The Verve

From the Editors Desk

A warm hello to all readers!
It gives me immense pleasure to bring out the centenary issue of our college
magazine. It seems like only yesterday that I was a fresher in wonderment of this
college. 3 years on, Im still amazed.
LHMC has always been a trendsetter. Being the first all-women medical college
of the country, it set a benchmark for colleges both then and now. Over the years,
Hardonians have proved themselves both in and out of the medical field. But being
a Hardonian, I now realize, is much more than carrying that title. It is about
sincerity, competition (the healthy kind) and camaraderie and above all, its about
understanding and supporting one another irrespective of where we come from or
where we are headed. It is this Hardonian spirit that we have tried to encapsulate in
this issue of The Verve.
Id like to express my sincere gratitude to our Honorable Director, Dr. Jagdish Chandra, our Vice Principal,
Dr. Ajay Kumar and members of the Magazine Committee (Dr. Anita Nangia, Dr. Madhulika Monga, Dr.
Anita Pawar) and Dr. Anupam Prakash(Professor, Department of Medicine) for their constant support and
guidance.
Id also like to thank my wonderful editorial team - the resourceful editors (Nitya, Richa, Amrita, Tanisha,
Lubna, Olivia, Manisha, Mitul, Shelly, Sowmya) for their attention to detail ; the illustrators (Sneha, Kanika,
Priyal, Sandhya, Anjali, Arushi) for their flair; Our photographer, Aditi , and the formatters (Aditi, Anish and
Pooja) for bringing life to the magazine. Also, Lekha and Khushboo (our extended photographers) for helping us out on more than one occasion!
And of course, a warm thank you to all preceding editors (Ruha di, Oishika di, Tanvi di) who have made the
magazine what it is.
A special thank you to the alumni. You continue to be a source of inspiration to us. Your achievements are
a constant reminder that being a Hardonian is a right earned, not given. We hope to carry forward LHMCs
legacy with the same panache as you did.
To all readers, I hope you feel the same sense of pride that I did when I read about this college.
Happy reading!
Manisha Uppal

Third Row: Tanisha Gupta, Richa Arunendu, Pooja Nakhat Jain, Olivia Dasgupta, Lubna Siddiqui
Second row: Anish Thind, Sandhaya Sharma,Kanika Roy, Sneha Gupta, Mitul Khadia, Sowmya Ramgopal
First Row: Anjali Sharma, Priyal, Nitya Beriwal, Manisha Uppal, Aditi Singh, Aditi Anand, Shelly Mittal, Arushi Kumar
Not in Photo: Amrita, Manisha

Editorial

The Verve

Board

Foreword

Foreword

The President of India, Shri Pranab Mukherjee, is happy to know
that the Lady Hardinge Medical College, New Delhi is bringing out its
College Magazine The Verve in June, 2016.

The President extends his warm greetings and felicitations to the
faculty, staff and the students of the Medical College and sends his best
wishes for their future endeavours.

The Verve

Foreword

Best wishes to all the staff members and the students, from my behalf.
I congratulate the editorial board on the release of the fourth and the centenary edition of THE VERVE.
LHMC has been igniting young mind and providing excellent medical
education to its students. Lady Hardinge Medical college is and has always
been an epitome of excellence and perfection.
This year, as we culminate the centenary year of our esteemed institution,
I look forward to co-operation from everybody for taking this institution
to higher pinnacles of success.
The centenary year celebrations, have been a great success. I hope and
firmly believe that it reflects a glorious future for our institution in the
years to come.

Regards
Dr. Jagdish Chandra
Director
LHMC

Foreword

EVENTS 2015-16 COVER STORY:

7 Body Donation Campaign

8 Teachers Day
9 Janmashtami
10 Freshers Party
11 Interns Day
12 Anatomy Competition
13 Physiology Quiz
14 Childrens Day
14 MEDICON
15 Litfest
15 Research Methodology

Workshop
16 VAMSCON
17 EAMSC
18 Peer Mentorship Programme
20 Hostel Day

ARTICLES

Hardinge Footprints 43-61

POEMS

Hakuna Matata 62
Being Bad 63
And I Coloured it Purple 64
A Beautiful Death 65
Freedom 66
Shattered Hopes 67
In the Search 68
The Colour Black 69
Lost Curse 69
A Glass of Victory 70
A Pinch of Hope 71
Its called Love 72
A Medical Students Prayer 73

21 Ink Stained Labcoat BATCH

22 Maggi Point
23 Life in all girls college PHOTOS 74-79
24 Judgement
25 Happily Ever After
26 Photos SOCIETIES
27 A Rendezvous with the Jijeevisha 80
Timeless Being Graffiti 81
30 Insane Love Viola 82
31 It is not and yet it is Belleza 83
32 The one that Got Away Podium 84
34 The Crusaders of Justice Inklings 85
35 My Student Life in LHMC Aarohana 86
Dr. Sumedha Khanna Vencedor 87
38 Hardinge and Me Hostel Library 88
Dr. Rama Anand
Perspective 88
39 Dear Students, Hardinge Chronicles 90
Dr. Debasish Chaudhury
Mediquest 91
40 LHMC: 100 years old or 100
years young: Dr. Anupam Prakash
41 Pearls of Wisdom: Dr. Gautam
Bir Singh

The Verve

Body Donation
Campaign

Your body is a work of art, make it count.

Department of Anatomy, Lady Hardinge Medical College organised its first body donation campaign on
9th February, 2016 at NDMC Auditorium, Palika Kendra, Parliament Street. Anatomy forms the basis of
medicine and is taught on cadavers as a first year subject. The availability of cadavers and their ratio to the
number of students have always been a matter of concern in every medical college. To raise awareness about
body donation several campaigns were organised from September 2015. The entire faculty as well as students
enthusiastically participated in the whole event.
The Chief guest for the event was Delhi ACP, Mr B S Bassi, Guest of Honor included Dr. Deepika Sharma Hardonian and national BJP Spokesperson. Special guests were Mr. Naresh Kumar, Chairman NDMC, Dr.
P K Sharma, Mr. Ved Bhusan. Entire campaign took place under the guidance of Dr Atul Murari - Director
LHMC.
The event started with the welcome address by Dr. Anita Tuli. Then oath was taken in honour of donated
cadavers. Dr. Sheetal Joshi then gave a brief presentation on body donation awareness campaign and all the
activities that were conducted under the program.
Chief Guest and special guests encouraged the idea of body donation. In past, those who have donated their
family members body to the institute were appreciated and were given certificates for their priceless
contribution. Mr Arun Aggarwal was an inspiration, his family had donated five bodies to several medical
institutes including Lady Hardinge. Students of 2nd and 4th semester who actively participated in the
organisation were given certificates for poster making, creative writing competitions and best volunteers.

Mitul Khadia
Batch 2015

Events

Teachers Day
O

n September 12th 2015, the student union of Lady

Hardinge Medical College conducted a grand event
felicitating renowned teachers for their contribution to
the college. Students from all semesters gathered near the
auditorium to express their gratitude towards their
teachers who play an indispensable role in making them
better doctors and more importantly better human
beings. The event was marked by many fun filled activity
like musical chairs, the newspaper dance and three legged
race. The highlight of the day was the game of musical
chairs which saw teachers of all departments running to
the tunes of the songs being played in the background.
This event was also marked by a heartfelt conversation
that ensued between the teachers and the freshers batch.
The event was later followed by DJ Party which was
enjoyed by both students as well as the faculty.
Somya Ramgopal
Batch 2015

The Verve

Janmashtami
J

anmashtami, the birth of Lord Krishna, was

celebrated with full pomp and show on 5th
September, 2015. It was celebrated in the Girls
Common Room, which was decorated like a bride.
The entire Hostel was lit up beautifully.
The evening started with devotional songs by our
music society. Ladies were especially invited to sing
bhajans and songs devoted to Lord Krishna. Our
Hostel Warden, Sudha Maam was as excited as the
students and was actively involved in everything.
After the singing, dance was performed by
collaboration between the dance society and the
enthusiastic volunteers. The dance was a fusion and
the students performed with immense zeal. They
received huge applause from the audience.
The dramatics society was no less. They did an
outstanding play which involved the birth of Lord
Krishna and how (later) Kansa died. The play was
filled with humour which had a modern take. It was a
huge success and put a smile on every face.
After the performances, the students were served
dinner, specially made for the day. Till midnight, the
students were actively singing songs. But, as the clock
struck 12, the pooja started for Janamashtmi. Every
soul was fully devoted and prayed with honest hearts.
After the pooja, the girls who had been without food
for an entire day, ended their fast by eating Prasad.
It was indeed a spectacular evening.
Lubna Siddiqui
Batch of 2014

10 Events

Freshers Party 2015

T

he Welcome party was held on the 17th of September, for the

batch 2015-2016. To add to the touch of belongingness, it was held
right in our Campus. The theme was as lively as the celebrationCarnival. As the students began to pour in with their eccentric but
astoundingly striking masks, colourful yet elegant dresses, they made
no effort to hide the enthusiasm radiating from their faces, beaming
that this was their event.
A talent round took place. People stepped onto the stage, and
performed their hearts out. This was also the test that decided who was
to take the coveted title of Miss Carnival Queen 2015 home, and it
turned out to be the beautiful Anushree Rana. The Interns were
judging the event, and the beautiful evening saw some fine ladies
taking some time out of their schedule and enjoying life as it is-pure,
blissful and light. Faces familiar and unfamiliar, with an unmistakable
ecstasy over the bonding of friendship and mentorship celebrated the
striking relationship between the seniors and the juniors.
With the Sun setting in the west and the frosty pale moon coming over
the horizon, the day ended beautifully. And thus the initiation of a
lifelong bonding took place.
Benazeer Hena
Batch of 2015

The Verve 11

Interns Day 2015

I

ts never a goodbye, its just the beginning of a new life.

Keeping up the Hardonian spirit , the present Students

Union organised a fabulous farewell for the 2010 batch on
18th September 2015, outside the Swarn Jayanti
auditorium.
Conveying their heartfelt wishes, members of Aarohana
set the stage for a night of laughter mixed with a tinge of
sadness. The traditional event of Pehchan Kaun was the
highlight of the celebration. Mimicking their seniors in
their signature styles saw moments of bonding among
the interns. The power packed performance of Viola
saw senior troops matching beats with their juniors who
would from then onwards carry their legacy. An adorable
Bansi and Lady Hardinge then provided an insight into
an interns life through the act put up by Jeejivisha. Our
respected intern, Vijaya K. Bharathi then gave a
melodious performance along with her two juniors.
Stunning beauties of Belleza then gave a tribute to their
seniors. All the interns then joined their respective
societies on stage expressing their feelings. The event
concluded with a documentary reliving their college life,
transforming the mood to nostalgic. The interns were
honoured with scarves and titles.
Interns were then ready to embark upon a new journey,
keeping their loved college years close to their heart and
turning to look upon them as one of the best phases of
their lives.
Tanisha Gupta
Batch of 2016

12 Events

Anatomy Competition
L

ady Hardinge Medical College is in its hundredth

year. As part of the Centenary celebrations, the Anatomy
Department of the College organised a poster, model

making and dissection competition for the first year

MBBS students. All the students were divided into batches
of eight and the topics were divided amongst them. On
the day of the event two students from each batch were
asked to present their models, posters and dissection in
front of the panel of judges.
The excitement amongst the students and teachers was
quite evident. Preparations had started a month before
the event. In the model presentation the students came up
with innovative ideas to present their topics. In the
dissection presentation the students were given a
particular artery and its branches in the cadaver. The
posters were made with utmost precision and innovation
to attract the eyes of the audience.
The program was graced by the august presence of
eminent guests. The panel of judges included renowned
personalities including the Head of the department,
Anatomy from Maulana Azad Medical College, Ex-Head
of the department of Anatomy of Lady Hardinge
Medical College and the present Head of the
Department of Anatomy, Lady Hardinge Medical College.
The students participated enthusiastically. They were keen
to know the outcome of their hard work. Everyone
performed exceptionally well. The Director of the
institution was also there to see the performance of the
students.
The prize distribution was organized at the end of the day
itself. The valuable words of the teachers encouraged everyone. The first and second group from each category was
awarded with a memento and certificate of merit. Awards
were given only to a few but the entire batch was the
winner. The students and teachers gave their best to make
the event successful. Finally the hard work paid off.
Olivia Dasgupta
Batch of 2014

The Verve 13

Physiology Quiz
O

n 4th November, 2015, the Department of Physiology, LHMC, organized an inter-college Physiology Quiz,
adding yet another golden feather to this institution.
Although a part of centenary celebrations, the event itself
was quite unique in many ways. For the first time, an
inter-college quiz was organised, with a unique buzzer
round having electrical gadgets designed independently
at LHMC. The event was inaugurated by the honourable director of LHMC, Dr. Atul Murari. In the expert
panel we had some of the famous personalities from the
branch of Physiology like Dr. A.K. Jain from MAMC,
Dr. Rashmi Mathur from AIIMS, Dr.Nilima Shankar
from UCMS, Dr. Raj Kapoor from VMMC and Dr. Asha
Gandhi from LHMC. Moreover, it was witnessed by our
alumni physiologist Dr. Sweety Singh. Eight teams each
from MAMC, VMMC, UCMS, Jamia Hamdard, Army
Medical College, Hindu Rao Medical College, Subharti
Medical College (Meerut) and LHMC with two participants in each team participated. Teams were divided into
two groups, A and B having 4 teams each. Quiz unfolded
in three rounds- preliminary, semifinal and final round.
The preliminary round was an elimination round with 3
stages- easy choice ,spinning the wheel and visual round.
It was unfortunate that LHMC got knocked out in the 1st
round but still the excitement was high amongst the audience. For the semifinal there were 4 teams with 3 stages
with questions related to applied aspects, history and
spinning the wheel. Final round was a rapid fire round. At
the end of each round there were questions for the audience and each correct answer fetched an attractive prize.
The expert panel communicated with the audience and
also enlightened the students by providing the answers
to those questions which both the participants and the
audience failed to answer. After all the tough competition
finally MAMC stood victorious. Dr.Manjula Jain, Director

Professor, Department of Pathology, LHMC gave away the

prizes. The winner team was awarded a sum of Rs 5000
and the runner up team got Rs 3000. Refreshments were
distributed. The program was a success with appreciations
pouring from all sides and so, the department decided to
conduct it on a regular basis. We hope to see much more
evolved forms of medical battle in future at LHMC.
Manisha
Batch of 2015

14 Events

Childrens Day Celebration

@ Apni Paathshaala

octors always endeavour to make changes in peoples lives and we Hardonians are never behind. One such effort
was made by us for the underprivileged kids of the construction labourers near the new Residents Block. This
Childrens Day, we went to their neighbourhood to celebrate with our cute, naughty little friends who usually come to
learn something new from us every Saturday. We wanted to make this day memorable for them!
We gathered them in the small temple there and conducted a few competitions involving speaking, drawing and
singing. About 6-7 children participated in the first event. They had to say a few lines on Childrens day, Pt. Jawaharlal
Nehru, Indira Gandhi or Narendra Modi. They spoke really well. Next we had a singing competition which was
followed by a drama exercise. Lastly, we had a drawing competition in which all the kids did extremely well, painting
their imaginary world in different shades of crayons.
We gave three prizes for every event. Apart from that, gifts were given to each and every child which included story
books, note books, pencils, colouring sets etc. We also arranged light snacks in the form of Frooti and muffins. It was
quite a difficult job to handle them but all the volunteers did an excellent job. It was only with the joint collaboration
of teachers from Pharmacology Department (Abhinav sir, Amirtha maam, Shashikant sir and Suresh sir) and student
coordinators (Me and Nivetha) along with enthusiastic volunteers from III Semester, that such an awesome event was
organized.
Parul
Batch of 2014

Medicon 2016

he 10th International Undergraduate Medical

Students Research conference, MEDICON 2016,
was held in Eras Medical College, Lucknow from
the 13th-16th July.
Manisha Uppal (2013 batch) represented the college at the conference and secured the first position in the paper presentation event. Her paper was
awarded the best paper in the Medicine and Allied
Sciences session for which she was felicitated by
the UP Governor, Shri Ram Naik, in the valedictory ceremony.

