I have begun getting in touch with people whom I want to remember as I entered the 70th year in my life. The first letter I wrote is to Dr P. Zachariah, the former professor of physiology, Christian Medical College, Vellore, whom I have known for thirty years.
Dear sir,
Greetings.
I have been in the process of connecting with friends who have significantly encouraged and cared for me, since I was a medical student fifty-five years ago. Among the long list I prepared around the time of my seventieth birthday, you are high up in that list. I write to reflect and share my gratitude for all the learning experience I have had during my association with you.
My introduction to you was through my wife, Anna, who while sharing her experiences of undergraduate study at CMC, mentioned to me about the tutorial system you introduced in physiology for the under-graduates. For you to have experimented with it as early as in the mid sixties was an original thought, perhaps for the first time in any Medical College in India. I heard about the impact of this from Drs. Sara Bhattacharji, Ajit Varki and couple of others by introducing them early in their medical learning journey for self-directed learning. This and few other innovative initiatives you had pursued at that time in educational methodology and student initiated learning strategies made me even more curious to meet you at some time. During my short period of two years in CMC IN 1981, I had an opportunity to meet with you. That is when I heard about your pioneering work on islets of Langerhans in your pursuit to try transplanting them as a means for searching for a cure of Diabetes.
Following that, I remember meeting you and hearing you in the council meetings from the time I began attending them from 1984. That was also the time when you and Rev A. C. Oommen were jointly fostering the idea of developing the Faith and Healing Cell in order to understand the larger dimensions of health and healing. I remember receiving your periodic communications and attending a few meetings. You made the meetings to function as colloquim, which made tremendous sense to me. During the council meetings you dwelt on several issues and the way you made them as matters of debate were special occasions of learning for me- ‘pondering’ over matters and staying open to learn from the experiences of others. I looked for opportunities to meet with you during the council meetings in order to clarify matters regarding the way I can proceed in our involvement with children who were developmentally compromised. I felt immensely encouraged when you mentioned during one such occasion, that people who live in the margins also deserve best of care.
You along with Dr A K Tharien and Dr Daleep Mukherjee visited ASHIRVAD Child Development Centre in 1984 to get to know the way we function in our involvement with differently able children. That morning of conversation is still etched in my memory because you made Anna and me feel valued and encouraged us to continue although it would take time before it was valued for its worth. You were on a journey to find the future of mission hospitals in India as some hospitals were already closed or on a decline in their role. It was in this context that you mentioned that it was necessary to look for new avenues of service, as conventional health care would soon be offered by the government and the private sector. You predicted it well. So the Christian doctors and health care professionals saw the opportunity to move into community health, palliative care, HIV related care, to make mission hospitals collaborate with the church to give wholistic care through a congregational participation.
It was when I joined CMC a second time in 1997, I continued having regular contacts with you. I remember visiting your home periodically and receiving hospitality and immense encouragement. Your home was open and ma’m was a most thoughtful host. Let me summarise a few recollections of my years of contact with you between 1997 and 2008, when I retired from CMC Vellore and left Vellore.
1. Understanding CMC, its ethos and heritage.
Hearing you narrate the several seasons that CMC passed through from 1950 was a valuable source of information for me. You referred to people who were critical in bringing defining influence in the life of the institution, faculty, students and alumni. I have some vivid memories of the anecdotes you shared about Dr Jacob Chandy, Dr Bob Carman, Dr LBM Joseph, Dr Mary Varghese, Dr Daleep Mukherjee, Rev. AC Oommen, Suranjan and Sara…. The list is longer. The story of all of you working together under the guidance of Dr Gault to build the Men’s hostel by raising contribution for each brick; the story of the work camps; the formation of the Alumni association with your seminal role; the starting of the P-T-P fund; the way hospital expanded by trusting a person who was available to develop a medical or surgical specialty… Thank you sir, for giving me an account of the thought process that led CMC through the different seasons. These conversations grounded me to be appreciative of the story of CMC
2.The freedom to explore and innovate.
I remember some details that you shared about Dr V Benjamin. How he was requested to take up community medicine although he was trained to be a physician. His subsequent efforts to turn the direction of the department, from being just a Preventive and Social Medicine department to being a critical department to experiment with primary care in the suburban villages of Bhagayam, was what made CMC a hospital to innovate to integrate primary care, secondary care and tertiary care health services in a demonstrable way. Similar freedom was available for others as well- Drs. Daleep Mukherjee at RUHSA, Paul Brand in hand surgery, CK Job concurrently working at Karigiri and at CMC, etc. In fact even the beginning of the super-specialties was possible because there was a similar freedom offered to other professionals to diversify as and when they were ready. I am grateful to you for telling me about the philosophy of freedom and the culture of trusting the professionals, which were unique to the institution. Your moving narratives about Dr Bhatt, George Cherian, K.V.Johny, and Dr Mohan Rao were inspirational.
