On the 1st of July, Justitia, the forensic medicine club and the Core Council of KMC Manipal, organized an event to celebrate National Doctor’s Day. The event was held in a packed lecture hall of Interact where over a 100 people arrived inspite of the rains that have shrouded Manipal.
The event was kicked off by a sensational talk by Mr. Brajesh Sharma. A cycling enthusiast and an environmental activist, Mr. Sharma only had to use his gestures to hold the crowd’s attention. A personality of one of a kind, he has cycled across multiple states of India to raise awareness about the dangerous use of plastics. He started off as a young man who wanted to serve in the Indian Army, but circumstances forced him to drop that aspiration. He was inspired, ignited almost, to make a change and spread the idea of changing the way we conduct our lives. The way we consume plastic and throw it away, unaware of the damage it does down the line. While watching a National Geographic documentary which featured a tiny bird being tangled in plastic, its fibres clinging around its limbs and neck, choking it, he was taken aback by the reckless nature with which we discard away plastics, not a single thought clouding our judgement. He addressed the medical students who had gathered in the hall and urged them to limit our use of polythene bags and use alternate cloth bags instead. Insisted us to carry a steel bottle to store water instead of buying plastic bottles every time thirst took over us. The ecstatic crowd applauded as he wished them all a happy doctor’s day.
Mr. Brajesh Sharma was invited onto the dais to be welcomed by our very own, Dean Dr. Sharath K. Rao and handed him a plant as a token of appreciation. The Dean addressed the audience with a sweet speech in which spoke of his love for medicine. Furthermore, he discussed the issue of growing violence against doctors across India .The fear of being attacked and assaulted has seized the medical community and is palpable in the professional space that doctor and the ancillary medical staff work in.
This was followed by a quick snap of the faculty advisors- Dr. Vinod Nayak (faculty co-ordinator Justitia), Dr. Arvind K. Pandey (faculty co-ordinator Core Council), President of Core Council, Ms. Shivani Yadav and the President of Justitia, Mr. Akarsh Khanna with the highly esteemed Dean Dr. Sharath K. Rao (Dean KMC Manipal) and Dr. Girish Menon (Head of neurosurgery) to celebrate the moment.
The Dean later welcomed onstage Dr. Girish Menon, who heads the prestigious neurosurgery department of KMC Manipal. Dr. Menon stood in the center of the podium, and it seemed as if the whole crowd was enraptured by his calm presence. An accomplished doctor of many interests, Dr. Menon described his successes and mistakes using images and videos he shot during his surgeries. His simple talk had multiple references to Bollywood and Hollywood movies with faux doctors along with passionate discussions of the fine line that demarcates confidence and arrogance in doctors. His pain and regret was evident when he discussed his cases that didn’t go the way they had planned. But he ended his perfect talk on a hopeful note, saying that it is the trust that his patients place in him and his team that make him march ahead.
Dr. Vinod Nayak, Faculty Advisor of Forensic Medicine Department along with Mr. Akarsh Khanna, president of Justitia, proudly presented the trained professionals of martial arts who represented Superhuman Gym. The training ground for the aspiring doctors was a cluster of mattresses arranged in the ground lobby of Interact. Anticipation and eagerness of the crowd emanated from them as they were warming up for the special self-defense class that the hosts had arranged for them. The Judicial Secretary of Core Council (Madhav Arora) and the President of Justitia (Akarsh Khanna) were engaged in a demonstration that helped the audience understand the technique better. The audience was joyous and cheerful as they paired up and practised the intricate moves on each other.
All in all, the event was a gloryful success which was enjoyed by everyone present there, faculty and students alike.
Credits:-
Written by : Vaishnavi Katiyar, The Editorial Board KMC
Design by : Arunav Kumar , Justitia
Photography by: Samir Gulati & Pranay Jain , The Editorial Board KMC
Uploaded by : Utkarsh Agrawal , Vice President , KMC Core Council