The Verve 15

Litfest 2016

arch 19th saw enthusiastic participation of creative

minds of LHMC in LitFest, an intracollege, literary cum
debating extravaganza, organized by Inklings and
Podium. The events included Conventional debate, JAM
(Just a minute), Wombola, Hardinge quiz, FRIENDS quiz,
Missing Connections.
The literary events kicked off with Wombola which was
hugely appreciated by the audience in terms of its
interesting content. It then proceeded to the Hardinge
quiz which covered the glorious 100 years of our college.
The F.R.I.EN.D.S quiz, the fan favourite, really got the
adrenaline rushing as neck to neck competition between
the teams ensued. Missing connections saw participants
trying to construct a meaningful story out of the three
random words given to them.
Conventional debate on Gender based stereotyping:
social construct or biological imperative saw immense
participation. Judges of this event were Dr. Sheetal Joshi

and Dr. Lalit Mehra (Anatomy Dept). Just a minute saw

the best of one minute speeches which had a really wide
range of topics. The overall success of LitFest not only
proved the many talents of Hardonians besides medical
studies but also motivated the coordinators to further
conduct such events.
Winners of the events wereConventional debate- Ishani Mahi, Kriti Bhayana,
Amrita(best interjector)
JAM- Garima Gandotra(I), Kriti(II), Sowmya
Ramgopal(III)
Wombola- Anusha Sharma(I), Chetali(II), Shuchi
Pandey(III)
Hardinge Quiz- Pankhudi Srivastav(I), Natasha(II), Anusha Sharma(III)
F.R.I.E.N.D.S quiz- Anusha Sharma+Akanksha
Sudhakar(I), Kritika Manocha+ Natasha(II), Shuchi(III)
Missing Connections- Amrita(I), Tanisha Gupta(II)
Tanisha Gupta
Batch of 2014

Research
Methodology
Workshop
A

s a part of the ongoing Centenary Celebrations,

Indian Academy of Paediatric Research in Child Health
Group and Department of Paediatrics, LHMC organised
Research Methodology Workshop for Undergraduate
Students on 10th Jan 2016. Its main aim was to create
awareness about the multitudinous methods of
undertaking research projects and the necessary skills
for development of medical science beyond the scope of
textbook learning. The ever changing demands in the field
of healthcare can only be met by continuous expansion of
knowledge through research and extensive studies.
Grabbing this opportunity, students from medical

fraternity across Delhi viz LHMC, MAMC, UCMS,

AIIMS, VMMC etc took active participation. There were
guest lectures from well known experts in this field, along
with demonstration of certain skills and Do it Yourself
activities. Students were divided into small groups led by a
faculty mentor, who then devised their own small
researches, weighed the pros and cons of various
methods, acquired practical skills of interaction in a
community. Question and answer round in the end
clarified all doubts. Certificates were distributed and they
bid adieu with light snacks and loads of knowledge.
Richa Arunendu
Batch of 2014

16 Events

VAMSCON

was really excited when I came to know about

VAMSCON from my seniors and friends. The prospect of
attending conferences, workshops and seminars pertinent
to current health issues really intrigued me and naturally,
my friends and I where the first ones to sign up. I opted
for a workshop on INFECTIOUS DISEASES and another
workshop meant to enhance your surgical acumen called

SUTURE PRATICUM. In the first workshop, I learnt

about why certain diseases are prevalent in some
countries, the social and cultural factors contributing to
them, different ways to deal with epidemics, venereal
diseases etc. In Suture Practicum, I learnt about the basics
of Surgery, which included a brief introduction to all
surgical instruments and the correct way to hold them,
basics of suturing and knots etc. It surely was a once in a
life time experience. On the day of our workshop, we were
given a surgical kit which comprised of scalpels, scissors
and blades along with a portion of a pigs small intestine
(Yes!! I know) on which we had to work. VAMSCON also
gave me an opportunity to meet students from different
medical colleges which is when I realized that medicos all
over the country are the same it doesnt matter which
college you are studying in, at the end of the day we all
belong to the same fraternity and are united by the same
aim to cure people. Apart from these, many competitions
were organised by them to fuel up our learning and
fighting spirit, which included group discussions,
scientific paper presentation, Conclave - Panel
discussion, Movie Making etc. LHMC students
participated with enthusiasm and maintaining the legacy
a group of Second Year students,(namely Sharanya
Mohan, Pragya Mehta, Vernika Gupta, Archee Sinha,
Rashi Goel, Simran Madan and Shuchi Pandey) bagged
First Prize in Conclave for their idea of generating
sensations in amputated limbs, with specifically designed
prosthesis, armed with the concept of phantom limb. It
was well received with the judges and audience alike. It
was a great experience for all of us.
Sowmya Ramgopal
Batch of 2015

The Verve 17

EAMSC

he East Asian Medical Students Conference is an

annual conference hosted by various cities around East Asia.
At its inception, it aimed to inspire delegates to become
active in the amelioration of global healthcare problems
through networking with other medical students from the
East Asian region.
EAMSC for the year 2016 was held at Taipei, Taiwan. The
Indian Delegation this year comprised of Shivangi Mangal
and Moiom H. Phom (LHMC), Sonali Jain and Navita Jain
(MAMC), Japsimran Nagpal (Dayanand Medical College,
Ludhiana). The conference was held under the theme
Medical care in the future: When medicine and technology
meet humanity.
This conference inspired the students to analyse global
health issues more closely and challenged us to think beyond
what is learnt at the university through various academic
and cultural activities which explored a nominated
conference theme.
There was a lot to learn from the various keynote lectures
given by well known doctors of the country, the hospital
visit, interaction with the patients and WHO stimulation.
The fun filled activities werent compromised with the
conferences. Starting right from the welcome party to the
treasure hunt round the city, the sightseeing, the ball dance
party ......and the never ending list continues; everything was
enjoyment * fun ^ infinity.
All the delegates were divided in groups of 15 wherein each
group consisted of students from different countries. This
was a great way to get exposure and knowledge about the
medical infrastructure, the education systems and the
cultures of various countries but most of all it made a family
out of a group of strangers who live miles away from each
other.
Various competitions were held wherein the Indian delegation bagged the 3rd prize in Public Poster making and two of
the delegates were awarded the best speaker in WHO stimulation. EAMSC is definitely a great opportunity sought by
the undergraduates.
Moiom H. Phom
Batch of 2015

18 Events

Peer Mentorship
Programme

mentor is not your friend or parent or teacher

or guardian in exact terms, but a perfect blend of each
one of them. It was back in year 2013 that the faculty
and students of LHMC came together for the first Peer
Mentorship Program for the newly admitted
undergraduate students. In its initial form, in the year
2012, it was meant only for hostellers for the first year
with the faculty mentors only, while it was extended
for the complete batch from the next term. Next year
onwards, Peer mentors comprising of students from
the then Third Semester were further guided by
faculty mentors, consisting of teachers from various
departments who supervised their positive relationship flourishing in a healthy environment.
Progressing towards its consecutive third year, with
the mentees now promoted to the level of mentors, this
program has been a success in every way. They hold
regular meetings, frequency depending on their
comfortable range, to interact with each other. Even if

the meetings are not possible, they are always in

contact through phones and Whatsapp. Be it geeky
study talks or methods to tackle a grand viva, from
happy success stories to petty problems of day to
day life, from asking directions to nearby photocopy
shop to silly emotional breakdowns, this relation has
witnessed it all and carried forward a rich legacy on
its shoulders. The first batch of peer mentors were
felicitated in a humble ceremony on 9th September
2015, with certificates for their priceless endeavour
to support and nurture their juniors. In its third year,
Furthermore, enthusiastic volunteers, under the
coordinated endeavours of Literary Society and able
guidance of Dr. Madhulika Monga, started
Kadam-an initiative to help overcome the language
barrier faced by many of their peer and juniors, as
they found it difficult to adopt the whole curriculum
in a language alien to their mother tongue. Mentored
by them an hour each day, they really gained
confidence.

The Verve 19

To perfectly describe in its true essence lets go through the perspective of people:

Seniors may not always be right when they advice but they have more experience of being wrong. This chain of
mentor mentees gives a sense of responsibility as well protection and guidance which is one of the main ethics
of our profession.
- Dr. Ekta Malik.
These regular meetings which include advices, suggestions and encouragement at an individual level are certainly helpful.
- Saloni Jain (I Semester )
In a medical college where seniors are of more help than the professors, nothing better than the mentorship
program would have worked for our comfort.
- Asatha Aggarwal (I Semester)
The mentors are willing to help us now also and we as mentors are able to understand our mentees problems
better since we also face similar problems.
- Pooja Nakhat (III Semester )
They counsel us before an exam and give tips on how to score better and tackle stress issues.
Some of my batch mates already say that they dont feel lost anymore. I definitely wish to pass on what I have
learned from my seniors to the junior batches in future.
- Shelly Mittal (I Semester )
We were like lost puppies, at the bottom of the medical food chain. But, our seniors made us feel more at home!
It has also helped people who do not have great communication skills or face difficulty interacting with new
people by designating a particular senior to them who would help them through.
- Anushree Rana (I Semester)
Richa Arunendu
Batch of 2014

20 Events

Hostel Day

must admit I love hostel life! And to add to the spice of

the jigsaw hostel life, we, in Lady Hardinge Medical
College, celebrate Hostel Day every year.
This year, the hostel day was celebrated on 27th
February, Saturday. There was excitement among the
hostellers as well as the day scholars. The day long
program started from 2:30 pm. The former Director of
the institution, Dr. Atul Murari was the chief guest of the
program. Among other guests were Dr. Shashi Raheja,
Dr.Asha Gandhi and the rest of the hostel committee
members.
The program started with the gala buffet lunch for all the
students, organized by the hostel committee, followed
by bombastic performances by the dance, music and the
drama society of the college. A huge cake was cut by the

Director on this auspicious day. The main attraction of the

day were the beautiful and attractive stalls that were set up
by the first year students which comprised of funny,
intelligent games. The sports society and the literary
society of the college also organized interactive events for
everyone. There was a karaoke show in the evening as well
which was followed by the Dance party and DJ night. The
excitement of the students knew no bounds. The entire
day was spent well and it ended on a sweet note with the
5 hour back to back movie marathon.
Every member of the students union toiled really hard to
make the event memorable and worthwhile. Indeed,
hostel life is not all about boredom as long as we have
such awesome days to enjoy.
Olivia Dasgupta
Batch of 2014

The Verve 21

Ink stained Labcoat

A

s a little child, I was fascinated to wear my

dads lab coat. It wasnt a fancy dress but it made
me look brighter. It made me happier than any
Barbie possibly could. I wanted to earn a lab coat
from the longest time Ive ever known. My first
companion in Medical school was the priceless
lab coat I had paid for. MBBS was synonymous to
it and I knew it would stay by my side for years to
come.
Along with my companion, I rolled between
Anatomy, Physiology and Biochemistry in my first
year. As the days passed by, my lab coat aged. Now
I dont mean to get into a beauty anthem but just
for the sake of getting my point across, I am going
to pretend that my Ink stained Lab Coat is a
living and breathing person.
But you still look beautiful. Beauty doesnt fade
away as you age I said firmly for my companion
looked pale and dull.
I am all marred by the stains. Beauty is flawless
said my lab coat in pain.
I couldnt call my lab coat as white as snow
anymore. It was stained. It was blessed by the
formalin patches in the dissection hall. The blood
smears, as I pricked myself in Physiology, clogged
their residues. The not-so-original urine sample
I had to examine in Biochemistry would add up
to its white base, fading its colour with every wash
and some having a permanence of their own.
Youre my most precious possession, the best
piece my wardrobe has or will ever have. These
stains make you beautiful, for they speak, loud
enough, for our dedication and commitment. They
are the hallmarks of our hard work and will
continue to be, I said in a joyous tone.
What about these ink stains which cover me now?
This big patch, near the pocket, is the first thing
everyone looks at. said my companion as it failed
to understand my point.

These ink stains symbolize our togetherness. How

youre with me almost everywhere, even in the LTs.
The splash of ink I or my batch mates add on you,
add up to your grace. These are the
beautiful memories from the hard days weve
passed through. They sing loud for our patience
and our success-failure in between tutorials, stages,
mid terms, proffs and what not, my voice was now
monotonous somehow.
Oh yes! I heard a sound that was energetic. Oh
yes! These stains are like the stars that cover up my
sky. And what would the sky be without the stars?
my companion seemed to have gained confidence
by embracing the stains in its beauty. I hugged
it and marched ahead in the new departments,
hoping to add these stains again and again and to
symbolize the joy in pain.
- Mitul,
Batch of 2015

22 Articles

Simran Madan
Batch 2014

As the clock struck 12, she quickly put aside her books and leapt out of her warm bed. Then, grabbed her honey
coloured cloak (which was practically no longer honey coloured, thanks to the dust) and put on her slippers
hastily. She descended down the stairs, skipping one or two steps, knocked at the first door on the right and
shouted , oyee , bahar nikal , chal Maggi khatay hai, her voice echoing across the corridor. Her friend came out of
her room with drooping eyes and messy hair thrown around her face. So did 4 others.
And then, all 6 of them proceeded towards Alam bhaiyas Maggi point the official hub for relieving midnight
hunger pangs of all Hardonians.
I am sure that all of us can relate to this. Alam bhaiyas Maggi point actually serves as a life saver during exams
when the dedicated Hardonians are up till late, struggling with memorizing the branches of infinite arteries or
concepts of pathology . After talking to an ex- Hardonian, I got to know that the Maggi point gained its renowned
image post the closure of the official LHMC canteen. Our seniors soon adopted it as a substitute hang out place.
Though officially, it is known as Maggi point, students can be seen relishing the tempting paranthas and
omelettes too. Maggi, of course, remains the main highlight, prepared with tomatoes, onion and coriander leaves
sprinkled over it. Many, stand around the little stall Alam bhaiya puts up, enjoying their meal while the others take
the Maggi packed in aluminium boxes to the main campus. They sit near the Hardinge statue or on the steps of
the academic section and savour their meal while gossiping about life, friendship and love. Alam bhaiyas Maggi
point not only caters to the taste buds of the hungry students but also serves as a hang out point where seniors and
juniors can be seen interacting, friends gossiping , students browsing through their books, all while waiting for
their Maggi.
During the phase of Maggi ban, Alam bhaiyas Maggi served to our craving for the 2 minute noodles. The Maggi
point is sometimes a driving force or a kind of motivation that helps us study till late so that we can relish a bowl
of hot Maggi after studying tediously. In fact, it is also the ideal place for giving a late night birthday treat. I am
pretty sure that all of us, as Hardonians, have our own share of memories of Alam bhaiyas Maggi point which of
course, will form an essential part of our #lhmcdiaries.
-Shelly Mittal
2015 Batch

The Verve 23

Life in all girls

college

ts a tedious task to remain content in an all

girls college if youre straight and in the prime
of your youth. One of only two all women
medical colleges in the world, you cant help
but wonder- What was I thinking? But really,
its not as bad as it seems. The absolute lack of a
whole gender of species means you really cant
find the love of your life in college. But you can
talk about periods- very loudly. You can strut
about the campus in pyjamas without feeling
judged. You can make sexual jokes at the
expense of the opposite gender without
offending anyone. And best of all, you dont
see your friends transforming into whimsical,
whining girlfriends.

compliments instead of judgements. End girl on

girl hate because it pushes us back in the fight
that many people gave up their lives for. And if
someone tries to disregard your friend as a
human in a physical, emotional or mental
respect, empower them to fight their own fight.
P.S.-One of my friends did it for me and now I
do it for others. See how it goes?
-Garima Gandotra
Batch of 2014

At night, you can roam the campus, enjoy

Maggi at Alam Bhaiyas or eat out with your girl
gang without ever feeling the need of a male
counterpart. You form strong female
friendships, ones that last a really long time. You
can even discuss bowel movements and come
up with differential diagnoses without anyone as
much as raising an eyebrow.
Somehow, as a feminist, Ive always believed
that being in such an environment,
you learn to see women as more
than just someones sister, daughter
or girlfriend. You learn theyre
human beings with many flaws.
And what I really aspire to see is
every single woman encouraging
every other to love themselves in
a world that is constantly telling
them not to. To give each other

Simran Madan
Batch 2014

24 Articles

Judgement
To,
The person, who just judged me.
Sitting on a bench, in a busy station, I am scared.
I am scared of being called something, which I am not. I
am scared of being called indecent, which I am not. I am
scared of being called disgraceful, which I am not. I am
scared of being called narcissistic, which I am not.
I am scared of being JUDGED.
Being a women is difficult, had heard it a number of
times, but never realized its importance. But now, that I
am a women, I understand each and every word of it.
Being yourself is punishable. We have defined a set of
rules, demarcated roles and imposed serial restrictions.
Under this limited space, we are expected to grow.
Ironically, even the word Growth has been defined for
us.
As soon as your eyes saw me, I knew, I had been judged.
Not for doing anything, but judged just because I
exist and dared to come in front of you. And thats not
the worst part. The worst part is, your judgement is
unamenable. Whatever I do, however I act, I cannot
change your Judgement. For, it stands stronger than my
will to change it. It would have been better if you would
have restricted the judgement to yourself, but apparently,
your thoughts are contagious. So, even if I managed to
escape from someones vision, I still would be judged
by them. This time, not because I wanted to rebel, but
because you wanted to be approved.
It would still have been better, if the judgement would
have been in your circle. But then you, my dear, made
sure to let me know, about your judgement. That, well
thought off, judgement. It would not have mattered
much, knowing that I have been judged. But, believe me,
its painful, to know, the judgement. Its hurting to know
the basis on which I have been judged, and its traumatizing to know, the amount of time taken to judge me.

