CHAPTER III BACK TO MITHILA : ADMISSION TO THE DARBHANGA MEDICAL COLLEGE (1973)

CHAPTER III

BACK TO MITHILA : ADMISSION TO

THE DARBHANGA MEDICAL COLLEGE

(1973)

            Everyone from my family and acquaintances was happy over my success in the PMT but no one was in a position to guide me where I should take admission – Patna, Darbhanga or Ranchi, as none of them had the knowledge of medical colleges and usually the decision of the family is binding upon the student.  Fortunately, I was the first in my village to take admission to a medical college.  My doctor Mamaji by this time had passed his MBBS examination and had joined a distant colliery near Dhanbad.

            A doctor posted in the Malaria Prevention Programme at Forbesganj approved of my decision to join the Darbhanga Medical College (DMC).  He had been a student of the DMC himself. I had a natural attraction for my village, Samaul, only 32 km from Darbhanga and my mother was in ill-health at that time and one of my sister's husband, Dr. Amaresh Pathak, a professor of Maithili, at Patna, suggested to me that the principal of the DMC being a Maithil might be of help to me.

            Though that Principal, Dr. C. D. Jha, never became so on that account for me nor I asked for any favour from him during his short life (he died within two years), I remember his speech full of conviction, “To stop ragging, I can break but will not bow.”  He also said, “I know very well that you people, next year, will be the ‘raggers’, yet I will do everything to prevent you from this menace.”

            I recall, on the day of my admission someone was trying to rag me. I met  the Principal directly and complained to him in broken English (I thought in a medical college people spoke only in English as someone had tried to rag me in the PMC premises in English when        I had gone for the interview.  He had asked me as to why  I was in slippers.  I had told him cunningly that someone had died in my family, and so I could not wear leather shoes or a leather belt. He had mercy on me and he asked me to go away). 

            Principal Jha came out in anger and the ‘raggers’ took to their heels.  He used to come to the hostels, even in dhoti at nights, if he came to know that ragging was going on.

            One day before admission, I had gone to the Old Hostel to meet a senior boy whose address was with me.  The students said, “A murga has come.” When asked, I replied that I was a student of MA (Maithili) at Muzaffarpur and had come to see someone and thus I escaped.

            Our batch almost escaped from ragging, largely due to the strict attitude of Principal Jha, though the boys next year repeated the same as per predictions of the learned Principal. On his death, my friend Anupam said in the condolence meeting that in honour of the wishes of late Principal Jha we should stop ragging in our institution. I think, it did not have much impact on the block heads.

            Furthermore, I had escaped from the ragging as I was afraid of it and had decided to remain in the Sangh Karyalaya for a year where I had reached directly on my bicycle, brought from Ranchi on bus.  At the Ranchi bus stand no less than a dozen boys had come to give me a hearty send-off.  It was the historic Robin hood cycle that my father had purchased for the Sangh work. Due to his tall height he could never use that bicycle but it had the distinction of having given rides to my brother and several important workers of the RSS, including the legendary Ma. Lakshman Shrikrishna Bhide, who was later an ambassador-like organiser of the RSS, abroad.  The cycle was lost by one of my friends in 1974 during the burning episode of his sister described earlier. I also recall, Bhideji had asked me to study at the BHU, Varanasi, in the PUC but I could not go there.

            Those who say ragging civilizes a new-comer are living in an utopian world.  My batch was the least ragged but was counted as the most civilized.  I never ragged anyone.  What I feel, it is more of a fancy than a need or custom and now this act has become a heinous practice.  What is needed to abolish this - not by the presidential directives as was issued by Rashtrapati N. S. Reddy, but by the acts of teachers like that of Dr. C. D. Jha.

  

            Though I was very sorry to leave the people of Ranchi, I had the occasion to know Mithila. This ancient kingdom of Videh Janak, land of mother Sita, Kapil, Yajnavalkya, Vachaspati, Ayachi (the embodiment of the contentment). Vidyapati, Mandan Mishra and Bharati has still Hindu culture of ritualistic, and Sanskritised shade.

            You could see in the city of  Darbhanga, a PhD in Mathematics (Dr. Upendra Jha) walking in dhoti or a scholar (Chandranath Mishra 'Amar') wandering on cycle who might be opted for a special paper in MA.  Hardly anyone could believe that the man on the street wearing only knee-tipped dhoti was a Sahitya Academy Award winner, and also an ex-M. P., Sumanji, who told the police-inspector, “Why you took pain to come to arrest me, I would have myself come to the police station” and this while in those hot days of the Emergency.

            Among the medical teachers, you could find Prof. Emeritus
B. N. Das Gupta, sometimes sitting in long white janghiya taking sun-bath in the cold mornings, deeply studying or thinking. I had also seen the humility of his great student Dr. A. K. N. Sinha, ex-president, Medical Council of India, touching the feet of that guru on the full-packed dais of the IMA. I had also conveyed the message of the ex-president, API, Dr. B. B. Tripathy, "Convey my reverence to my guru Prof. Das Gupta" which he had told me during the APICON-81 at Nagpur.

