Tamil Nadu - Madurai   

Reporter's Diary

"We are a group of 250 students who settled in the U.S. decades ago, and have been working in various specialities there. We have our own association," said Rajkumar Pandian.

Reminiscing his days at the Madurai Medical College, Dr. Rajkumar said: "Our classes were conducted in temporary sheds. Now you have huge granite buildings. We had wonderful teachers, who were doyens in the fields, and ... they groomed us to become specialists. I am happy that my alma mater has floated the alumni association," said Dr. Rajkumar, a surgeon and a student of the fourth batch.

The college has been serving the medical fraternity for half a century.

Recently the college authorities and students decided to float an alumni association. The Health Minister, N. Thalavai Sundaram, inaugurated it on the eve of Independence Day.

Going down memory lane, James Pandian, a former student and now Dean of the Madras Medical College, said that 42 years ago, the hostel was crammed. But everything had changed. Now the students had separate rooms and better facilities. Several Deans were a stickler for discipline, and they groomed him to become a plastic surgeon, he added.

The Collector, D. Raajendiran, wished the association and its office- bearers success.

The Independence Day is an occasion for every one to feel proud. On that day, the nation salutes those who took part in the freedom struggle.

But, amid the celebrations, messages — considered jokes — received on mobile phone sets of many were making a mockery of those who sacrificed their lives for the country's independence.

Will the mobile phone service providers put in place a mechanism to block such messages from being transmitted through their service, or make it mandatory for their customers not to send such messages that hurt the sentiments of the people?

(Contributions from

J.V. Siva Prasanna Kumar

and M.R. Aravindan.)

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