No sweetheart, I am not against the act of judgement.

I just wish, that, may be, it would have been better, if I
would have been judged on my work, my behaviour, my
views. But, then, it wouldnt have been fun, Right?
Darling, I know your thoughts cannot be moulded, but I
would still like to try.
I understand that your judgement brings you immense
joy, and makes you feel good about yourself. But your
one minute of pleasure, could be lethal for the women
you just judged. No, she will not die, but she might stop
living. No, she will not stop thinking, but she might stop
expressing.
You destroyed a womens individuality.
You killed her desire, her fire.
And all because, of your, well thought of judgement.
I want you to understand, that every person is unique.
Every person, has seen his or her share of good and
bad days. And those are the events that have shaped the
person, you just judged. I just wish, that before judging
someone next time, you take into consideration, past as
well. I want you to realise that what is right from your
perspective, may not be feasible for the person you just
judged. May be the woman you judged for going home
late, was working overtime for her ailing mother. I dont
want you to change your perspective, for thats not
possible. All I ask for is, weigh your judgement, before
passing it on.
Love, I plead you, not to make me the victim of your
judgement. I struggle, every minute, to be myself. I fight,
every day, for my rights. It is already difficult, please dont
make it worse. Let me be myself. Let me be unique. And
believe me, you would love me, much more.
From,
The person you just judged.
Ayushi Sinha
Batch of 2013

The Verve 25

Happily Ever After

irl meets Boy. Boy meets Girl. They fall in

love. They get married...and then, HAPPILY EVER
AFTER.
How beautiful life would be if things were so simple in reality! How nave of me, youd say, to believe
in fairy tales. But I had had dreams of my Prince
Charming and I even found him one day! That
adorable face, that irresistible charm, the brightest
smile, all on someone who loved me!
Was there ever a man so perfect?
We had even decided our kids names, our future
house and our life together. We had woven the frame
of our Happily Ever After.
We were ready for our world together but was the
world ready?
There is no need for suspense. Im dead.
In the midst of a forest, by a lonely old cottage,
shining by the bloody red sunset, here, hangs a sword
which fed off my blood. Everything just the way it
was left, long ago that winter night. Time has frozen
since then, it seems.
Except this sword, which grows rusty, day by day.
It was shiny and sharp once, back when it had cut
through me, held in familiar hands. The same hands
that had held mine when I took my first baby steps,
that patted my back with pride when I came first
in class. The same hands that had wiped my tears
when I lost my little doll. Yes, those same hands that
slapped me hard on my choice of love, locked me up
and chained me as if I were a mad beast. Those were

the hands which drove the dagger through my love!

The very same.
I did not look up. If I had, I would have been unable
to decide which pain was greater- being the witness
of the butchering of the man I loved or seeing it done
by the first man who had loved me...or had he?
My bodily pain pales in comparison to that pain of
betrayal that cut straight through my heart- it is still
bleeding.
I dont remember any sounds. There was blood
on my hands; my own. I was caught between two
worlds. I dont remember anything, just a blur, before
my eyes closed; just the dilemma I faced before my
senses numbed out. My husband was calling out to
me. He said it was time to go.
My husband...We had married just a day before.
Court Marriage. Against everyones wishes. We were
two consenting adults in love. That was supposed to
be our first wedding night. What a night!
What is that childhood delusion- that Happily Ever
After? It sometimes makes me laugh.
I still wait by this sword. He said he wont go without
me. But he had no reason to stay. His last wish was to
save me and I was...dead.
But Im still waiting. My dying question keeps me
here, the purpose of my perished soul.
To every passerby who occasionally strays into this
forest after sunset, I ask the same question that had
hammered my senses before my last breath What
was our fault?
I still havent got an answer.
-Amrita
Batch of 2014

26 Articles

Photos

Its half an hour past midnight. I am lying lazily in my bed, trying to decipher the photos of histology slides

on my phone. Whats there to decipher? I ask myself, after all they all look like different shades of my
favourite strawberry ice cream, with blue sprinkles on top. Yumm.. This thought made me hungry. No
Sowmya , there is no time for food.. concentrate . After a brief aimless wandering and day dreaming I get
back to sinerely and honestly sliding past histology slides on my phone, when I come across a really cute
picture of me and my friends.. Those were the days, I said to myself, when one could go to Wengers without
having to worry about some exam the very next day. When I clicked this selfie of me and five friends and
converted into so called DP(Display Picture on Social Media) after some reasonable amount of wizardry (aka
photoshopping).
I slide past that selfie to come across another one and then another one and so on. Each one with a different
pose, with a different hairstyle and a different arrangement!
I remember when I was a child, my dad used to carry around his camera which used to be the size of a
shoebox (fine .. soapbox maybe). It used to dangle around his neck and was my forbidden fruit- I was never
allowed to touch it. After about 50 photoshoots, we used to take out the red cylindrical film and gave it to
the Kodak Studio. After seven days of impatient waiting we used to get the hard copy of those precious
photos. Such an exhausting process, I think again. Two weeks of hard work just for a bunch of photos? Today,
I can click two pictures, preview, edit, review, and print it just within two minutes!
This is when, I realized that this is the reason why our generation is so messed up! Everything has been made
so very easy for us, which is why we take almost everything for granted. Since pictures can be clicked , edited
and printed within two minutes, we end up taking tons of useless photos thereby undermining the aesthetic
value of each one (a simple problem of supply and demand folks). Even in our Whatsapp conversations, we
carelessly use emoticons, here and there, for absolutely no reason. Words like love, hate and friends are being
way too carelessly used and I fear that a day will come when these words will lose their sanctity. I fear that
with the further advent of technology, we might miss out on these small wonders of life like opening an
actual photo album with photos or suddenly coming across a letter given to us by a dear friend, which flew
halfway across the country just to reach you, not to mention the stamps!
Sowyma Ramgopal
Batch of 2015

The Verve 27

A Rendezvous with the timeless being

had graduated with MBBS degree two years ago and was
pursuing journalism now. Helping strangers in need of
medical care had become a routine activity for her as she
believed it was her duty to help people claim their right to
health.

As she walked home, away from the well-lit metro station,

she saw a shadow shift in the darkness. She dismissed it
for a cat or a stray dog. Then she heard a muffle... faint,
but human. She moved closer to the alley to find blood
on the pavement. She shuddered, imagining someone
slowly bleeding to death in the dark... alone. She walked
down the alley to find a shrouded figure slumped in the
corner. There was a pool of blood around his shoulders.
She checked for his pulse. Feeble but there. His breathing
was shallow. He used all his strength to heave up his chest,
gasping just enough air to live another minute. She called
an ambulance.

She read his CT scan report and pulled out the radiograph
to understand the strange findings. Holding the film up to
the light, she found that indeed there was a foreign body
lodged in his frontal bone. There was marked fibrosis
around it suggesting it was an old lesion. She couldnt wait
to see it for herself.

he didnt know what it meant till that day.

She smiled to herself as she saw the full moon in the sky. It
had rained earlier, clearing and revealing a starry, moonlit
sky. The second full moon in the same month.

She reached his room with some food and fruit juice tetra
packs. Placing them on a nearby table, she moved closer to
his bed. His belongings were kept in a filthy, bundled cloth
beside his bed. She noticed he was quite tall and the nurses
had to flex his knees slightly to fit him on the hospital bed.
Who are you, soldier? No, warrior! she wondered as he
slept and breathed with a slight rise and fall of his chest.
His dark face was set in an expression of one who was
resting after a long and tiring ordeal. His hair was knotted
in multiple braids which reached his waist. Some were in a
half bun, while some fell over his eyes. It was then that she
caught a glimpse of what appeared to be a red, shiny metal
on his forehead under his unkempt hair. She must have
moved half an inch to take a closer look at the mysteriously glowing element when, he held her arm in a strong
grip. He opened his eyes with a start and asked hoarsely,
Who sent you?
Kripa struggled in his grip which seemed to tighten with
her efforts. I am Kripa, I found you.
I said who sent you?
Its a miracle he survived, said Dr. Gopi Krishnan. She
She quit struggling, looked at him straight in the eye and
stood up clumsily from the chair in the waiting hall, her
body stiff from sleeping on the chair. She squinted her eyes said, Youre welcome!
He let her arm fall and she left the room without turning
as the doctor continued, He had lost ample blood and
back.
was in shock. With an open wound like that, we had suspected severe infection. But all we had to do was clean his
wound and stitch it up. Lo and behold! His pulse stabilized Kripa had a busy day ahead but her mind kept returning
and his breathing became regular. He has simply been on to the ungrateful stranger whose life she had saved. What
grave troubles he must have gone through to have eyes like
RL overnight, we suggest you feed him something.
She rubbed her eyes, positioned her spectacles and started that. His soft brown eyes, the depths of which held secrets
as old as earth itself. Though she managed to pull herself
to leave for the canteen when Dr. Gopi added, We also
back into the present, she decided to find out his identity.
conducted some routine investigations. Reports should
After calling it a day at work, she went to the hospital
have arrived by now. You may collect them from the
reception. And take care of yourself, Kripa. There are few reception to check in on the stranger. Apparently, when
one of the attendants went to change his sheets, he was
who care for the community like you do.
found missing from his bed. He was nowhere to be found
in the hospital premises. Somehow, she had expected this
Kripa smiled at the receding shadow of the old doctor
and proceeded to pay for his bills. The receptionist politely
as he left the room. She collected the reports from the
declined stating that the gentleman left a few gold
reception and read them on her way to the canteen. She

.......There was one

warrior, my child. One
warrior who was a
boon to the Kauravas.
Shiva incarnate.......

28 Articles
ingots on his bed before he went missing and Dr.
Gopi had suggested to use them to pay off his bills.
Since he left much more than required, the remaining
would be sent to the hospital trust. Kripa asked if she
could see one of the ingots and clicked a picture of it.
So you are a warrior. Or maybe just an archaeological thief. Kripa laughed to herself as she started her
car. She drove to the public library as she resolved to
untangle this mystery. She had a constant feeling of
being watched since she left the hospital. She entered
the library and after an hour of searching, found an
ancient book on symbols. Switching on her mobile
Internet, she spent the next three hours translating
the Sanskrit text into meaningful sentences. When
she found all the symbols that matched the ones on
the gold ingot, she proceeded to piece them together
and then trace its origin. She was not ready for what
she found. Kripa expected it to be a few hundred
years old at most. But the text indicated that the ingot
belonged somewhere between 3100- 3000 B.C. The
era of the Mahabharata.
Her breath grew unsteady. She was shaking and her
palms were sweaty. She could feel her heart beating
faster by the minute and her head pounded as her
grandmothers voice boomed in her ears, There was
one warrior, my child. One warrior who was a boon
to the Kauravas. Shiva incarnate, one of the eleven
Rudras. He was born with a gem on his forehead
that protected him from natural causes of death. It is
believed he was cursed to walk the earth and death
would not come to him even if he asked for it. He
was son of Dronacharya. The horse-voiced: Ashwatthama.
The name echoed through her memories.
No. It is not possible. She stood up and ran out of
the library as several heads, buried in books, looked
up to follow her, only to drown in their world of
literature again.
Outside, she felt a sensation crawl down the nape of
her neck. She turned to notice two weathered men
standing casually at the entrance to the library. They
slowly started moving towards her. She didnt make
an effort to run. They smiled, Youre smart.
But why are you after me?, she asked as she remembered they were the same men outside the emergency
room when she had brought the stranger in, and they
were there when she had left the hospital earlier that

day.
Because we knew he will come for you, they
knocked her unconscious before she could react.
Kripa woke up as the SUV screeched to a sudden
stop, lurching her forward. Her head was groggy and
she saw the two men get down from the vehicle. All
that had happened came back to her and she was
wide awake. In the light of the headlights, she saw
him. Her warrior: Ashwatthama. She saw him draw
an ancient sword with mystical markings on the golden hilt and a silvery sheen to the blade. One of the
men was trying to reason with him while the other
trained his revolver at him. She watched in awe as
Ashwatthama neatly sliced off the armed mans wrist
and gently rested the tip of his weapon on the first
mans throat, all the while looking at her. You should
never have involved the girl. Saying so, he thrust his
sword into the mans windpipe and severed his spine
on its way out.
Kripa winced and lay down on the floor of the car
when she saw Ashwatthama approach the vehicle.
He opened the passenger door and she shut her eyes
tightly in fear of what was about to come. She heard
the whip in the air as he lifted his sword. The next
thing she knew, he had freed her of her bounds. He
gently lifted her out of the vehicle and helped her
stand. She stared at him wide eyed as he removed the
gag over her mouth. She breathed in gasps of air and
finally blurted, Are you... you are Ashwatthama!
He laughed. He laughed genuinely. His voice was
booming and yet was pleasant to her ears. She smiled
awkwardly, You are. Arent you?
He looked at her, judging her, carefully considering how much to reveal to the bespectacled girl in
front of him. He shook his head a little and decided
to leave. Hey! How am I supposed to get back? She
called after him.
Dont you people have devices that help you contact
each other merely with the touch of your fingertips?
Use that, his baritone rang back to her.
Who are you? she called again in a desperate attempt to make conversation before he left.
An Arya! Just like you! Like all of us! We share the
same warrior blood in our veins! Over time we have
yielded to non- violent means. But, do you not see? It
is failing us.

The Verve 29
She was taken aback by the sudden passion in his
voice.
She managed to reply, But, it is the civilized way to
live and more importantly, it earned our country its
Independence.
Yabha! Kripa. He snarled. She saw his body stiffen
and the many mystical symbols tattooed across his
bare chest. There were silvery white beads around
his neck and rudraksha beads adorned his wrists.
She feared his terrible, angry form but did her best to
maintain a neutral expression.
Do you not see, Kripa? The system is failing. The
system is failing its own people. Gandhi meant well.
We disagreed on many levels but he meant well. Now
that he is gone, it does not matter how he meant
things to be. The system no longer protects its citizens. People have become cowards. They feign ignorance. They have lost their voice. The warrior within
them is strangled every day.
He stopped as he saw the confusion written across
Kripas face.
How... what can be done?She fumbled for words.
He looked at her one last time and smiled. He picked
up his shawl, slowly covered himself up till he was
indistinguishable from the nightlife and disappeared
into the shrubbery. She was left there with the SUV,
its engine still revving into the night. She drove back
with a million questions in her head and hope in her
heart that they will meet again, someday. For now,
she had work to do.
Reaching home, still shaken by the incidents of the
day, she opened a New Word Document on her laptop. She wrote,
The blue moon.
She didnt know what it meant till...
Vanga Ashwita Siri
Batch of 2012

30 Articles

INSANE LOVE

hats what her life has always been- chaos. She never wanted to make peace at any moment. She
wanted utter insanity in everything she did. Thats why she liked him. He was silent, composed, and
calm; everything that she wasnt. He was not the type she mingled with. But, thats what happened.
She fell for him so hard that the entire world of rationality failed. She wanted someone she could ruin,
someone whose life was too organized to be messed with. She was inside his brain and thoughts and
created more chaos then she could think of. Thats how their love was- chaotic yet beautiful. Little bit of
insanity was good for their work. He was a programmer and she loved art. Just like any other story,
everything goes on well until the reality sets in. They parted their ways for the sake of their work.
Loving made their work easier but now, slowly, everything became gloomy. They didnt do very well
alone. She was his source of inspiration and he was her canvas. Two young hearts were lost. Wandering
alone their paths crossed and they found themselves back. There she was, his insanity and she found his
messed up heart again. And there ends the story of insane love.
Olivia Dasgupta
Batch of 2014

The Verve 31

It

is not and

Yet

it is

The world is a mirage. Nothing is

absolute. Nothing can be taken for

certain. For some, the glass is half full
and for the other, it can still hold some
more.
It is not and yet it is. The line speaks
volumes in itself, the duality of things
- can a thing be more than just one
thing?
For what is beauty? I have never been
able to understand the concept. Can
a thing be completely beautiful or can
only parts of it be called so? A
building looks pretty only when seen
from afar. The spectator wouldnt
appreciate much while standing on its
terrace and looking down from the
same pretty building.
Electrons, light and sound even they
have a dual nature or should we say a
single theory cant do justice to their
nature.
But what does all of this tell us?
We lets restrict ourselves to Homo
sapiens for now, are complex creatures
(my biology teachers first line of her
first lesson). We love, we hate, we
appreciate, we say crude words, we
laugh, we cry, we rejoice, we sulk all
of this is done by almost all of us more
than once in our lifetime. Our
behaviour and our thinking process are
constantly influenced by our
surrounding, by the experiences we
gather throughout life.
No one is completely evil and yet, no one is a complete saint. We are much more than what comes along.
Yes I did do that thing.
No, I didnt do that thing. But there is more to it. I have more to say .The decision looked like an objective
one but, believe me it has got its own subjective side.
Then why do we judge people carelessly, without wasting a moment of our precious life? A single theory cant
explain a phenomenon completely. A single action doesnt tell us of all the dimensions of a persons character.
Sometimes, we arent really a bad person. We arent really the villain of the story. We think like all the good
people of the world. But, many a times, our decisions take a wrong turn on the right path and our actions
makes us look like the villain.
So I rest my case with a better question,
What should describe me better my actions or the person I am deep within?
Sneha Gupta
Batch of 2013

