Malayali Medical Association (UK)

The anniversary was celebrated on 11th, 12th and 13th July 2008 at The Barcelo Daventry Hotel, Daventry. The event was attended by MMA members, their families & guests from all over the country, and was sponsored by SRK group, Indian Medical Association, Anzeera Properties, and Shwas Homes.

On the eve of the main celebration, the chief guest, Mr. Innocent and the play back singer Ms.Chitra Iyer arrived. They were greeted at the foyer by the committee members. This anniversary did not just confine to entertainment, but helped to enhance the current medical knowledge of the members. Three clinical meetings were organized to qualify as a Continued Medical Education (CME). Dr.Antony Thomas Vachaparambil presented the first clinical meeting in the evening. The topic was “Brain Attack” and it was very informative for General Practitioners. Following this, Dr.Venugopal of the Indian Medical Association promoted the IMA club house at Kochi. Soon after, everyone enjoyed a traditional buffet style English dinner. A budding amateur artist Miss. Anu was introduced by the secretary, Dr.Paul Peter, and she sang wonderful malayalam songs, karaoke style. As we neared the end of the first evening, the disco music began and it was predominantly the youngsters who enjoyed dancing.

On the day of the main celebration, the members, their families and guests congregated in the main foyer. The committee member in charge of sports, Dr. Ramakrishnan, led them to the lawn in front of the hotel. Unlike last year, many were reluctant to step out of the building owing to the wind and cloudy weather. Moreover the pitch was rather wet, and the grass was slightly overgrown. Dr.Paul Peter holding a mega phone and making a running commentary greeted those who braved the weather. Meanwhile, the enthusiastic Dr. Paulson was busy laying the thick rope for the tug of war. The main attractions of the sports day were the balancing spoon race (balancing a tomato), hopping, the sack race, musical chairs, and of course the tug of war. All winners were garlanded with medals. Spectators had a lot of fun watching the occasional trips and falls of the contestants as well as the garlanding of the winners by their own spouses.

This year it was unanimously agreed to cater authentic Keralite food at lunchtime in tune with the malayalee celebrations. A tent was erected and the traditional food such as masala dosa , vada & uppumavu were served in the Kerala kitchen. Unfortunately due to the huge demand, the masala dosa and uppumavu ran out and there were some complaint about that.

Again, this was a time for the members to socialize, network and refresh their friendships. Some of the members went to their rooms to relax, but others remained in the foyer, talking to the organizers or sponsors who set up stalls in the foyer. At 2pm, in the second clinical meeting, Dr. Joseph John, Consultant Cardiologist presented the topic on ‘Cardiac Failure’. He covered the subject superbly and refreshed the understanding of the subject for the benefit of general practice. He also answered questions of members on the management of cardiac failure.

The Annual General Meeting started at about 3 pm presided over by the President, Dr.Antony Varkey. The previous treasurer, Dr.Thomas Kadicheeni, read out last years’ statement of account and he was pleased to announce the healthy balance brought over to this year. Some of the members scrutinized the account in more detail. There was also a discussion about the payment for charity and it was decided that it would be donated to Pain & Palliative care establishment in Trivandrum for this year (2008) & to Thrissur in 2009. The Members voiced their concerns about the mushrooming of new medical associations and thereby sabotaging the strength and unity of all malayalee doctors. Some of the members suggested developing the activities of the MMA UK similar to that of AKMG US (Association of Kerala Medical Graduates). AGM agreed that the annual medical convention will be held in the month of July. The president announced that a committee meeting would be held soon to evaluate the success of this year’s event and to decide the venue and date of next year’s anniversary.

Afternoon tea was served with snacks at about 4pm. Now the members and guests started queuing up to enter into the main hall. To identify those who have registered, all were asked to wear the registration card. In order to facilitate the mingling with the fellow malayalee doctors, tables were not reserved. This especially helped youngsters to boost their circle of friends.

The chief guest, Mr.Innocent and his wife entered the hall at about 5pm and the audience greeted them with applause. The secretary, Dr.Paul Peter, welcomed the audience, and then the president, Dr.Antony Varkey introduced the chief guest to the audience. In his address, Mr.Innocent narrated his early school life in a most witty and humorous style. He also highlighted his difficult journey to the stardom in humility. He inspired the audience by sharing how perseverance and tenacity can pay in the end. Throughout his light hearted speech, the audience was in a mood of constant laughter. Following this Mrs. Rashmi Sudir performed Bharatanatyam and Koochupudi which was very enjoyable. Mrs.Chitra Iyer took over and introduced her team to the audience. The first song started with reverberating drumbeat, and it was really melodious. Then Ms.Chitra Iyer sang both old and new songs in Malayalam, Tamil and Hindi. Mr.Sabu Thomas also joined her and their combined effort encouraged some of the members to come forward and perform disco dancing. Mrs. Iyer stopped a while for dinner to be served. She seized the opportunity to celebrate her wedding anniversary with her husband amid cheers from everyone. Since it took some time to serve the main course after the starter, Ms.Iyer took control and started singing again. Although the north Indian style dinner was palatable, the delay in the service made the food less warm and a sign of impatience was visible on the faces of everyone. Ms.Iyer continued to perform until 11pm, encouraging amateurs to sing on the stage. Then the disco continued till late, pulling a good crowd of young and middle aged to the dancing floor.

Later it emerged that those who were sitting behind were unable to hear and see the performance properly. Although it was not uncomfortably warm like last year’s event, people felt that the air-conditioning was not working adequately contrary to our expectation.

On 13th July 2008, the final day of the event, everyone assembled at the foyer of the hotel after finishing breakfast. Dr. Devasia presented the third clinical meeting and discussed “Recent events in general practice” as a part of the CME in the downstairs conference hall. Many members commented that this year’s event was uniquely entertaining. Members bid farewell to each other, and in the hope of enjoying yet another anniversary next year.

Prepared by Dr.C.J.George FRCS

Secretary Public Relations, MMA UK.

This entry was posted on Thursday, July 31st, 2008 at 8:30 am . You can leave a message below.