College Day for Kasturba Medical College, Manipal, took place on the evening of 21st of November 2022, in the well-decorated grounds of KMC Greens, in order to celebrate the academic achievements of the students from the previous year and honour the efforts of the top students. Dr. Lydia and Dr. Yogish were the Masters of Ceremony for the same, and commenced the event by inviting the dean, Dr. Sharath Kumar Rao, and the associate deans, Dr. Krishnananda Prabhu, Dr. Anil Bhatt and Dr. Chiranjay Mukhopadhyay to escort the dignitaries on the stage. Along with student council president, Ms. Shivani Yadav, they offered a floral tribute to the founder of MAHE, Dr. TMA Pai.
The ceremony had an auspicious start as Ms. Sriya, Ms. Dhriti, Ms. Avishi and Mr. Rakshak invoked the blessings of God with a melodious prayer. This was followed by the Dean, Dr. Sharath Kumar Rao, taking the mic and beginning his address by offering his congratulations to the awardees of the night, and welcoming the Chief Guest, Dr. Binay Karak; the Guest of Honour, Dr. Shankar Gowda; as well as esteemed attendee, Lt. Gen. (Dr.) M. D. Venkatesh, and Dr. H. S. Ballal, who presided over the ceremony. Dr. Sharath K Rao listed the multiple accomplishments of the prestigious institute; from the stellar NIRF rankings that reflect the impeccable quality of education, to the NABH accreditations that ensure the upkeep of the exemplary service that Kasturba Hospital offers.
This address was followed by the presentation of the faculty awards; Dr. Huban Thomas, Dr. Dhiren D. Punja, Dr. Brij Mohan Kumar Singh, Dr. Padmaja A. Shenoy, Dr. Mridula, Dr. Barnini Banerjee, Dr. Ashwini Kumar, Dr. Kirthinatha Ballala A. B., Dr. Sneha Deepak Mallya, Dr. Ravindra, Dr. Avinash G. Kamath, Dr. Shubhashree U, Dr. Ajay Bhandarkar M. , Dr. Naveen Sulakshan Salins, Dr. Girisha K. M., Dr. Shalini S. Nayak, Dr. Anju Shukla, Dr. Rohini Punja, Dr. Anil K. Bhat, Dr. Abhijith Anil, Dr. Amanpreet Singh, Dr. Mukadam Aditya Avinash, Dr. Ashok Jammigumpula, Dr. Ravi Chandra, Dr. Monika Jawanjal, Dr. Aravindh Kumar B., Dr. Shivadarshan M., Dr. Duvva Sai Bhavana, Dr. Padala Sri Tejaswini, Dr. Gupta Shivangini Deekonda, Dr. T. Pragadeesh, Dr. Anaparti Rasagna, Dr. Poojitha Yalla, Dr. Neetu V. Krishnan, Dr. Khadke Isha Suvarna, Dr. Aishwarya, Dr. Supramanyam S., Mrs. Indira, Mrs. Pushpa Bai and Mrs. Bharathi were bestowed with various honours.
The associate dean of KMC, Dr. Chiranjay Mukhopadhyay, took the stage to introduce the chief guest, Dr. Binay Karak, with a narrative of his glorious career so far. Dr. Binay Karak addressed the audience with his inspiring words; he stressed on the importance of teamwork, time management, and maintaining a good character as a medical professional. He encouraged the future healthcare professionals in the audience to give the utmost important to gaining the respect and confidence of their patients in their practice; and though medicine is a long and difficult journey, he motivated the students to undertake the process with a determined attitude.
Following his address, the Guest of Honour, Dr. Shankar A. Gowda, an alumnus of KMC Manipal and the recipient of Indian Of The Year Award 2022, was introduced in glowing words with a description of his exemplary service in the field of medicine and his incredibly valuable contribution to healthcare in his local community, where he charges extremely low fees for his consultations; ensuring that quality healthcare is accessible to those of lesser means.
Ms. Shivani Yadav, the president of the student council, then took the stage to give the report of the council from the past year. In true spirit of KMC, that places great value in the all-round development of its students, she narrated the various events that KMC students took part in; IQMU, Impressions, Undergraduate Research Workshop, Nasha Mukt Bharat Abhiyan, voluntary blood donation drive, National eye Donation Fortnight, Asterion, Queer and Disability Inclusion: Transcare, Festival of Ideas, Indo-German Convention Of Lindau Alumni, Diwali @AcessLife, C’est La Vie, Ideation Fair, World Diabetes Day Quiz and Impressions. The students took part in outstation tests like Pegasus in CMC Vellore and Autumn Muse in St. John’s Bangalore, winning various laurels and bringing pride to the institute.