32 Articles

The One that

Got Away
A

would soon turn into a nightmare for life.

s she buried her feet in sand, the wind caressing She had planned to visit some distant relatives that
day (an excuse to leave the house), but had become
her hair, she realised that this was where she
sick on the way so had to return early in the afteractually belonged. She started smiling and then
laughing loudly, people around started to stare at her noon. The door was wide open, which was unusual.
but she didnt care. She had come far, too far.
Glimpses of her past swept before her eyes .It had
been a year since the day she had first met him. She
hadnt realised it then, that he would be the one to
change her life forever.
Her mother had died when she was still a little girl
and she had come to associate it with heartbreak- a
feeling that she still could not define.
Since then, it had been just the two of them she
and her father. Before long she had realised that her
father was nothing more than a sadist.
Her hometown was in Saharanpur(U.P.) , a slow
paced city ; and that was where she was born and
brought up. When she turned thirteen, she was sent
to Delhi to stay with her uncle and aunt so that her
She tip-toed into the house, a knot forming in her
father could remarry.
stomach and could hear a sob emanating from her
After giving her 12th class board exams, she was
forced to go back; her fathers second wife had died. fathers room. And then with curiosity bubbling
inside, she quietly pushed the door of the room open.
She dreaded what awaited her there but was
As she peeped inside, she saw her father, lying
determined to return to Delhi soon.
naked on top of someone who appeared to be
As she walked through the memory lane now, she
realised that she had not noticed her father for the Aakash, except that he was wearing a pink frock with
bangles and anklets and seemed to be covered in
first few days. Probably because he rarely left his
room or because her mind was already preoccupied blood. She realised with horror, what she was
witnessing.
with finding ways to get out of there.
The door creaked and her father turned to look at
And then, there was himwhenever she saw him,
her. She would never forget the expression on his
she felt this utter hatred from somewhere deep
inside- the dark brown eyes that were too big for the face as he ran into the bathroom, quickly grabbing
pale mousy face, the unkempt greasy, curly black hair his clothes. He would be back any second, she had to
think quickly & that was the moment that changed
that probably had not been washed for weeks; her
her life.
step brother- Aakash.
She first locked the bathroom door from outside and
She couldnt understand how a five-year old
then went up to Aakash who was crying in pain and
emaciated boy could evoke such a response in her.
held him in her arms- hugging him tightly and
They hardly talked to each other; she only barked
consoling him, the way she had hoped someone
orders at him.
would console her all these years.
Three months later she came home to a sight that

....And then, there was

himwhenever she saw
him , she felt this utter
hatred from somewhere
deep inside- the dark
brown eyes that were too
big....

The Verve 33

She cleaned him, changed his clothes, took out all the cash & jewellery from the locker and packed a small
bag with some clothes.
As they left the house, she could hear her father knocking hard on the bathroom door- screaming,
swearing; but this time he wouldnt be able to do anything.
They took a cab to the railway station and boarded the first train that was about to depart. She didnt care
where it went as long as it took her away far away from her father.
Her first instinct had been to return to Delhi, but he would easily find her there. She realised that this was
her chance to begin again, to start afresh.
The train was destined for Kerala & now so were they.
Nine months had passed since that fateful day. She started preparing to clear the Mass communication
entrance exams.
Alongside, she also gave tuitions to local kids, it wasnt much but at least she earned something. Just
enough for their survival.
Today was Aakashs first day at school. It had taken a lot of time to build his confidence back and to
convince him to go to school.
The sun was about to set. She felt a familiar touch, tiny fingers weaving into hers and a whisper Bhumi, its
so beautiful here. Then she saw him smile- for the first time. The sun was setting across the horizon, but
now all she could see was a tiny ball of molten lava, filling her with hope and warmth.

S.Visalakshi
Batch of 2012

34 Articles
Just a prologue to ease the readers into the story The following is an excerpt to a novel that I had planned to write 6
years back. The story would make for a better read if the readers placed themselves in Mr. Kumars place. Mr Kumar is
a reporter with a local newspaper who has been asked to cover the recent murders, threats and assaults that have been
plaguing the country for the past few months. A group of individuals called the Nyay Senani/ Crusaders of justice recently emerged and claimed responsibility for the same (with no intention of turning themselves in). In an exclusive,
we see Mr Kumar being made privy to their process and see them attempt to justify their legal deviances. And oh, I (the
writer) am one of the crusaders!

THE CRUSADERS OF JUSTICE

Did you hear what they are calling us now? I tossed the paper to Ronald. Terror strikes again he began to read an
innocent civilian was gunned down by the so-called defenders of justice. Someone should go tell them that if we need
protection, it is from them. They are nothing but terrorists, lawbreakers, crooks, cheats, murderers, he read. If that were
true then the next person whod show up dead would be this writer! Ronald joked.
You seem to be turning paler by the minute, Mr. Kumar. You really dont need to worry you know, we arent the
murderers people think we are and that is why we want you to write about us. We just want people to know the entire
truth, not the garbage these reporters feed them with, Ronald waved the paper around.
What are you guys up to now? Arent you supposed to be working on the case? We do not need to bother about what
others have to say about us. We have too many issues to deal with. No point burdening ourselves with yet another. Am I
making myself clear?
This was Mike, the founder of our team. He is the one who brought all of us together and is definitely the most ambitious
one of us.
We wont weaken, we wont falter, we wont be affected by what others have to say... Do these words sound familiar to
you? That was the pledge that we took when we joined the team. We had literally begged Mike to take us in. As if
tracking him down wasnt hard enough. Our first mission, the one we were supposed to prove ourselves in, was no cake
walk. But that is a separate story for some other time, maybe.
Right now, I have to tell you about a much more interesting case, the one we have at hand. Then, probably, you would be
able to feel more at ease working with us.
So there have been a series of kidnappings in the neighbourhood and with the progress that we have made, we have learnt
that many influential people may be involved in this racket.
The people on are radar are on this list. Here, take a look. You look pretty baffled Mr. Kumar; do you doubt our detective
skills?
I should first probably brief you about each one of us - Mike is the coordinator. He finds the cases, bails us out of trouble
and arranges our meetings, all of which are not very pleasant.
Ronald is what we call our internet. He does a background search on the people we suspect and trust you me, he is one
of the most well informed people in this country.
I, simply put, am responsible for solving the mystery.
Stuart here is our bodyguard. No, I am just kidding Stuart, I didnt mean to say that. He is more of the action hero of our
group and is involved in the chase, the confession and the final kill.
Now, our job is to crucify criminals. But, on more than one occasion, people misread the situation and think of US as
their enemies.
So, tell me Mr. Kumar, will you help us shed light on the truth?

Apologies for the abruptness and juvenility.

Manisha Uppal
Batch of 2013

The Verve 35

My Student Life in LHMC

Dr. Sumedha Khanna is the first female to be appointed as the Head of the Country Office of WHO and the
Director of a major division in the Headquarters of WHO. Read more to know about her days in LHMC...
Compiled and presented by
Sowmya Ramgopal

very fluent in English as it was our common language

with which we could communicate and learn from
each other.
I believe that one of the strongest lesson that I learnt
(and that has been my guide through my life) is that
women can be and do anything they want if they
remain in charge of their lives and that they have to
be strong mentally and emotionally and learn all the
rules of life well. It is when we let men take charge of
our lives that we lose out. There should be an understanding of equal partnership in life among men and
women.
Another important lesson that I learnt is to respect
and form collegiality with other women. There can
be competition, yes, but it should be a healthy and
supportive one. Women must support each other in
Q. 1 What is the most important lesson that you their journey of life. During my student life in Lady
learnt during your days as a student in LADY
Hardinge, I formed life-long friendship that I continHARDINGE MEDICAL COLLEGE?
ue to this date and that has sustained me in my life.
Lady Hardinge was and I am sure is a very unique
medical college in the world. It is the only all-female Q. 2 How does it feel to see your alma mater
medical college with very high quality education and ranked as one of the best colleges in India?
especially very capable women teachers with strong
I am very proud to be a Hardonian. The high
leadership qualities. They inculcated in the students a quality of education and professional leadership that
strong sense of responsibility, discipline and the value I received during my studies there, have been great
of hard work, through their high quality teaching as assets to pursue my own professional career and being
well through their own personal examples. Our
successful.
teachers were incredibly strong women, many of them
at that time never married and hence very
Q. 3 As a student what was your favorite hangout
independent professional women. They demanded
place in CONNAUGHT PLACE?
hard work and dedication.
We didnt go out much in those days. There was limDuring my time, there were only 50 students admitited time due to the demands of studies and also in
ted in the entry class, 25 of those were selected from
general there werent that many places to hang out at
the States (2 per State) and other 25 from an All India
that time. Our favourite place was the Madras Hotel
written and oral examination. The competition was
Coffee House.
very high just to get admission as each State also had
its own competition for the selection of 2 seats. Hence
Q. 4 When you were a student, what would you
I would say that it was a very self-selected group of
have liked to change about the college?
young women who gained entry to the college. This
Frankly, I cant think of anything. It was perfect and
also provided us with an opportunity to learn about
the best time of my life.
the cultures of different States in India and become

36 Articles
ABOUT WOMENS HEALTH

United States and Canada rank very high regarding

womens health indicators. Among the developing
countries, several countries in Latin America such as
Q. 6 Why are Indian women the most stressed
out in the world? (according to NIELSEN SUR- Chile, Argentina, Costa Rica and Cuba have womenfriendly health care systems, emphasizing preventive
VEY)
health measures, reproductive health and early care
I believe in general women are stressed in every part
and treatment of conditions such as cardiovascular
of the world and in every culture. The degree of stress
diseases and cancer.
and the opportunities for women to reduce stress may
In India, much more emphasis must be given to
vary. Women generally play dual or even multiple
preventive health measures (e.g. reproductive health;
roles in the family and society as professional/cacancer screening; diet and nutrition etc.) aimed at
reer/working women + wives + mothers + daughterswomen. And I also believe that health care services
in-Laws etc.
and institutions dedicated to womens need to be
In India especially there are certain expectations of
developed so that women would feel encouraged and
our culture that place women in more stressful and
uninhibited to use them.
vulnerable situation. While women are now getting
more educated and advancing in many professional
careers and other higher positions, within the family
they are still generally subservient to men and elders
especially In-Laws. They do not feel as free to choose
their lifestyles and are not in charge of their resources.
They tend to sacrifice for their children and family
and neglect their own health. While the situation in
the cities and more affluent families may be changing,
for a majority of women this is not the case. This is
evident from stories of increased mental and sexual
abuse of women. Widows especially are subjected to
more financial and mental abuse and physical neglect.
Once the husband is gone, they have no power over
resources or their own living condition.
I believe that a major cultural change especially
among men and family elders is needed with regard
Q. 8 How can this be incorporated in Indian Govto respect and empowerment of women.

..... The high quality of

education and professional
leadership that I received
during my studies there,
have been great assets to
pursue my own professional career and being
successful....

ernment Hospitals?...

Q. 7 Ranking of womens health in comparison to Health Care Institutions such as Sucheta Kriplani
other countries and how this can be improved?... Hospital and Kalawati Saran Childrens Hospital
Yes, there is no doubt that India does not enjoy high
ranking in womens health especially compared to
Western countries and many developing countries in
Latin America, Asia and even some in Africa. There
have been advances in female literacy in India and
due to use of family planning methods, the reproductive health has improved, India is still way behind in
many health indicators for women such as -Life Expectancy, Maternal Mortality; Cardiovascular diseases
and Diabetes. Major reasons for this as noted above,
are stressful (physical and mental) environment for
women, lack of resources dedicated to educating and
empowering women in taking care of their health and
self-neglect by women themselves of their personal
health.
Most European countries especially Germany, Nordic
countries (Sweden, Denmark, Norway), Iceland and

should be exemplary in quality of care for women.

I believe that the former is still a hospital dedicated
to women. (Its been a long time since I have visited
these Institutions, so my knowledge with regards to
their status and condition is limited). However in
general I feel there should be emphasis on educating
and empowering women regarding maintaining their
health, seeking early and timely attention and taking better care of their physical, mental and spiritual
health.
This aspect of womens health should be emphasized
in the medical education especially in Lady Hardinge
that is dedicated to women. In fact this should be emphasized in every medical college as women are more
vulnerable with regards to health conditions and the
physicians need to be better educated and motivated
in this aspect.

The Verve 37
PERSONAL LIFE
Q. 9 In an era, where women were married off as
young as eighteen, how did you convince your
parents into letting you join MBBS - .?

This is a very special and important question for me

personally. I was lucky to have been born in a family
that believed in education and freedom of girls. My
father was a teacher (eventually became the Commissioner of education, Delhi Municipality). My mother
was a Vedic scholar. They both wanted their children,
sons and daughters to be educated, choose their professions and they supported them in whichever career
they chose. They especially wanted their daughters to
be financially independent. This was not the general
situation in many families.
I knew from the age of 3 that I wanted to become a
medical doctor. No other profession attracted me.
One of my sisters chose education and the eldest
wanted to get married after her college education. My
parents encouraged and respected our wishes and
supported us as needed. When I graduated from the
medical college, I wanted to pursue specialization
in Obs/Gyn and at that time the opportunities for
this were limited, my parents sent me to England for
higher education. I was very blessed to have had such
parents who loved and empowered their daughters.

Q. 10 How did you become a pioneer in a male

world?...

I have always been a hard-working and very focused

person in my life. That has served me well in my
studies as well as in my professional career. I have a
strong belief in myself and am not easily intimidated.
Perhaps being born a fourth child (third daughter) I
was growing up more independently and treated like
a son rather than a daughter. I therefore grew up quite
confident and unafraid especially of men.
I have also had some wonderful mentors, strong
powerful and independent women in my life. Some
of them were my teachers in Lady Hardinge, some
later my supervisors in England and teachers in USA.
Wherever I have worked, I have learnt the rules of the
game, as they call them, be they technical, managerial or political. I have always believed in technical
excellence and thoroughness in my work. I feel that
was noted by my supervisors and teachers and they
supported me in my career.
I have been a first or only woman in many of the
work situations and have broken the glass ceiling as
they call it, so other women could advance. I was the
first woman appointed as the head of a country office

of the World Health Organization, and also the first

woman appointed as Director of a major Division
both in the Regional Office and also the Headquarters
of WHO. I guess through demonstration of my work
I have been recognized by both men and women and
advanced rapidly in my professional career.
This has not been easy. Its come with sacrifices that of
course I was prepared to make such as marrying late
in life, deciding not to have children and being able to
adapt to living in different cultures and political environments. I have learnt many languages and worked
in 60+ countries in all regions of the world. I also
married a mature man (an American), who believed
in me and supported me in my professional progress.
To summarize, I feel that I believe in myself and have
the strength to pursue whatever I take on. I am not
easily distracted by material or emotional situations.

ABOUT YOUR BOOK

Q. Did the fact that you studied in all girls college

in any way assist you to accomplish this goal?
I believe it did. There were no distractions or putting
girls down, as often happens in a co-ed. college (although I think and hope that is decreasing now that
girls are getting stronger). Also having strong women
teachers and mentors helped as they were pioneers
and encouraged us also.
I hope some of you will read my book: The healing Well My Midlife Journey into Wholeness. It is
available online through Amazon. I will be happy to
send you a copy if you wish and give me your mailing
address.

MESSAGE TO THE STUDENTS

Believe in your strength as women. You can do or

achieve anything that you wish. Work hard, dont let
men discourage you or distract you. You are more
powerful than them. Above all, love yourself, inculcate self-worth and discipline. A Womans Lifes
Journey demands a lot and is harder than a mans as
even though some progress has been made, it is still a
Mans World. But dont let that intimidate you. Learn
all the rules that have been set by men, and know how
to bypass them. Women also must support each other
as through your collective strength you can be even
stronger. Healthy competition is good but jealousy is
not. Accept those women who are stronger and learn
from them and support those who seem weaker.