            You would have been amused to see grand old Dr. S. M. Nawab active in surgery; eminent ophthalmologist, Dr. S. M. Mishra could give fluent oration in chaste Sanskrit on the holy scriptures and Ayurveda; grand guru of Forensic Medicine, Dr. J. K. Lala passing his retired days; noble, lean and thin, Dr. S. N. Varma seen searching a pathology under the microscope and I had witnessed the distinguished personality of Principal Dr. T. N. Jha, who also headed the Department of Anesthesiology which can be proud of awarding the first master’s degree in the country.

            Inaugurating the first public function of the NMO on the Makar Sankranti of 1978, in the presence of all above-named (barring  Dr. Nawab, who too came later as the chief guest in the NMO’s function) towering personalities, Prof. Rajendra Singh (the then Jt. General Secretary, RSS) told that an eminent scholar had said in America while inaugurating a technical institute, “What need of marble floors, if you have men to inspire.”

  

            When I went to Darbhanga, there were men, men to inspire and men to promote.  The Medical School was established there in 1925 due to the huge donation of the philanthropist Maharajadhiraj of Darbhanga whose oil portrait still adorns the college building.

            Mithila has the tradition of Sir Ganga Nath Jha and his son Amar Nath Jha — both becoming Vice-Chancellors (of Allahabad Univetrsity) like Sir Ashutosh Mookerjee and his son Syama Prasad Mookerjee at the Calcutta University.  The scholarly tradition that goes with utmost simplicity marks the name of Mithila and in its capital, an oriental town, the well-known Darbhanga, you will hardly find anything mentionable other than the medical college and the twin universities (Mithila University and a unique, Kameshwar Singh Darbhanga Sanskrit University named after Maharajadhiraj Kameshwar Singh).  The Mithila University was later  prefixed with the name of Lalit Narayan Mishra after his death who while as India’s Railway Minister met his end in a bomb blast at Samastipur in the midst of a public-official function.

            Darbhanga is a part of Tirhut — so called after Tri Hotra i.e. three times offerings to the Lord.  Spirituality has been reflected in all deeds of the peaceful people of the land.  Darbhanga was also called in old days Dwar Bahagam (situated on the banks of the Chandrabhaga river which was later called  as Dwar Bang – i.e.gate of Bengal, which it was later better known as.  Many distinguished Bengalis have been there, a notable one among them was the writer, Bibhuti Bhushan Mukhopadhyay.

            Darbhanga is full of small and big ponds.  Once these are inter-connected a beautiful Venice-like city can be created.  Its development can be given momentum if the meter gauge is converted to broad gauge; these were the suggestions of Ramnandan Mishra (16.1.1906-27.10.1989), a close associate of Gandhi, Lohia and Jay Prakash and a doyen of this city.

            In most parts of the Mithila, still in the name of progress you will find moving wheels of cart on the dilapidated kutcha roads and those too closed in rains when flood has its devastating impact which is a perennial affair.  One of the thickest populated parts of the country is Mithila, having no industry.  The source of livelihood remains agriculture – gradually smaller pieces of land in successive generations. Even the Consolidation Department cannot help. 

            There are poor patients and more patients; the DMC being the centre remains over-flooded with the large number of patients (and also of stagnant water with jalkumbhis in rainy days).  No electricity, even in operation theatres. Any foreign surgeon will walk out.  The Old Hostel collapsed during the earthquake.

            Yet, people of Mithila are peaceful.  Since the days of Akbar having the theme of Dillishwaro va jagadishwaro va.  They are content with their Meen, Makhana and Pan (Fish, fox nut-Euryle ferox/Annesleia spinosa and betel) culture along with traditional festivals of Jur-Shital, Indra-Puja, Chauth Chandra, and in such densely populated villages every other house will have a newly-wedded couple celebrating Madhushravani and Kojagra with carriers carrying curd, makhana, pan and meen, etc.  (Sorry, my celebrations had been in suspended animation.)

            During my medical studentship, I was a Maithil with least number of  Maithil friends or followers, since Mithila movement had been copying other separatist movements.  Yet, it was my proud privilege to come back in the lap of my land and mother and as  a medico, I rediscovered it.

Fig. 4 - Vachaspati-Bhamati (9th century), one of the three angelic pairs of Mithila, others are Pauranik Yajnanvalkya-Maitrayi and historical Mandan-Bharati  (7th century). Vachaspati was the greatest scholar India has ever produced who gave the name of       his wife (Bhamati) to his most important treatise while in a             night absorbed in writing, he could not recognise his wife; an eponym of scholarship, doctorate is today translated in India by his name,         e.g. DLitt (Vidya-Vachaspati),                MD (Aaurvigyan Vachaspati).