The awards for academic excellence were announced after the same; for 1st MBBS : Isha Tripathi, Bhavya Jain, Stuti Arora, Anirudh Rao, Sai Sriya Yadavalli, Raghav, Navya Gupta, Shreya Mehul Mehta, Saumya Sharma, Poorvi Agrawal, Nazneen Hassan, Ishita Sangwan, Tanvi Prabha Achanti and Vedika Agrawal; for 2nd MBBS : Mrunmayee Rahul Nerlikar, Aniketh Umesh, Muskan, Varnan Srivastava, Desai Kashish Mukesh, Ishan Pathak, Garima Ojha, Agarwal Kavisha Sharad, Abhinav Nehra, Purva Jindal and Gagan S Shetty; for 3rd MBBS : Harsh Sharma, Radhika Chandra, Sidhant Sahajpal, Vartika Singh, Saisreeram Kandula, Navya Garg, Jeanne Maria Dsouza, Sejal Kanwar, Aayushi Singh, Drishti, Akshata M Kamath Ammembal, Ritambhara Chowdhary, Lavanya; 4th MBBS : Kunal Agarwal, Pushkar Mahajan, Muskan Mishra, Akshat Rastogi, Shreya Mahajan, Ananya Arya, Vrinda, Ami Mehul Mehta, Vivek Nayak M, Vartika Maheshwari, Rathan Kamath, Saumya Saxena and Suvarna Sharma were commended for their stellar performance.
Next came the Sports awards which went to Mr. Vatsalya Choudhary and Ms. Viha Atri.
Tokens of appreciation were distrubuted to the previous years student council: Mr. Gautham Bonny, Mr. Shashank Tomer, Mr. Varun Suresh, Mr. Shreyash Singh, Mr. Ayush Agarwal, Mr. Aditij Dhamija, Ms. Aastha Agrawal, Mr. Athul Aby, Ms. Vartika Singh, Ms. Ankita Dhanuka, Ms. Kavya Raghavendra and Mr. Vatsalya Choudhary, whose excellent leadership was deeply admired by the student body.
The best outgoing MBBS student award was given to Dr Madhavi, who spoke a few inspiring words to the current batches.
Dr HS Ballal congratulated the awardees and left us with some encouraging words of wisdom. “There is no substitute for hard work” he says, “there is no short cut for success”. The vote of thanks was delivered by Dr Krishnananda Prabhu.
The first part of the event closed with the national anthem, sung tunefully by the members of Cadenza, the musical society of KMC Manipal.
Finally, moving to the most awaited segment of the night; the cultural performances. A mix of students and teachers came forth and unleashed a cornucopia of culture, song, and dance.
To begin with, Ph.D. scholars Aswathi, Namita, and Neha performed to ‘Varaha Roopam’, delivering an entrancing tribute to Tuluva culture.
They were followed by Cadenza, the music club of KMC, performing the piece that won them the first position at Autumn Muse earlier in the year. With their usual ingenuity, they sang an acapella version of the ‘sound of the nation’ by Amit Trivedi.
Next came a parade of the rich brimming culture of Karunadu, showcased by the Karunadu Club. Beginning with Dr. Arvind and Dr. Vinod as Tulu landlords. The audience was then enraptured by the effortless grace of the beauties of Karunadu. From Konkani and Brahmin women to the Lambinis and the women of the northern reaches of Karnataka. Women donning Mysore silks and Langa Dawanis (half sarees). Women from the Kodavas and the Shetty clan. Truly it was a bewitching display. The act ended dramatically with a sensational appearance of Shiva from Kantara.
Following them came to us four performances from the reaches of Karnataka. The Kodava-aat from Coorg, commonly performed at Kodava weddings and danced to the melodious Valaga. The Tulu harvest dance Suggi, a show of prosperity. Kolaata from northern Karnataka, a delightfully rigorous reminiscent of the dandiya raas. And lastly, Yakshagana, a traditional live theater folk dance, developed in Tulu Nadu. Its stories are drawn from Ramayana, Mahabharatha, Bhagavatha, and other epics from both Hindu and Jain ancient Indic traditions.
Now for the most awaited act of the night, the faculty fashion show. It features our beloved and respected professors dressed up as unforgettable personalities and characters from the golden era of Bollywood.
To name a few, the fashion show included Dr. Kailesh as Shami Kapoor, Dr. Sathish as Rajesh Khanna and Dr. Kanti as Mumtaz, Dr. Vinayak as Jitendra and Dr. Vinutha as Leena, Dr. Huban as Mithoon, Dr. Vikram as Dharmendra and Dr. Chandni as Hema, Dr. Sulata as Sridevi, Dr. Ranjitha as Rekha and Dr. Shobha as Asha Parekh, Dr. Bala as Mehmood, Dr.Vinay as Jackie Shroff, Dr. Joseph as Rishi Kapoor and Dr. Neethu as Neethu Singh, Dr. Shivprakash as Raj Kapoor, Dr. Vinod as Randhir Kapoor, Dr. Sushan as Vaijanti Mala and Dr. Reena as Kishore Kumar, Dr. Kirti as Gabbar, Dr. Chiranjoy as Prem Chopra, Dr. Krishnanand as Mogambo, and Dr. Anil as Robert. And finally, our beloved Dean Dr. Sharad Rao as Don.
The night ended on a high note, with the Dean announcing November 22nd as a holiday. Students and faculty dispersed to feast on delicious food and dessert, provided in a truly magnificent array.
Credits
Design – Shivika Saroagi, Editor-in-Chief
Photographers – Sparsh Srivastava, Associate Editor & Pranav Venugopal, The Editorial Board, KMC
Writers – Tanvee Walia & Mariyah Haji, The Editorial Board, KMC
Uploaded by – Sourabh Singh, The Editorial Board, KMC