38 Articles

Hardinge and ME

argaret Elizabeth Sangster famously said that theres nothing half so pleasant as coming home again
and for me I come home every day when I enter this hospital - my home and my alma mater. As a student in
this great institute I watched in awe and admiration, the professors and teachers who shaped my journey into
this noble profession. Lady Hardinge is my home because I owe my career and identity as a doctor to my education and training here. As a student and then as a faculty, I have learnt invaluable lessons about life, work
and medicine in these corridors. My journey in this institute has been special because of the many beautiful
people I had crossed paths with - from students, who in their enthusiasm to learn served as a
driving force on days when the administrative responsibilities pulled me down, to professors and colleagues
who were as excited and motivated even after decades of being in the same field! Lady Hardinge was home to
me as hostel student back in 1975 and it is still home to me as head, Department of Radiodiagnosis.

Dr Rama Anand
HOD, Department of Radiology

The Verve 39

Dear Students,

edical students are selected by a process that rewards diligence and perseverance. And medical school
uses the normal array of academic evaluations. Most of the time, this is enough reinforcement to study
obscure biochemical pathways and the intricacies of human anatomy or complexities of clinical medicine,
surgery, paediatrics and so on. But at the end of the day the realization that this is not just an academic game
- that how effectively one learns the important stuff will have far-reaching future consequences - can be a
powerful motivator. If you have entered medicine as a profession accept it and start studying to excel in it.
Get used to having to know a lot of basic facts, so you have the information you need at your fingertips for
80 - 90% of the patients you see, and be efficient. If you think acquiring that much knowledge is a chronic
information overload while being a student, just imagine what it will be after you graduate, while running a
busy practice, and in a relationship with or without children, you have to read a lot of journals and attend a
lot of conferences to keep abreast so you can do your work as is expected of you. It is important to acquire
professional skills and knowledge throughout tour life as part of Continuing Medical Education (CME).
So dear students! Give up thinking about past failures, frustrations or worries. But it is of utmost
importance not to give up hopes or strive hard to reach your goals. Success in life is as simple as simple as
being a good professional student all you need to do is pay attention, try hard and offer it your best shot. You
just need to keep finding the little things that will push to the edge of next step. It is important for students
like you to believe in yourself and know that there is something inside you that can overcome any degree of
obstacle in your lives. Winners do have their own strategies and plans. But surely they have one thing in common. They try and keep trying as hard work is the wheel for a successful journey.
Wish you all a very bright future and have a fun filled centenary celebration.

Dr. Debasish Chaudhury

Professor, Department of Medicine

40 Articles

LHMC:100 years old

or 100 years young!
A

s a human being ages, he gets weak and

forgetful, but his experience is valuable. A 100-year
old person has a plethora of experience, which can be
valuable for the youngsters. Similarly, as an
institution becomes old and older, although its walls
may show signs of wear and tear, but deep inside,
there are no signs of crumbling, each nook and corner
of the college has a story to tell, the lecture theatres,
the play grounds, the auditorium, the library, the
mess, the canteen, and everything in and around the
campus. Each institution has a vast treasure trove, and
a 100-year old institution like LHMC, one can
wonder how many stories it has in its fold. Each
person associated with this institution will have
its own wealthy share of experiences, and over a
100-years, it is going to be unimaginable as to the
bountiful experience that this institute has given to everybody associated with it.
When I was asked to pen a couple of lines, I felt humbled, barely having a decade of experience in the
century old history of LHMC, but as I write, I realize that I have been associated with 10% of LHMCs
centenary years.
My association with LHMC is in the last decade of its centenary, and yes it has been one of the most eventful
ones in recent decades. The period may be much less than many other persons who have worked at LHMC
for close to a quarter of a century or even more, but it is still much more than 50% of the LHMC faculty,
which has joined in recent times and definitely my period of stay is more than the umpteen number of
students who have passed from this college. Times change and people change with the times, but this
institution seems to stay put like the grand old banyan tree, it has not shown any signs of frailty. It continues
to churn out graduates and postgraduates.
Despite the fact that a lot of foliage was destroyed and unfinished buildings dot the LHMC landscape today, I
would still say that the last decade has been very eventful, firstly because the Comprehensive
Redevelopment Plan finally started, there are at least some new buildings in place, may be only the hostels,
but still, these were valuable additions. New faculty has been inducted and it has virtually more than doubled,
as compared to the 140 odd faculty members when I had joined in 2007. The nursing staff, the multi-task
workers, the Data entry operators, all has been inducted in recent years and in large numbers. And
importantly, even MBBS seats and MD seats have been significantly increased including addition of some
super speciality courses. Although, the edifice of LHMC remains as such for the general public from the
outside, but the institution Lady Hardinge Medical College continues to progress over the years, specially
over the last decade and similarly for the last century.
We are part of LHMC, and we may know of the pros and cons of a person being here, be it a student or an
employee. And, that is but natural. To any other person, LHMC is a towering and glorious institution, and it
will remain so always. A person when he is 100 years old, is an institution, but an institution when it is 100
years old, then it is a phenomenon.

The Verve 41
Everybody associated with this phenomenon is supposed to work hard to contribute to its growth. When one
gels with the institution and ones objectives are synchronous with the objectives of the institution, the
institution benefits, but the individual benefits to a greater extent. At times, the individuals do not realize this,
they work for individual objectives, and then obviously the institutions growth takes a body blow.
However, we being part of LHMC, it is our duty to continue working hard and contribute to the growth of
LHMC, blending our objectives with this institutions objectives to realize the long-driven goal of academic
excellence and affordable patient care for all associated with this institution.
As I said, there is a wealth of experience and lot many stories to tell for everybody. I am no exception, so I
can continue endlessly, but I have specifically not written any particular instances. What I have penned down
may be more philosophical, but I feel that it is important for all of us who are associated with the institution
to blend with its soul and heritage. I have mentioned at many places 100 years old, but the vibrancy that is
evident in this institution to celebrate its centenary indicates that LHMC has turned another leaf and should
be termed, 100 years young getting ready to begin a new chapter in the life of LHMC, and preparing for the
next 100 years. The enthusiasm and verve seen are truly exemplary. Yes! It is time presently to soak in the
glory of the centenary of Lady Hardinge Medical College. I salute Lady Hardinge Medical College, and take a
bow in respect of this coveted institution.
Dr. Anupam Prakash
Professor, Department of Medicine

Pearls of Wisdom For Life

I

joined LHMC in December 2010; its been half

a decade in Hardinge since.
As a faculty it would not be
in consonance with service
rules to comment on the
service conditions provided
to me i.e. to comment
upon Hardinge. Anyway, it
would be great for everyone to note that Hardinge
is one of the 10 best medical institutions across the
country and is recognized by WHO. We have a brilliant
set of students. All of you have studied very hard in your
school days and cleared a very tough examination to reach
this level. Now you are in college, out of your teens, at the
threshold of life and I am sure all of you are realising that
to be successful in life you need much more than academics. In school you are taught a lesson and then given a test.
In life you are given a test that teaches you a lesson.
Let me share a small story with you all. Way back in 1965

there was this lovely girl who studied at Hardinge. She

finished her graduation with flying colours and as was the
trend in those days, she married her prince charming: a
surgical specialist in the army. Life was Blissful for her. A
loving family with two kids, a doting husband and a great
army life full of fun, frolic and financial security. But then
all of a sudden everything changed. She lost her husband
in line of duty and found herself at crossroads in life. She
now had to fend for herself and her two kids. She had no
permanent job, no financial backing just a meagre pension of an Army Major. Life became a great struggle for
her, but she did not give up, she picked up her career as a
general physician and brought up both her kids without
any help from anyone apart from her own parents. Life for
a single lady anywhere in the world with no permanent
source of income is tough and was certainly very tough in
70s and 80s in India. In due course of time her hardwork,
planning, determination and indomitable will with the
blessings of Almighty God yielded great results: her son
became an ENT surgeon and daughter is now the Assistant Vice President of GE finances. This is the story of my
mother. A careful analysis of this story has great lessons
on life for all of us.

42 Articles
Firstly, it is very important to be financially independent
in life. You cannot take life for granted; life can throw you
out of gear anytime. My mom, who left her career to enjoy
marital bliss [as was the trend in those days] found herself
in a quagmire later on. So always make sure that you earn
your own bread and butter. Remember you only become
independent in life when you become financially independent. For women it is all the more important for she
is always prone to exploitation. Your status in society is
directly proportional to your financial independence. So
your first aim in life should be to attain this. Further your
financial independence is closely related to your education. So do take your education seriously [not everyone
is Bill Gates]. With a sound career you can tackle your
problems better.
Secondly, we Indians have this strange quality of predetermined thinking. We have fixed ideas about life. My moms
parents believed if a girl gets married her life is set and
goes along well. Did marriage really settle her? We have
many more such predetermined thinking/fixed ideas life:
if you are a doctor, engineer or an IAS officer life is cool.
Look
carefully around you, is this true? Arent people from
other walks of life doing equally well if not better? If you
are in Delhi only then your career can take a leap? Dont
you have students from remote areas in India pursuing
MBBS course with you? Is it really important to marry in
the same caste and religion? Are all such marriages successful? We ascribe fixed notions to people form particular geographical area, religion or caste. Is this correct?
There is an endless list of predetermined notions that our
elders hand over to us. To be honest their assumptions are
based on their past
experiences and are true, but what we all must realize
that the world is constantly changing and they have not
accepted this universal truth. Change is inevitable and
every generation has to be prepared to savour the adventure. In this changing world predetermined thinking can
land you into serious problems. Life is not a rehearsal.
You have to live in the present with an eye on the future.
Remember to have an open approach to life with no
preconceived notions. This is the greatest positive attitude
that you can inculcate.
When my mom found herself at cross roads in life she
immediately took charge of her life. She made the best of
what she was left with. She worked very hard and strategically planned her future course. And finally the end result
was great. My entire family glorifies her success story:
its an example for coming generations to tackle loss of
spouse. Problems are a part of life. And thus you should
never let them overwhelm you. The secret of life is that
true education comes through experience and there is no
experience like adversity. My own experience is that every
problem is either an opportunity to grow or an obstacle
to keep you from growing. You get to choose. No one

saves us but ourselves. No one can and no one may. We

ourselves must walk the path. When faced with problems
never ask why? Ask what I can do to resolve it. You should
always have an action plan directed towards redressing
the problem, rather than
contemplating why has this happened? Always remember
the three As: Assimilate, Analyse and Attack. Assimilate:
just absorb the problem, be a passive observant spectator
and do not react.
We react and mess up things. Once you have absorbed the
situation analyse it with an open mind [no preconceived
notions please] and then respond to tackle the problem
[attack].
Nothing lasts forever, every situation passes off, but how
you conduct yourself during a period of crisis leaves an
imprint on the world. No one on this earth can predict the
final outcome of your problem, but how you react to the
situation is definitely going to be chronicled and is going
to define your personality forever. So in a difficult situation never compromise on your honour and principles,
even if it hurts to be yourself. Rules are not necessarily
sacred,
principles are. The person, who loses his conscience, has
nothing left worth keeping.
In nutshell always persevere for self reliance [financial
independence], never have preconceived notions about
life and people. Remember that problems have a way of
arriving unannounced and that you and you alone are the
only
solution.
As a professor this discourse would be incomplete without
a few words about studies. Exams are a part of education,
not life. If you have failed one, its not the end of life. It is
just that you have not passed as yet. You only lose if you
stop trying. You can get As and still flunk life. Besides,
medicine is a skill subject. Its your ability to apply the
knowledge of medicine to your patients clinically which
will finally make you a successful doctor. Always try to
imbibe practical
clinical sense by interacting with patients. The more
time you spend with your patients, the more you learn.
Develop your communication skills; its very important
[Unfortunately we have lost it to Whatsapp, Facebook
and Instagram. Also, develop a keen sense of observation:
Carefully observe your patient, see attentively how successful doctors
interact with patients and treat them. Observation and
communication skills are intrinsic to our profession.
Always live a proactive life. You cannot win unless you try
to win, but you can lose by trying not to lose. I conclude
with the following words of Pt. Jawahar Lal Nehru:
The policy of being too cautious is the greatest risk of all
Dr. Gautam Bir Singh
Professor, Department of ENT-Head & Neck Surgery

43

Hardinge Footprints
(1916-2016)
When, Lady Hardinge of Penshurst, envisioned the idea of
an all womens medical college in contemporary India, struggling
through orthodox beliefs and practices, little did she know, that this little
step will create history and lay the foundation of women empowerment in
medical sciences and healthcare. Gleaming in the shade of our superbly
proud history, we excel in the field of Humanity, the true virtue of a
human being, serving those in pain; relieving their miseries and
bringing smiles on their faces.
Lets sneak peek of this journey together while flipping through the
coming pages and sigh with the feeling of Pride and Gratitude...

44

How Lady Hardinge Medical College &

Hospital for Women came to be....

45

Milestones

Architectural Development

46

Lady Hardinge Medical College, a medical school exclusively for women was

initially allotted 50 acres of land in imperial Delhi .The foundation stone for the new
college was laid down by Lady Hardinge herself on 17th March 1914. A marble tablet
at the entrance hall of the college bears the names of the 16 kings along with the
amount they donated for the establishment of college. The grand old statue of Lady
Hardinge located centrally, remains the highlight of the campus.

47

Construction
The construction work of the Queen Mary College and Hospital (as it was known then) and the Lady

Hardinge training school of nurses were given to M/s Beg and Glenn. Sardar Narayan Singh was appointed
the contractor. On February 8, 1916 Lord Hardinge inaugurated the college and the opening ceremony took
place in a huge shamiana created opposite the main entrance of the college where the Shivaji stadium
stands today.

THEN

NOW

College Building
The college building initially comprised of 3 blocks the central block had the lecture theatre, library and

museum and offices and on either side the blocks included lecture theatres and laboratories. In front of these
blocks was the students recreation room.
Now the college building stands amidst the tall and slender palm trees. There is a centrally located Academic
section and on either side are the 6 departments: Anatomy, Forensics, Community medicine, Physiology,
Biochemistry and Pharmacology. The departments of Microbiology and Pathology are located separately. The
college block also has the famous convocation hall.

48

Auditorium & Library

The magnificent architectural marvel

the Swarna Jayanti Auditorium- is

modern, well equipped and centrally air
conditioned. It has a capacity of 987 seats
and was inaugurated on 9th August, 1988
by Mr. Motilal Vohra (cabinet minister
ministry of health). The new central
library also came into existence along with
the auditorium and is a part of the same
building. It has a collection of over 50,000
volumes of books and journals.

Hostels

Mohammedan Hostel(left) Shanti Niwas students Common

Room (right) 1918

n the initial construction, on three

sides of the college building were the
hostels separate accommodation was
provided for Hindus, Muslims, Sikhs ,
Christians and Parsis. Currently, there
are separate UG and PG hostels. With
the centrally located mess as the
reference, the 4 blocks of UG hostel
have been designated names. North and
South block house the 1st year
fucchhas , while West block is for the
seniors. Centenary Block is the newest
and there is a different aura of its modern infrastructure. The Girls Common
Room is also located in the West Block.

South Block , UG hostel (present)

49

Hospitals
The college has 2 full fledged hospitals Smt.Sucheta Kriplani and Kalawati Saran that offer tertiary

healthcare services.The hospital building (currently known as Sucheta Kriplani ) was constructed towards the
Panchukian road side. The entire compound was enclosed by high walls to ensure security .The hospital was
started in 1916 with 80 beds in departments of medicine , obstetrics and gynaecology and surgery.
Departments of ENT and radiology were added by 1922. RML also contributed 100 beds in 2 departments so
that students did not have to travel to Safdarjung. The hospital has a bed strength of 877 now.
Kalawati Saran Children hospital was inaugurated by Lord Mountbatten in 1956 . It started with just 50 beds,
in 1994 it was raised to 350 , currently it has 370 beds. It was the Indias first Childrens hospital , now ranked
the largest in Asia. The Indo- Japan new block was added for various medical facilities.

Redevelopment

Dr. Manmohan Singh ,honorable ex- prime minister of India laid down the foundation stone for the redevelopment project of LHMC in November , 2012.

50

Illustrious
YEAR OF GRADUATING: 1935
NOTABLE WORKS:
- Served as First Health Minister in
Nehrus Cabinet from 1952 to 1955.
- She was Speaker of Vidhan Sabha
- She was the Union health minister again
from 1962-1967.

AWARDS
-She was crowned Femina Miss India
1966
-She represented India at Miss Universe
1966 and was crowned 3rd Runner Up.
-She was mentioned in the famous book
Pride of India by Persis Khambatta.

Dr.Sushila Nayyar

Dr. Yasmin Daji

Dr.Sheila S Paul

NOTABLE WORKS:
-Founder and Director of Kalawati Saran
Childrens Hospital, New Delhi.
-She was one of the founding members
of the Indian Pediatrics Society and the
Indian Academy of Pediatrics.
-Pioneer in creating and promoting polio
vaccine campaigns in India.
AWARDS: She was felicitated and awarded innumerable times by the government
of USSR.