3.Faculty friendly atmosphere.
I sensed that you had a significant role in providing the policy frame work to grant study leave and sabbatical leave for the faculty, which brought enormous resource of experience to the faculty. The residential nature of the faculty and the foster-parenting system are again the traditions in CMC in which you had a decisive role at their initial stages. Both of them had a significant influences in helping students to grow up in an atmosphere of considering the faculty as their role models. I recall hearing from you stories of some students like Dr Ajit Singh who received enormous input so much so he decided to offer a lifetime of service in a mission hospital.
4.The governance of the hostels
On a few occasions you referred to the purpose of creating autonomous hostel committees for students to learn the practice of looking after their own affairs. To trust students with the responsibility of running the hostels was a deliberate choice, as it was viewed as a preparation for helping them to grow up as responsible leaders, when they go to the mission hospitals. I like the way you articulated this as a belief-practice system, which prepared many student to grow ups to be leaders. Dr Christopher Moses while talking about it told me as to how much you influenced the students by your nearness and cordiality towards them.
5.The Christian way of living
It was special to hear from you as to how Achen Oommen was a role model and a servant leader who cared for the staff and students equally. The SCM and EU co-existed complementing each other. The retreat for the faculty was something you fostered along with Achen. I remember hearing about this in some details from Achen also. The reconciliatory process after the staff strike was called off, was one another story that I heard you narrate with mixed feelings. The follow-up retreats brought a turning point bringing cohesiveness in the community. In fact this experience you shared with me, helped me in a meaningful way recently, when I have had difficulties during my involvement with the CMC council. I took an effort to reach out to people with whom I have had difficulties. The inspiration came to me from what I heard from you about some stories of the reconciliatory efforts in which you were involved to help others in rebuilding the community life after the strike. I felt encouraged by your openness to talk about some of the difficult conflicts in the life of CMC, which helped me to realize that differing opinions ought not to be a reason for polarization or distancing from each other.
6. CMC as an example
Some of the innovations you pursued in medical education, and your involvements in the ten year participatory planning process, encouraging the faculty to take time to visit mission hospitals, for which a separate cadre was created at one time, etc. were some of the inspiring stories that gave me an insight about the bottom up approach in planning in CMC. The mission hospitals therefore naturally adopted this approach as much as possible.
7. The healing community
You believed in this and practised it faithfully. I like the way you linked CMC with St John’s church and you earnestly endeavoured to integrate the community with the life of the Church. Although denominational affiliations disrupted this vision, I felt the rightness of your approach and direction.
Sir, I want to particularly thank you for your gracious help when I was involved in the administration for four years, which I had to close, when I sensed that the then director did not do enough to avoid the crisis we went through during the UG admission crisis in 2016. During that time two former directors were actively involved to pull CMC in two different directions and I had some access to both of them. You helped me to keep dialoguing with both of them and bring about an atmosphere of dialogue between them. In fact, you visited one of them to bring in some mediation between the two. I know now that the settlement of the matters in an amicable way in the council was largely possible because the two former directors and the then director sensed the damage it would have caused, if they were to go the legal way or for an impeachment of the then director! I remember meeting you several times during those days and feel grateful to you and Dr George Mathew, the council secretary, for acting with tact and sense of mission.
Our conversations covered a spectrum of thoughts and ideas and I returned every time after meeting you, enthused with clarity and hope. Although I was not able to stay in touch with you since 2008, I have returned to recollect and refresh myself with the contents of some of our earlier conversations.
You were able to sense my need each time I came to visit you. You showed patience to stay with me even when I appeared confused or was searching for my way.
My dilemma during my involvement with CMC was that I was not an alumnus and therefore my depth of perception of the ethos of CMC was limited. You became a companion, whose understanding of CMC and of myself provided me with what I needed each time.
Your help when I was associated with CMAI was also most commendable. You as one of the former editors of the CMJI helped me to look at the opportunity to revive the direction and content of the CMAI journal. In fact, I went through the responsibility of editing eight issues during my term of two years because of several conversations I have had with you.
Let me close with several thanks and warm regards for your generous friendship and contributions to my formation. Thank you Ma’m for your welcome and hospitality every time I visited you!
At seventy years, what I treasure most are some of these friendships and relationships. You remain in my thoughts and let me send you my love and regards for your wellness and health!
I want to stay in touch with you. In fact, I look forward to meeting with you at least briefly during the alumni week in August 2018!
M.C.Mathew
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