Eight years later!

 All the above three flowers above are from my collection of 2013. 

The flowers live on bringing back memories. 

The first two flowers from the pond in the Big Bungalow and the wild overgrowth behind the Chapel at CMC campus at Bhagayam and the rose flowers from Katharine and Peter's garden in London stand out for two reasons. 

Between 2013 and 2018 I used to visit CMC frequently on account of my involvement of the governing board of CMC Vellore. It was a creative and tumultuous time. Creative because of several defining events in the life of the institution, tumultuous because there were few events which needed a broader view than prescribed by a few people. So these flower collections during my visits to CMC remind us of the grace of peace and comfort I found. The chapel in the sere setting with a pond in the front and a lawn behind was one place where I spent early morning and late evenings during my visits. I was keen to enter into the spirit with which the founder Dr Ida Scudder turned the college chapel as the symbol of God's presence. It was at this place where in the quiet moments, I felt that I was invited to be part of the history of an institution in its journey into the future. When my time came to an end after those five years, I live with the memory of moments of clarity amidst some intense struggle towards the end of my term.

The second recollection is the story of association with Katharine and Peter Makower. It was in their home during our several visits to London over the last 25 years we found affection and affirmation that sustained us during several choices we had to make. It was during our visit to their home in 1996 Anna and I felt that we needed to respond to the invitation of CMC Vellore to incorporate the ASHIRVAD Child Development Centre to become the Developmental Paediatrics Unit at CMC. Dr V.I.Mathen the then director of CMC who took the initiative to do this, got the approval of the CMC governing board for a partnership between ASHIRVAD and CMC this new initiative which lasts even today. That at is how we moved to CMC in February, 1997. Next year the Developmental Paediatrics Unit at CMC Vellore celebrates its 15th anniversary. It was this same governing board that I was invited to I chair in 2013, which was the first time a former faculty of CMC was invited to this role. 

Flowers do not fade away although they do not exist in the garden. 

Flowers have a permanency in our memory. 

Memories ought to have permanency. 

People and their kindness ought to remain fresh in our thoughts. 

Dr V.I.Mathen in a recent telephone call mentioned to me that his decision to invite us to start the Developmental Paediatrics Unit was one of the significant decisions he took during his three and half years as the director. I was moved by that reference. It is true in more than one sense. It was he who foresaw the significance of starting a unit to give birth to a new sub-speciality in Child Health in India. This department was the first academic department in any Medical College in India. This department started the first post-doctoral fellowship programme in Developmental Paediatircs for Paediatricians and the first PhD programme in this specialty in India. I was privileged to be involved in the training of 3 paediatricians in this specialty and guide two for their PhD research. 

All these memories came back to me when I revisited these flowers. 

Let memories enliven our lives and revive the relationships of the past.

M.C.Mathew (text and photo)