Dr.Sneh Bhargava

YEAR OF GRADUATING: 1953

NOTABLE WORKS:
-Indian radiologist, medical academic and a
former Director and Professor Emeritus of the
AIIMS, New Delhi.
-She is a former Vice President and an elected
Fellow of the National Academy of Sciences,
India.
AWARDS:
-Padma Shri in 1991.
-AIIMS Life Time Achievement Award 2014

Dr. Saroj Pachauri

YEAR OF GRADUATING: 1958

NOTABLE WORKS:
- Worked with the Ford Foundation, where she
developed the Foundations child survival and
reproductive health programmes. She initiated
work on HIV and AIDS
-She joined the Population Council in 1995 as
Regional Director, South and East Asia.
-From 1971 to 1982 she worked with FHI
conducting research and clinical trials on
contraceptive technologies in countries around
the world.

Hardonians

YEAR OF GRADUATING: 1954

NOTABLE WORKS:
-Indian pathologist and cytologist.
-She is a fellow of the Indian National
Science Academy and the National
Academy of Medical Sciences.
AWARDS:
-Padma Shri in 1992.

51

NOTABLE WORKS
-Indias first woman cardiologist, she opened
the cardiology clinic at LHMC in 1953.
-She started first DM course in Cardiology &
first cardiac cath. lab in North India.
-She formed the All India Heart Foundation.
AWARDS:
-Padma Vibhushan in 1992.

Dr. S I Padmavati

Dr.Usha K Luthra

NOTABLE WORKS:
-Indian medical doctor and the Director
and Head of the Department of Medicine at Lady Hardinge Medical College.
AWARDS:
-The Government of India awarded her
the third highest civilian honour of the
Padma Bhushan, in 1998.
-Woman of the Year honor of the
American Biographical Institute in 1999.

Dr. Hemlata Gupta

Dr. Malvika Sabharwal

YEAR OF GRADUATING: 1976
NOTABLE WORKS:
-The team led by her has been credited with the
successful performance of the removal of the largest recorded fibroid through laparoscopic surgery.
-She leads the Gynae Endoscopy, a team of 140
doctors, involved in endoscopic surgical practices
related to gynecology.
-She is a member of several medical organizations
& has delivered several orations and keynote addresses.
AWARDS:-Padma Shri in 2008.

Dr. Sumedha Khanna

YEAR OF GRADUATING: 1965
NOTABLE WORKS:
-She has worked for over 25 years with the
World Health Organization, consultating on
public health to over 60 countries.
- She is an accomplished writer who has written
Healing Well- A book on spiritual and mental
well being.
AWARDS:
Sumedha Khanna award for Anatomy named
after her is awarded to all meritorious students
who have excelled in that field.

52

Culture @ Hardinge
The language, the behaviour, the values, the outlook that make
Hardinge, HARDINGE and us Hardonians, HARDONIANS.

53

s freshers, when we enter college, our first brush with LHMC culture is when our Seniors tell us Call us Di, not
Maam. Now, Maam and Sir are the standard terms of address for seniors in professional colleges, especially Medical
colleges. And so this sweet shared sisterhood and fraternity is what sets us apart from others, from Day One!
We are one of the oldest medical colleges in the world and boast of a rich college culture. And what we see today is a 100
years rich concoction of experiences, of trials and errors, of our experiments with our environment.

Every year freshers are initiated into the Hardinge family after a themed freshers party
given by the seniors

The Convocation

he joy of getting a degree and finally officially becoming a doctor after five and a half years of hardwork- we wish
words could explain it. And because they cannot, here are some pictures of previous years convocations. We hope the joy
on these Hardonians faces conveys to you their feeling.

YayyyFinally we are DOCTORS!!!

54
The Farewell Over The Years
THEN: Earlier LHMC was affiliated to Punjab University.
Students had to go to Lahore, to King Edward Medical College, to take their examinations on completion of their curriculum. Going to Lahore for the professional exam was an
event by itself. The contingent used to leave LHMC with
much fanfare and a grand good luck farewell by the students and staff. Then all of them would go to the Railway
Station to see them off, accompanied by few staff members

and servants to make their stay comfortable. In Lahore they

were received by eager tongawallas who would cry with
excitement kudiyan aagaiyan. From there they were
driven to Queen Mary School, where they used to stay.
Students of Edward Medical College would then hound
the girls to know the important questions as one examiner
used to be from LHMC.

NOW: All of us are familiar with the farewell and the Good
Luck Lunch that is organised for the passing out batch by

their juniors. The to be doctors look elegant in their sarees,

their last few days as undergraduates

55
The Extra-Curriculars

Hardonians have always been all-rounders. Never bookworms, we have always been at the forefront from sports to
fashion and from public speaking to dance, fine arts and photography!
THEN: Apart from the curriculum sports was compulsory. Senior students from each hostel would see to it that all girls
played in the evening.
Students were encouraged to take part in social, cultural and Sports events.
Four main events were organised in the college in a single year
SPORTS DAY, FOUNDERS DAY, ANNUAL DEBATE, ANNUAL FETE.

Sports Day

Staff and students displayed sportsmanship and

participated with great enthusiasm in hockey, basketball
and table tennis. Famous sports personalities like Kapil
Dev have presided over sports day of college.
All the students and staff would participate actively and

Annual Fete

We have come a long way. Now with 9 active cultural

societies, students have a lot to look forward to. Each
society organizes its own inter college and intra college

enthusiastically in these events.

In addition the students union would put on a grand
cultural show for the staff and their spouses. In response to
this the staff also reciprocated by inviting the students for
an evening of cultural show

event and have won much acclaim in student circles. In

addition to that we have two annual cultural festivals
SPLASH and COBWEB.

56
Staff Socials

A feature unique to Lady Hardinge Medical College. All

the students looked forward to seeing their teachers let out
their fun side and get dressed up in fancy clothes and oddities. This was one day when students could hoot and laugh
at the formidable teachers. THE STAFF SOCIAL

Memories of staff social by some of our teachers

A day when teachers left their chalks and boards and put
on their entertainment shoes on- because when it comes to
talent, the staff of LHMC is less than no one!
A ride in the memory laneSpot the familiar faces!

57
The Hardonian Lifestyle
From 1916-1950, the college saw steady progress in all
spheres but those were the days of turmoil- world war, our
own independence movement, the girls could not go out
of the campus, so for their personal needs a special haat

(market) was organized every Saturday. The

shopkeepers would bring their wares and display them
around the statue of Lady Hardinge.

Today everything is different the way it was a century before. See these two class photographs and notice the self
evident contrasts- the dressing style, the expressions, the number of students, the background -everything has
transformed.

Medical Students of Batch 2013

But some things never change like the statue of Lady Hardinge, seated on her throne, watching over generations of
students, with the same grace since the last 100 years, reminding us of the lines For women may come, and women
may go, but I go on forever.What hasnt changed is the significance of being called a Hardonian. Not just a word or
a title, it is a century old legacy passed on to us. Over those five and a half years, Hardinge becomes a part of us more
than we become a part of Hardinge. Hardships dont scare us anymore. After all we are Hardonians- Hard- onians. On
this note we sign off wishing all Per Ardua Adastra- through hardships to the stars..

58

Eminent Visitors

May be it is not always about trying to fix something broken, may be it is about starting anew and starting

something better. Thats what Lady Hardinge, the wife of the then Viceroy of India, believed in. She was the
first to take initiative for starting a medical college for women in India. The lack of separate medical colleges
for women made it impossible for some Indian women to study medicine during those days. Over the
glorious 100 years of Lady Hardinge Medical College, many distinguished guests were a part of every event
that Hardinge observed.
The Father of the Nation, Mahatma Gandhi, visited our college in 1942. The college was then graced by the
august presence of Dr. S. Radhakrishnan, the second President of the country along with Dr. Sushila Nayyar, the
first Health Minister and a Hardonian herself! Mrs. Indira Gandhi, former Prime Minister, visited Hardinge at
the illustrious convocation ceremony of the Hardonians. Among other notable guests were Mrs. Sonia Gandhi
and Bill Clinton. Dr. Manmohan Singh inaugurated the new residential complex as a part of the redevelopment
project of Lady Hardinge Medical College in the year 2012. Other notable guests include Mr. Ghulam Nabi
Azad, Mrs.Sheila Dixit, Mr.Shatrughan Sinha,Superstar Rajesh Khanna Shri Mataji, BS Bassi (ACP, Delhi) and many
other distinguished guests from all around the world.

59

Glimpses of the Past

Nursing Staff 1966

Dr. K A Platt : First Principal of LHMC

(1916-1921)

Prototype Equipment in trial

Medical Faculty
1918

X Ray Machine : Patient Trial

60

Dr. K Platt : First Principal of LHMC

Mess Area and Hostel

Main Entrance to the College

Mughal Garden around

Hardinge Statue

Nursing College

61

Students dressed up for cultural function

Medical Students in Lab

Smt. Indira Gandhi during her visit to LHMC

Convocation

Out Patient Department

Indo-Japan : Official Development Assistance

62 Poems

Hakuna Matata
I saw a small girl crying on the street
Pointing towards a box of chocolate on her bare feet,
I bought her a chocolate and wiped away her tears
When she smiled a little, I said no worries, no fears!
I saw a young boy who started crying after a fall,
I showed him another who didnt have enough to even kick the ball..
I told him you have everything so don't cry,
But , pray for those who can't even try...
I saw a lady at a small coffee stall
She looked depressed but had her back firm and tall;
Made her see a kid stealing the world with his innocent smile.
As She picked him up, her worries buried deep in a file.
This one chance at life is to enjoy and not to whine ..
Leave your worries ,just go dress n dine ..
Do what your inner child says ,
HAKUNA MATATA for the rest of your days .

-Ishmeet Kaur Jaggi

Batvh 2015

The Verve 63

BEING BAD
What is good, what is bad?
is not virtue but your perception
Whom you call villain is your decision
Angels or demons lie in your vision.
Being bad is not a smooth ride,
Appraisal is the key to success
While I feed on criticism
Mastermind hidden in mystery
While you steal the limelight
Abused kicked hated devil,
Do I really harbor evil?
My fate is bestowed upon me,
I just am more evolved than thee,
While I create stupendous mazes
You just trail behind bread crumbs
Creating an illusion is always easy
Deciphering the code is difficult, I believe
Who set the grand stage?
Who invited you to play?
Who gives you clues?
No, you are clever though.
Good vs evil, they enjoy the show
Who cares for the losses I suffer,
Who weeps when I get hurt?
When you stare and follow the girl,
She is ironically amused
When I do the same, undignified !!
I may represent Ravana or Satan
But they were genius, youll agree.
History is written by winners,
Losers are slaves, mouths shut.
They also killed, poisoned and tortured
But their intention was noble, they say.
Heroes are worthless without our existence
To let others shine in your flame,
I mustered the courage to take this blame.
Peace and order you cant compel
Its natural to create Heaven with Hell.
Yes, I am the villain, straight and wide
Being bad is not a smooth ride.
-Richa Arunendu
2014 Batch
(The entry was winner in Online Poetry Competition at UCMS)

64 Poems

And I colored it Purple

Snowflakes on my eyelashes,
Blur my vision, my imagination
Sinking ship in the deadly ocean,
Bridal bangles in funeral pyre,
My heart is wet now, but not my eyes,
Good at keeping promises I made.
You said you loved Purple,
For it was the color of our love,
So true, so vibrant, so you.
Your smile carried a tinge of pain,
Inevitably impossible for me to ignore,
You said you were happy,
Best lie I ever heard, and yet my favourite truth.
You hated sympathy, that glance of help,
Strongest girl, too weak at heart.
I never said you were right,
Purple is really the best color,
So true, so vibrant, so you.
You never knew who brought the orchids,
I enjoyed your mysterious fantasy,
The stories you narrated, full of life,
I fought with HIM every night.
You were never mine, but I was.
Even being so far, you are embraced in my arms,
Now closer than ever, you stay in my heart.
Our relationship was always complex,
Feelings pious and memories real.
I should say you are right,
Purple is really the best color,
So true, So vibrant, So you.
I treasured you in golden chest,
And I coloured it purple.
Buried deep in the silent unseen cavern,
Lores of Love would travel generations ahead.
Snow blinded I open my eyes,
shining with your strength,
They are not meant to be wet,
Good at keeping promises I made.
-Richa Arunendu
Batch of 2014

The Verve 65

A Beautiful Death
Every wave is born to sink in the ocean.
The moon grows to wane.
The river flows to merge into the sea.
The mountain born in wave of tectonic movement,
Also has to fall as landslides or silt into the stream.
The crops grow to be savored by humans.
Humans merge into natures five elements.
Its a cruel yet magical reality,
Of how all dissolves into nothingness.
As a functional being is dissolved to pieces of sand!
Time flies leaving scars on mankind,
Yet also Time flies healing wounds.
All is eternal yet all is untrue!
In the complex circle of life,
We exist yet we dont.
Are we the organs and the cells?
Are we beyond that?
Does the soul exist?
Are we just a bag of organic chemicals?
Or we are the substance of existence?
That exists when even matter ceases to exist.
These questions throttle my true being!
Calling out for answers,
Answers I have yet I dont,
Answers that I speak up to myself,
Answers that are irrational based on my present
knowledge.
I yearn for simplicity.
I yearn for divinity beyond material existence,
I yearn for the Unknown.
I yearn for things scientifically nonexistent.
My being of existence seems beyond knowledge,
I want more I want substance
something thats real and explainable yet not.
I want something thats magical!
Nitya Beriwal
Batch of 2013

66 Poems

Freedom

Sometimes i feel as if
I like a bird, am kept
in a cage, or if chained
like a tiger in a cage with
only glimpses of long forgotten freedom.
At some other time, I feel
myself to be as free
as a thought , to fly around
the world to measure the length
of long endless sky, to account
the depth of deep mysterious sea
Or to hop on grass blades from
one to another like a grasshopper
Or like a cloud floating weightlessly
from one place to another,
occasionally showering here and there
with a laughter like thunder and
with the beauty and energy as if a bolt of lightening
Whats the meaning of freedom
for a girl of this century
having all modern facilities
But with a society that has
seen, since time immemorial
a girl more as a possession
than a human.
Given her a chained freedom
where she is free to think alone
but not so free to act alone.
She is left in the darkness of loneliness
When shes of no use to the society BUT
not she cant live alone
when she wants to live a life dedicated to
only her dreams and ambitions.
Every time when she wants a companion
they give her an owner , trying to change
her the way he wants.
I want a freedom in
its purest form, a time when

I would be as free as my brothers

Free to live in any part of the world ,
In a society whose rules made by
the people, for the people as fellowmen
do not lose upon my life as a
catacomb burying me inside.
I want a freedom when my heart
would be free from the fear of those
who try to snatch under the cover of darkness
my pride, my purity my smile and everything.
I want a freedom possessing the same strength
as that of sun rays which will pierce
the soldiers of mist and give mother nature
her magnificence and golden beauty.
I dont know if I have turned
an optimist or my desires are vague
Or if they are just baseless dreams
which can never be fulfilled.
But I want and will try to fulfill
it for the generations to come and
to calm the soul of those womenfolk
who have long been suppressed ,
striped off their pride and have faced
an assault to their personalities.
I want just this dream to
accomplish in its best form
without if s and buts, without
a clause or hidden rules,
or due to lack of laws,
which may save the accused,and
destroy the spirit of humanity or
to destroy the most precious creation
that was created when nature personified itself
that is surely the WOMAN and her freedom.

