old memory:       Doctors of the Twin Medicos 1959 batch at a reunion in the city recently.

Fifty-four years ago, 70 students were admitted as the first batch of the Thanjavur Medical College. But with the new campus being under construction, they joined the fifth batch of the Madurai Medical College (comprising 100 students), earning the sobriquet ‘Twin Medicos’ that stuck on and got renewed at every reunion.

The two-day reunion of the ‘Twin Medicos 1959 batch’ was an informal meeting of old friends who specialise in various fields from paediatrics to geriatrics. Of the original 170, 64 made it to the 13{+t}{+h}get-together. The reunion saw the maximum participation in recent years, said Mohamed Farook, orthopaedic surgeon and member, organising committee.

The meet included a sightseeing trip to the historic Grand Anicut (Kallanai) and a group photo was taken on location.

Among the most illustrious of the classmates was V.S.Natarajan, pioneer in geriatric medicine in India, and recipient of the Padma Shri and B.C. Roy Award. He was felicitated along with recipients of the Tamil Nadu Dr. M.G.R. Medical University’s Lifetime Achievement Award and doctors who had won recognition from various medical bodies. Surgeon Dr. Zawahir presided over the meet.

Close to 10 medicos flew from America, Europe and Australia to attend the event with their families, said the organising committee members.

The medicos took home a souvenir with photographs and an update on each of their classmates. Featured among the pages were sepia tinted photographs of sharing food in the hostel mess, cultural programmes and medical college life in the 1960’s- a handy trip down memory lane.

source: http://www.TheHindu.com /Home> National> Tamil Nadu /by Staff Reporter / Tiruchi, January 30th, 2013