The years at MGM.....

        And so, in 1992, after 13 years of staying away from it, I was back in Indore, at the M G M Medical College (Pandavas too had spent 13 years outside their beloved city, didnt they?). M G M, my new alma mater for 5 years and a half, was an institution that had begun in 1849 as a hospital and as a medical school in 1878, and had got its current name and form around independence. The ensuing years were jam packed with classes, practicals, clinics.. and yes, gold medals too. I stood second in my university in the overall MBBS score, but there were many more things I tried to achieve in my years at MGMMC.

        One, was Journalism, mostly financial journalism. In all, over 200 articles in leading publications had already been printed by 1994, with the largest chunk at Dainik Bhaskar's financial supplement in 1992-94, where many of the cover stories were done by me. At 17 yrs of age, I was probably the youngest of the kind! 

        Another, was Public Speaking. My highest point in this field came in 1995, when I represented the Indore university at the National Inter-university English debate at Jaipur, and achieved the unique distinction of being the only student from MP to have ever won the 1st prize in this prestigious event...another high point of my days at MGM! There were also my several prizes at the Inter-Medical college meets organized by AIIMS and MAMC that I attended in 1994 and 1995, but I remember them much more for the sheer fun and joy of interacting with so many of my professional brethern.

        Leo Club of Indore organized a personality contest in 1996, and I applied for it, just for fun! Little did I know that a few days later, I would be walking out, having won not just the keenly contested city-level contest with the title of "Mr. Personality", but also many great friends amongst the contestants and in the Leo club. A few years later, when Leo Legends organized this contest again, they chose me to host the event, and that too was an equally memorable and unforgettable experience!

        During my internship at MGM, I cleared USMLE- the United States Medical Licencing Examination. Not just the exam, even the experience of giving the same was a delight! This was my first foreign visit, and a truly memorable one! 

        During 1997, I also bought my PC (which has seen most of its components change as technology improved), and was also amongst the first few subscribers to VSNL's TCP/IP service in the city (which then had to be for a minimum of 500 hrs and Rs 15000- a sum that sounds unbelievable today for an ISP). This marked the beginning of a Love Affair with IT that continues unabated even today!

For the years at TISS and beyond, please click here.

For selected memories from my 2001 Photo Album, please click here...