:Manisha
Batch of 2015

The Verve 67

SHATTERED HOPES
Eyes gleaming with anticipation,
And hopes reaching zeniths height,
She ran across the barren path bare feet,
For no hurdle could stop her from
Reaching the place she had always wanted to be.
Excited, she ran frantically to embrace love.
To let love imbibe her mind, body and soul
Not heeding a single being that came in her way
Being with the love of her life was all that she sought
Rest a little, you seem so tired, said a caring voice.
Not now, someones waiting for me, she replied.
Many offered her help, some even confessed their love,
But she was too engrossed to listen to anyone
Her love was all that mattered in the world
She was day dreaming about how happy they would be together,
And how they would unconditionally care for each other.
With every step she took, her heart raced faster,
Her dreams grew big filled with all sorts of vivid colors.
The scorching sun failed to bring down her enthusiasm.
And so did the howling wind!
And finally she reached her destination.
When the daylight had turned dim...
She saw him and was lost in that moment,
Wanting the moment to cease and last forever.
His love was however indifferent to her presence!
And when this realization dawned upon her,
She came back to the real world....
Then what she saw, crushed her heart
He was leaving that place with someone else.
He was so engrossed in his own world,
That he failed to even acknowledge her presence.
Tears flood her eyes; her world came to a standstill.
Her life became empty in the blink of an eye,
All her aspirations became so hollow that they could never fill.
He finally left the place; the place which was home to all her dreams,
Grief struck, she fell on the ground with shattered hopes,
Wondering as to how she would she be able to create herself again.
Her mind now flooded with questions, confusions and sorrow.
Gone was the one with whom
she had pictured her today &tomorrow!
Why do we fall in love with those, who do not love us back?
She asked herself.
As a punishment for not falling in love with those,
who love us, the wind whispered back!
Arushi Sharma
Batch of 2012

68 Poems

In The Search
Sometimes in life,
You face such situations
Where you stand on the top of the mountain,
See downwards and see yourself.
While climbing up to the peak,
You see upwards,
You see how close you are to the sky.
You dont know,
What you are seeking;
You have it all,
Still you miss something.
Then you sit on the big stone
You saw
Amidst all the snow and
Start something called introspection.
You start pondering what it is
That you are searching for.
Is it something you have always
Craved for? or
Is it something you already had,
Which was way back
Very close to yourself,
Probably, your own self.
You have evolved.
Adapted you have become now
Good that,
These are optimistic words.
For somebody feels this way
But change is definitely there
And it is decorated by
all the troubles and experiences
Which you contain within yourself.
Definitely, it is something else
Which we humans in layman language
May call change.
I have to not agree to it today,
Only to find it, someday.
Namrata Hazarika
Batch of 2012

The Verve 69

The Colour Black

Nature is deep,
So silent, without even a peep!
So dark, rival of light, hates glow, dislikes white.
Night is its slave, As its not so brave.
Stars are its foe,
Wants everyone to say NO, to light and glow.
So expressive, says everything, to anyone or anything.
So dominant, subdues pace,
Even the busiest wouldnt escape!
So absent, like a dream, makes us sometimes scream.
So puzzling, like a riddle,
Sometimes amusing, makes us giggle.
So scary, frightens everyone, Child, adulteven a nun!
So formal, makes us look nice, Educated, Sophisticated and Wise.
This colour is like a mystery,
Which is unsolved since history!

Lost Curse
The smile which can touch the onlookers sub consciousness
That smile is mirrored in our eyes and the lustre suffuses the Face.
All we know, she is the Eos and day begins with it.
The Sun that faces it, return the warmth to the World which it received from her.
Making birds Chirp too, goes to her credit.
Wind that swirl around, learnt its music from her.
Raindrops which touch her got all coolness from her.
Earth, on which we stand, learnt its patience from her.
Love we feel is all showered by her.
Life we enjoy is all protected by her.
She is the One who had endured long enough, just to make it worthy to us.
Its not the first time she had been the Guardian,
Six times she has already tried but the Curse always quashed the living tide.
It all became still but she never gave up,
As we stand here to prove her right.
That Curse might still be in play...
Thunderstorms, Sun flare, submergence anything can swallow us.
We are some creatures who had sometimes tried to placate her.
But its not understood,
She has always been with us
After all, understory reveals the lost curse.
Sadhana Chaurasia
Batch of 2012

Shivangee Gupta
Batch of 2016

70 Poems

A
Glass
Of
Victory
As the wine took a shape, her eyes glittered,
As if a child left under the open sky; full of colour!
Slowly, she lifted the glass, savouring every bit; with sparkling eyes, as if on a new sojourn
Yes, it had depth, reminding her how deep life was
The whirlpools were interesting: troubled her in the beginning and she,the novice, got struck!
Struggling for the drops in the maroon sea, as if it were the end.yet didnt realise when she drank it all
The aroma posed another challenge ! it stole her senses...
yes she fell for it only to realise it later that it was all short lived.
Awestruck she was; and saw she had lived half of it... yet, without any significant gain or loss!
And thus began her fresh battle with the significant other half of.
She was no longer that novice now,
yet the taste was no loser; the bitterness, the sweetness & the sourness , all deeply perplexed her
she wondered now what she really wanted!
Slowly, she stepped forward...
The lightness of her wine made her ecstatic, it complemented so well with her cheese and in this joy, she
gulped another few drops
At this moment, she realised what she had lost...her glass seemed empty now!
She begged for more,
so much more was to be discovered, she had no clue what she could do now after emptying it all!
And thus,
she closed her eyes, put her glass back and got up
With a hearty laughter she celebrated her defeat and perplexed, she walked away
Shivangee Gupta
Batch of 2015

The Verve 71

The Pinch of Hope

Confined in her room
Deep in her heart
She thinks for a while and says ;
Shall I give my life a brand new start?
That every day is not the same
And every moment , something new
A happy day is hard to find
But much harder a happy you
So why lament, why repent
Why cry over the same pain,
When all I know in the world is that
Sun sets only to rise again
Days come, days go
But what still remains is just me
A pinch of hope is what I need
A pinch of hope in my life recipe
And so, after the deep thought
She decided to go to bed
Hoping so much that one day
She gets what all she had said
And so happened,
She seized the day, won it all
And trust me it was not hopelessly tough
Because you realize the road is smooth
Only when you have travelled over the
rough
A pinch of hope is all you need
To traverse road-how tough it may get
I promise life wont be so frivolous
Youll learn to love life, I bet

Eshani
Batch of: 2015

Its called LOVE

72 Poems

Love made of four simple letters

She drives you like her slave
Some lovely vocabulary, some crazy days
It eats you like a vulture without a save.
She hits you oft at your twenties,
Burns you with her desire,
Her taste makes you asking for more?
What, that was just a stint, she is a destructive fire.
Responsibilities nibble your shoes
And like stones thrown at you continuously
Bruising and healing, and then noiselessly bleeding.
Blood falling, on floors of uncertainty.
You run, she chases you
You turn she catches and caress you
You fly she tramps on your wings
You become a puppet, her hands holding your strings
Yet in her shadow, you feel protected
In her care you are distant from misery
However isnt she a double edged sword?
Coz once gone you are only surrounded by forlorn.
Dear love, how may I understand your tricks?
Mysteriously you give, and take
Earnest to see you reveal from your veil;
History has worshipped you, I can only fake.
-Isha Snehal
Batch of 2012

The Verve 73
This is a tribute to all those who have made their greatest contribution for the cause of our education

A Medical Students Prayer

The day I was a witness,
To the unravelling of a mystery
The Supreme artwork, Natures poetry,
The Grand design, sans superficiality
No, death doesnt take away its divinity!
Taught me so much more than just Anatomy
I knew all along- That moment I realised
All Homo sapiens, all same inside
Humanity, the only religion to abide
I wish words could say
The gratitude that I feel
Theres still a long, long way
Before I learn to heal.
Now Im just a student
But one day a Doctor Ill be
Youll always stay in my memory
Ill see you in every patient I see

Amrita
Batch of 2014
Poster by Swezal Lohia (2014)
(Both entries were winners at Body Donation Campaign organised by Deptt of Anatomy)

From left to right

First row: Priya Shah, Shashi Kiran, Aashi Jain, Gunjan Batra, Tarishi
Arora, Shruti Garg, Harleen Kaur, Rajvir Kaur, Rinku Sharma, Thiyam Manjeeta, Mebetsaphi Nonglait, Neikeduonou Khezie, Sonia, Kamna Sharma, Ramya George, Shreya Gupta
Second Row: Eshani, Afsana, Anshika Gupta, Ritu Yadav, Neha, Nandita Karmakar, Manjeet Kaur, Hemashree, Sakshi Bharadwaj, Nimerjot Kaur, Rashmi Meena, Megha Ranjan, Prerna,
Himani Ahalawat, Sheetal Pushkar, Khushboo Saha
Third Row: Heena Gupta, Pooja, Archana, Shelly Mittal, Meetu Singh, Kanupriya, Manvi Choudhary, Oshin Guleria, Asmita Tripathi, Vaishali Yadav, Shahanaz Beegum, Arti Saini, Ishanshi
Sonera, Bhawna Bhakar, Shivangi
Fourth Row: Gauri Gupta, Geetanjali, Preeti Gabra, Usha, Sarita Saran, Shilpi Minz, Samiksha Suman, Meghna Sethi, Tavneet Kaur, Tanvi Goel, Pooja Meena
Fifth Row: Sonali, Charu Rajoria, Samra Naz, Shelly Verma, Aishwarya Ghosh, Mahak Goel, Asha Jeenar, Divya Tanwar, Swati Sharma, Jyotsana Puri, Shivangi Jawa, Anjali Sharma, Bhavana
Kumari, Sowmya Ramgopal, Aditi Anand, Chaitali Sharma, Shivangee Gupta
Sixth Row: Kavyanjali, Tripti Mishra, Divya Maansa, Jagriti Yadav, Purvasha Kardam, Shweta Yadav, Rachiyeta Anand, Rupam Kumari, Saniya,Taku Rini, Aastha Vats, Sandhya Sharma, Ritu Yadav, Parineeta Singhal, Shweta Saini, Deeksha Chaurasia, Shubhangi, Vandana Agarwal, Sneha, Swati Goel, Priyanka Kumari, Poornima Mittal, Aditi Verma, Bibhu, Titikshaa, Devika S. Prakash,
Chhavi Sharma, Dimple Yadav, Shivangi Baghel, Anjali Nain
Seventh Row: Rashmi, Arunima Gupta, Palak Bhatnagar, Arushi Kumar, Pankhudi Srivastava, Neetu, Ritu Yadav, Aashti Mendiratta, Archie Madan, Surbhi Kumari, Anuradha, Arpita Raghav,
Arunima Singh, Jaya Rai, Priya Singhal, Aarushi Agarwal, Shaivy Malik, Lalnunpuii
Eighth Row: Chetna Meena, Ruchi Goyal, Himanshi, Abhilasha Pawar, Akansha, Rashmi Kumari, Priya, Hitesha, Vaishnavi Verma, Navdeep, Tanya Gambhir, Simran Lohia, Vamika Singh,
Saloni Jain, Mitul Raj, Tanya Mudgal, Mansi Hans, Priyanka Tyagi, Swathi Sapuru likes, Saumya Nanda, Shikha Tanwar, Aastha Agarwal, Soumya Thakur, Ishani Mahi, Ishmeet Kaur Jaggi
Ninth row: Chetna Arya, Aastha Sehgal, Tanya Bansal, Vaishnavi Maurya, Sandra Arora, Stuti Shandelya, Kalpana Hodaskia, Aarti Yadav, Asha Yadav, Sonam, Sofiya, Sujata Mathur, Shobha
Sitabh, Kanika Chauhan, Moiom H Phom, Shalini, Harshita Singh

Batch of 2015: first year

74 Batch Photo

From left to right

First row : Akanksha, Anchal, Nandita Trivedi, Amrita, Shilpi Shrivastav, Rachna, Pratima Kukreja, Tamanna Raman, Harshita Brijwal, Smriti Thakur, Taniya Aggarwal, Vatsala Gupta, Tanisha
Pruthi, Shagun Kapoor, Aashmita Ajit, Richa Arunendu, Shraddha Sharma, Shikha Aggarwal, Tayyaba Tanvir, Sharanya Mohan, Natasha Yadav, Priyanka
Second Row: Yashvi Dagar, Srishty Shingla, Jyotsana Arora, Vernika Gupta, Shivanya Singh, Muskan Goyal, Shikha Sachan, Anandi Bhukar, Antim, Bharti Jain, Akanksha Gupta, Soumya,
Shweta Prajapati, Pooja Nakhat Jain, Priyanka Gupta, Pooja Kumari, Rashmi Raghvan, Anwesha Sarkar, Rakhi Goel, Shubrika Singhal, Rashi Goel, Simran Madan, Shalini Malik, Shuchi Pandey,
Kalika Kumari, Saloni Khattar, Supriya Raj, Shalini Meena, Khyati, Bindu Kumari.
Third row: Pooja Yadav, Priya Sahni, Monika, Sakshi Aggarwal, Chanchal, Yukti Shah, Milli Rawat, Shreya Sharma, Khushboo Goyal, Jyoti, Shreya Sikri, Bharti Rani, Shivangi Garg, Bhawna
Garg, Dikit Tsering, Chhaya Chitra, Kanchan Kumari, Kritika Pahadia, Aradhana Sharma, Shrestha Aggarwal, Jyoti , Lajya Suman, Neha Mahar, Kriti Mittal, Shivani Rohilla, Manzill, Gurkawal
Kaur, Anish Thind, Pragya Mehta, Kriti Mehra, Pooja Kumari Meena, Shraddha Verma, Bhavya Jain, Priyal.
Fourth Row: Neha Mann, Shweta Jindal, Archana, Sakshi Sharma, Anjelina, Shanti Tholiya, Ritu Arya, Kumari Manisha, Manisha Yadav , Anjali Gautam, Shailley Baruhee, Pallavi Raj, Kriti
Chauhan, Nivetha, K. Ngohlaki, Tadar Nyedar, Upasna Sharma, Niriksha Kumari, Garima Gandotra, Shivangi Pippal, Jubina Hijum, Niangmuanching, Archee Sinha, Nipun Kumar, Vartika
Singh, Jessica, Gaby Lalmuanpuii, Kilitoli Chophy, Anushree Garg.
Fifth Row: Sharanya Babu, Sonali Priya, Megha Singh, Anjali Yadav, Nisha, Shubema Grover, Anju Chaudhary, Parul Dahiya, Parul, Vedanshi Singh, Anjali Bhasin, Additi Vashisth, Akanksha Sudhakar, Twinkle Makkar, Sushma Dahiya, Surbhi Goswami, Himakshi Dhingra, Hansika Chaudhary, Kalpna Kumar, Ihinna Tinna, Bhawna Kumari Mallick, Lubna Siddiqui, Aneesha
Pattnaik, Aishwarya Godara, Olivia Dasgupta, Tanisha Gupta, Ivikali Achumi.
Top Row: Anushka Neha Singh, Anushka Gupta, Anupama Gupta, Anusha Sharma, Ridhi Chhabra, Ankita, Rupal Jain, Niharika Meena, Ayushi Negi, Ankita, Arushi Prakash, Astha Kushwaha,
Ridhi Roy, Varchasvi Meena, Saumya Soni, Nikita Goel, Anjali, Adeeba Hussain, Sakshi Sharma, Shivani Pal, Shivani Kumari, Swezal Lohia.

Batch of 2014: second year

The Verve 75

From Left to Right

First Row :Simran Sharma , Aditi Yadav , Manisha Sharma , Bhawna Arora , Ayushi Sinha , Kiran Kanwat , Avneet Kaur , Nishita Goyal , Tanya Bisht , Kriti Nausaran , Tanu Priya Kaushal , Lekha Chandel , Pratibha Lakra , Udita Gupta , Meghna Ganesh , Vaishnavi Jayaram , Mamta Sohal , Neelam Meena , Kanika Dhiman , Nandita Yadav , Aishwarya Yadav
Second Row: Shristy Priya , Simran Doria , Suman Meena , Kanika Kakkar , Kanishka Yadav , Kanika Roy , Asmita Chanda , Anjali Bagrodia , Areesha Usman, Mobashera Akhter , Sonal Gandhi , Akshita Khosla, Tanushi Aggarwal , Aashim Garg , Tanya Singla , Vashi Gupta , Vaishali Tomar , Ankita Bala , Vandana Singh , Samyukta Singh , Shaileja Yadav
Third Row :Kavita Badhal, Shobhna Sharma , Yangzin Negi , Dixa Yadav , Tanu Sharma , Simran Sharma , Kritika Agrawal , Mahak Golani , Ira Arora , Manisha V Prabhu , Aayesha Ahmad ,
Alisha Raj , Aparna Krishnan , Pragya Preet Kaur , Alka Singh , Prashasti Jain, Prachi Bagarhatta , Pragya Garg , Vaishnavi Verma, Charu Rawat , Papiya Mistry , Sakshi Prasad
Fourth Row :Aarti Parashar , Preeti Thakur , Priyanka Wadhwa ,Preeti Kumari, Monika Yadav, Namrata Patel, Neha Bhagat , Karishma Singh , Sanya Datta , Supriya Singh , Rashmi Gautam ,
Priya Setia , Isha Yogi, Rachita Garg, Diksha Yadav , Nisha Meena, Akansha Aggarwal , Neha Tyagi , Archita Sharma , Priyanka Kalra , Sakshi Kiran , Sakshi Negi , Nitya Beriwal, Pallavi Singh
Fifth Row :Ashita Singla, Vaishali, Neha Dochana, Priyanka Pilania, Pallavi Jha, Priyanka Gupta , Ridhi Gupta, Sangya Chaudhary, Neelam Kumari, Neha Singhal , Srishti Chandra , Tanya Singh,
Shikha , Varsha Nandwana
Sixth Row: Anandita Vishwakarma, Tejasvini Singhal , Divya Chauhan , Aditi Vashishth , Apurva Sinha, Chitvan, Tanya Verma , Aishwarya Dua , Yajika Chutani , Ruchi Bansal , Bharti Aggarwal , Nidhi Rawat , Poonam Poonia, Monita Yadav, Anuradha Yadav , Aishwarya Madaan , Garima Bharti , Sonal Singh ,Neha Sharma , Pooja Sharma , Pooja Narwal , Varsha Negi , Vidushi Singh
Seventh Row :Rekha Sevda, Gargee Rattan , Diksha Yadav , Ruchi Gupta , Priya Sharma , Raaj Lakshmi , Anmol Guleria , Nikita Mary Mundakel , Sneha Gupta , Manisha Uppal , Sakshi Singh
Thakur, Monika Nagar , Pratibha Sesama , Monika Yadav , Sonali Sachdeva , V Swaathi, Manisha Aggarwal , Minal , Ritu Yadav , Urwashi Chauhan

