Maulana Azad Medical College Alumni Association Celebrates 33 Years

By Dr. Randeep Suneja

COLUMBUS, OH: The Maulana Azad Medical College Alumni Association of North America (MAMCOAANA) held its 33rd annual convention in this city by the Scioto River at the Hilton Columbus/Polaris from July 13 to 16. One hundred alumni of MAMC and their families had a fun-filled weekend organized under the leadership of President Dr. Tarang Sharma.

The meeting began with informal singing on the evening of July 13 followed by dinner and dance.

Over the next two days, CME talks were given by eight speakers with Dr. Bharti Khurana from Harvard Medical School as the CME chair.

On July 14 afternoon, the entire group took a trip to the National Museum of US Airforce in Dayton, Ohio. It was truly mesmerizing for everyone to see the only Northrop B2 Spirit long range bomber on display in the world. This Aircraft has the stealth technology that makes it virtually invisible even to the most advanced radar system. Also, actually seeing the historic aircraft Boeing B29 Bockscar that dropped the “Fat Man” atomic bomb on Nagasaki, Japan on August 9, 1945 and ended World War II was an emotional journey. In addition, it was quite memorable to tour the four Presidential Aircrafts including the SAM (Special Air Mission) 26000 which has been used by eight US presidents including Kennedy, Reagan, Bush and Clinton. The evening concluded with a picnic with all young and old flying colorful kites in the clear Columbus skies while other competitive Maulanians played intense volleyball with several great rallies. 

The formal Gala took place on July 15 evening starting with the playing of the National Anthems of USA followed by that of India. After all the CME speakers were formally recognized. I was completely surprised by the announcement of a Special Honor Award for my contributions to the organization. I was very humbled and extremely grateful to receive such an honor. 

Three physicians – Dr. Ashutosh Gupta, Dr. Rajiv Malik and Dr. Kapila Bina – each received a standing ovation for having attended all 33 MAMCOAANA conventions since inception. Dr. Tarang thanked the entire MAMC family for making the event a great success. She introduced the incoming President Dr. Vivek Mishra who invited everyone to attend the meeting next year in Chicago from July 26 to 29, 2018. Dr. Gautam Samadder, President American Association of Indian Origin (AAPI) extended a warm invitation to all present to attend the next AAPI convention in Columbus from July 4 to 8, 2018.

Following this, the entertainment began with amazing singing by father-daughter duet Dr. Indranil Chakraborty and Diya Chakraborty (who was a Top 7 finalist in the US Sa Re Ga Ma Pa TV show). To top it off, Dr. Praveen Khilani, who was visiting from New Delhi, and Dr. Sajiv Anand gave an unbelievable performance singing old melodies from the seventies. After the elaborate dinner, entertainment continued with energetic dancing to the Bollywood music played by the DJs well past midnight by all the Maulanians, reminiscing on memories of the decades gone by.