Batch of 2013: third year

76 Batch Photo

First Row: Ashwita, Tanvi, Sneha Yadav, Jyoti, Khushboo, Komal, Kriti, Namrata, Monika Shakya, Sadhana, Neha Rajput, Prarthna, Neha Verma, Shreya, Vanshika, Loshni, Harsha, Shivani,
Neha Bhardwaj
Second Row: Richa, Khyati, Kabita, Monika, Akanksha, Meenakshi, Ishita Chugh, Harshita, Pallavi Sahoo, Mano, Kajol, Anjali, Ankita, Anterpreet, Jagriti, Prerna Anant, Shweta Aghi, Sameeksha, Simran, Saloni, Samia, Ruby, Pragya, Nidhi Negi
Third Row: Smriti, Prerna Dehariya, Evelyn, Alia, Sadhna, Rekha, Sakshi, Pooja Aggarwal, Mehek, Kavita Kumari, Sumpi, Bhavna, Meghna, Suka, Prerna, Vaishali, Visalakshi, Sapna, Rupali,
Ritika, Rinni, Pooja Choudhry, Kritika, Alka, Sarita, Shreeti, Saaniya, Nivedita, Aakriti, Juhi
Fourth Row: Varuna, Swati, Akansha, Bernali, Anuja, Poonam Bodh, Isha Bodh, Deepshikha, Niyati, Zohlimpuii, Tanya Mital, Tanya Satija, Manisha, Renuka, Sameeksha, Sadhna, Medha, Alisha, Kolin, Sakshi, Shikha, Ayushi, Akshita
Fifth Row: Navita, Nimisha, Akshita, Sakshi Kashyap, Arushi, Aanchal Malik, Urvashi, Aditi, Sushmita, Tuba, Theresa, Vandna, Ishita Aggarwal, Ritu, Barkha, Pallavi Lakra, Hannah, Isha, Aditi
Saini, Aastha, Aditi Lather, Aditi Dwivedi, Amrita

Batch of 2012: final year

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Batch of 2011: interns

78 Batch Photo

The Verve 79

STUDENTS
UNION 2015-16

Fourth Row: Anish Thind (Hostel Secretary), Vernika Gupta (Hostel Secretary), Milli Rawat (Fine arts Coordinator),
Pragya Mehta (Deb Soc Coordinator), Ayushi Negi (Hostel Secretary), Tamanna Raman (Event Coordinator)
Third Row: Shivangi Mangal (Marketing Manager), Nandita Trivedi (Fash Coordinator), Anandi Bhukar (Dance Coordinator), Nipun Kumar (General Chief Coordinator), Olivia Dasgupta (Mess Secretary), Manzill (Music Coordinator),
Lubna Siddiqui (Hostel Secretary)
Second Row: Nitika Parihar (General Secretary), Nishita Goyal (Joint Secretary), Anindita Bose (President), Subhashini Manoharan (Vice President), Kriti Nausaran (Cultural Secretary), Manisha V Prabhu (Finance Secretary)
First Row: Surbhi Goswami (Event Coordinator), Vartika Singh (Financial Chief Coordinator), Rupal Jain (Sports
Coordinator), Akanksha Gupta (Drama Coordinator), Pratima Kukreja (Cultural Chief Coordinator), Richa Arunendu
(Literary Secretary)

80 Societies

JIJEEVISHA
Josh jab befikri se naach kr aata hai,
Rang kurte ka jab pehchan ban jaata hai,
Gunjta hai jab galliyon mein nukkad natak ka shor,
Yeh janoon hi tab fitoor kehlata hai.
Jijeevisha, the dramatics society of LHMC, was always a journey
rather than a destination, always a family rather than a team.
The year 2015-16 witnessed 15 street and 3 stage plays by us. The
journey began on the day of janmashtmi where everyone watched
the hidden love of ACP Kans And Kalipari Putna. Then the
interns farewell where our very own MATA and Bansi narrated
the life of intern. Finally we performed Kuch Kuch Phir Se Hota
Hai on hostel day.
The annual production NA RANG MOHE based on orthodox
views related to saffronisation received immense applause
wherever performed. It represented LHMC at different colleges
which included NIIT Neemrana where we bagged 2nd prize,
SRCC, bimtech, MSIT, MAMC, UCMS, VMMC. We were also
selected in the finals of Jamia Milia Islamia University after c
ompeting with 40 other teams in prelims.The real essence of a
street performance came when we performed for
9th edition of Manthan, Indias biggest street play festival
DRC at V3S mall, Noida
Malang one of the Delhis biggest cultural festival
We also got selected at DTU, NSIT, Amity, PGDAV, GBDEC,
Kalindi etc.
Jijeevisha 14-15 once again performed its production Hamei
Kya in hospital premises for Swachhta pakhwada.
The feeling in the air, the excitement, the catchy phrases, the
Goosebumps, all in all it was an experience of life time with a trail
of memories to cherish!
Akanksha Gupta
Batch of 2014

Standing: Tanu,Kalpna Kumar, Neha Panika, Vartika Singh, Akanksha Gupta(coordinator), Antim, Vatsala Gupta
Second row(sitting);Samikshya Suman, Shruti Garg, Nandita Karmakar, Anmol Choudhary, Kritika Yadav,
First Row(sitting): Neetika Yadav, Anjali Sharma, Tanvi Goel, Harleen Kaur

The Verve 81

GRAFFITI
With each graffiti, a mark is left on the wall.
Similarly, Graffiti, the fine arts society of LHMC, leaves a mark
on people and paints on them an expression of awe and
wonder. Our society has 25 art enthusiasts, filled with
curiosity and who wish to learn different art forms. They were
taught about the basics of art and craft in the meetings.
There was also an element of team work where everyone
collaborated together to create a masterpiece, especially for
events like Janmashtmi, Teachers day, Interns day, Hostel day.
The decorations were not only adored and appreciated by all
but also created an ever lasting impression on every mind and
in all the selfies. Society members were also part of rangoli
making in college events like Alumni meet, body donation.
Further, they have participated in various intra-college and
inter-college events. The team is as follows:
Pulse (AIIMS): Kirti Mehra, Arushi, Tanvi, Arunima(poster
making)
Blood Donation Camp: Arushi (1st), Tanvi(2nd)
Womens day Poster Making Competition :Arushi(1st)
Synapse (MAMC): Sandhya (Rangoli making, T-shirt
designing, Wall painting 3rd, Matka designing 3rd, Pencil
sketching 1st).
-Milli Rawat
Batch of 2014

Third Row: Keerti Mehra, Surbhi Goswami, Pooja Nakhat Jain, Mitul Khadia, Swati Sharma, Arunima, Arushi
Second Row: Ruchi Bansal, Pragya Mehta, Bhawna Sharma, Milli Rawat(coordinator), Kanika Roy, Kanishka Yadav,Sushma
First Row(sitting): Vidushi Singh, Nitika Saxena, Kriti Mittal, Rachna, Tayyaba Tanvir, Sandhya Sharma

82 Societies

VIOLA

of insane fun and those of tears, the

lessons learnt, the appreciations earned
and even the wonderful comfort of the
staircase of our dirty acad section
offered is now a distant but an
inseparable memory. Our last and
rather the best and flawless
performance at VMMC can rather be
considered a tribute to our last
performance at Viola.
-Pavitraa
Batch of 2015

fter all our eight to fours everyday, assembled

all thirteen, at the ever-busy-acad section, to learn some
new grooves and make yet another set of moves. Some
came on time, while most of us needed a threatening
message on the Viola Whatsapp group to carry on the
proceedings. Finally in an hour our coordinator would
give us the command for doing warm-up and we would
then begin, amidst laughs and giggles. Everyday we
motivated each other for giving our best, being
wonderful performers if not winners.
There was always a different bustle on days when our
choreographers would arrive, all of us were set to learn
yet another style, be it hip hop, breaking, whacking or
our favourite Bollywood grooves. Each and every day we
practiced the same sequence, improving with every
effort. Be it special sunday practices, late night stays,
travelling to various college fests (sometimes even in
tempos to give the Highway feel), sorting disputes,
assessing each other or simply doing random
paranoid dancing. Everything was and will remain a
moment to cherish. Out of the many memorable
moments ,was a special day of our first performance at
IIT Delhi which was full of mixed emotions of
anxiety, excitement,lessons and what not! Also our day
at MDI Gurgaon which marked our first victory as the
second prize holders. All our hardwork and sweat, days

TOP: Astha Kushwaha, Ankita Singh,

Ayushi Negi, Niharika Meena, Pavitraa
Shankar
2nd ROW: Tanisha Gupta, VArchasvi
Meena, Tadar Nyedar, Kalpana Hodkasia.
1st ROW: Anandi Bhukar, Anshika.
Upasana sharma and Bhawana(not in
picture)

The Verve 83

BELLEZA

Style is a way to say who you are without having to

speak.
As quoted by Rachel Zoe, this line truly justifies
the spirit of 16 smart and elegant Hardonians who
came together this year to form the backbone of
BELLEZA, the fashion society of LHMC. Being the
fashion coordinator, I felt it was important to
properly portray our creativity & confidence on
stage so as to break the stereotype and leave an impression in the minds of people that we Hardonians
are not just nerds, but pretty glamorous as well!
The Belleza members practiced hard by having late
night practices along with mind boggling sessions
on dresses and choreography. All our efforts were
shown on stage and got us fruitful results. We
kept on improvising on our theme GOD VERSUS
HUMANS, which helped us in winning awards in
numerous prestigious colleges. We participated in
fashion competitions in eight colleges and managed
to grab TEAM-AWARDS in as many as seven
colleges namely: 1st prize at two places {at VMMC & Northcap
University (formerly ITM)}
2nd prize at four places {IIT Delhi, DTU,
MAMC& MDI Gurgaon} &
Star of the Event at IHE.

Beside this, the members out shone on stage

INDIVIDUALLY as well: Nandita Trivedi was awarded the title of The Best
Model (Female) at FIVE events namely IIT Delhi,
MDI Gurgaon, IHE, MAMC and VMMC.
Ivikali Achumi of our fashion society shared this title
at MDI, Gurgaon.
Manisha Yadav was awarded the title of The Best
Model (Portfolio)at VMMC.
Going by the increasing trend of social media usage, we
took the initiative and launched our own Facebook page
this year-BELLEZA: The Fashion Society of LHMC
where you can look up for the latest society updates.
The year 2015-16 has been a ride of its own kind, a
journey in which all members of Belleza found a second
family among themselves. I hope and I am sure the society will carry its aura forever, satisfying the name of the
society- Belleza, a Spanish word meaning I am beauty!
-Nandita Trivedi
Batch of 2014

TOP ROW(L TO R): Aashmita Ajit, Smriti Thakur, Anchal

Dhiman, Manisha Yadav.
MIDDLE ROW(L TO R): Shalini Mehra, Drishti Malhotra,
Nandita Trivedi(Fashion Coordinator), Shivangi Mangal,
Shraddha Sharma.
SITTING(L TO R): Priyanka Tyagi, Mansi Hans, Sushma Dahiya, Sandra Arora, Neha Singh, Shikha Sachan.
Not in photo:Ivikali Achumi.

84 Societies

PODIUM

his year, Debate Society expanded with 18 new members joining and the family boomed. Over the year, the
debate society represented the college in various events and fests. Surely everyone expanded beyond their limits, getting
exposed to a variety of formats, each requiring a peculiar skill which enabled them to overcome their fears and
shortcomings.
MEMBERS:
Anmol Chaudhary: AIIMS (JAM), UCMS, Satyawati College, Deshbandhu College (conventional)
Aishwarya Ghosh: BITS Pilani (PD), Jesus and Mary College, IIT-D (PD), SCAC, Motilal Nehru College(conventional)
Ishani Mahi: UCMS Debate, JMC, IIT D (PD), Intracollege litfest JAM + Debate - won the best speaker for opposition.
Khushboo Saha: Intracollege lifest, JMC (PD)
Saumya Nanda: Won second prize in turncoat, MAMC, IIT-D, JMC (PD), Hansraj (GD), UCMS (conventional)
Sowmya Ramgopal: Deshbandhu College (best speaker), Hansraj college, IGDTU (GD), Miranda House, Kirori Mal
College, UCMS (conventional), Jesus and Mary college (PD), SRCC (Turncoat), Intracollege Litfest (JAM)
Surbhi: IGDTU, Jesus and Mary College, IIT-D (PD)
Olivia Dasgupta: UCMS, Gargi College (conventional)
Jubina: Kalindi college (turncoat), AIIMS (JAM)
Archee Sinha: Lady Irwin College (conventional), Kalindi (turncoat)
Lubna: Lady Irwin College (conventional)
Mili Rawat: GGSCC, BITS Pilani, IIT-D (PD), UCMS (conventional)
Pooja Yadav: GGSCC, BITS Pilani (PD), UCMS (conventional), GGSCC (debate)
Kirti Mehra: VMMC(extempore 1st position), VMMC (conventional 1st position), AIIMS jam, GGSCC, BITS Pilani
(pd), Intracollege litfest jam
Megha priyadarshi: The great debate british council, BITS Pilani (PD)
Pragya Mehta: VMMC (extempore 2nd position), VMMC (conventional), UCMS (conventional best speaker), GGSCC,
BITS Pilani (PD), the great debate British Council, GGSCC (debate)
Lastly, all of the other members and our seniors held vital roles in discussions, exchanging views in the meetings
and helping each other broaden our horizons. After all, debating is about improving your argument, not raising your
volume.
- Pragya Mehta
Batch of 2014

Standing (Top row): Shaileja Yadav, Ishani Mahi, Kirti Mehra, Nikita Mary Mundakel, V. Swaathi,
Aneesha Pattnaik, Saumya Nanda, Olivia Dasgupta, Ihina Tinna.
Standing (1st row): Bhawna Arora, Surbhi Kumari, Sowmya Ramgopal, Pragya Mehta, Vailshali Adlakha, Pooja Yadav, Ayushi
Sinha
Sitting: Simran Doriya, Garima Gandotra, Milli Rawat, Khushboo saha, Jubina Hijam, Megha Priyadarshi, Archee Sinha
Not in photo: Vaishnavi Verma, Vaishali Tomar, Sonal Gandhi, Manisha Uppal, Sneha Gupta, Anmol Chaudhary, Aishwarya
Ghosh, Lubna Siddiqui, Preeti Dalal, Natasha, Vernika Gupta, Amrita

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INKLINGS

The road was distant when we started our journey to the stars,
We believed Hardonians are from Venus, illuminating Mars,
Little did we know when we gathered together to gibe,
Some beautiful young minds would usher in a new vibe
Sapling it was, we nurtured and cared,
Time is precious, togetherness we shared.

The Literary Society of Lady Hardinge Medical College.

What we did?
Made us News!
We are the brains behind all articles, news, reports, competitions on The Hardinge Chronicles, appreciated for our
unique ideas and a platform to unite the Hardonians.
Organized myriads of events:
Word War and Online Creative Writing in Hostel Day.
LitFest - Intra-college Literary Fest open for all.
Medical Writing Workshop with Paediatric Department and helped in editing the modules related to adolescent
health.
Won accolades:
Participated in Literary Events at various colleges and made our presence felt.
Missing Connections and Wombola - I Prize (Richa Arunendu) at Lady Irwin College
Mixed Bag - II Prize (Mitul Khadia) at Lady Irwin College
The GOT Quiz - III Prize (Garima Gandotra & Nishtha Narang) at UCMS
Kavyanjali online poetry competition - I Prize (Richa Arunendu) at VMMC.
We also managed Hostel Library in collaboration with Debate Society and willing volunteers.

-Richa Arunendu
Batch of 2014

Top Row: Amrita, Simran Madan, Aishwarya Ghosh, Arunima Sinha, Arpita Raghav, Anushree Rana.
Front Row (Standing): Lubna Siddqui, Garima Gandotra, Drishti Malhotra, Saumya Soni, Richa Arunendu, Aastha Aggarwal,
Pooja Nakhat Jain, Olivia Dasgupta.
Front Row (Sitting): Shivangee Gupta, Nishtha Narang, Shelly Mittal, Manisha, Swati Sharma, Sowmya Ramgopal, Anish Thind
Not in Photo: Kanika Roy, Nitya Beriwal, Sneha Gupta, Aishwarya Godara, Ayushi Negi, Niharika Meena, Tanisha Gupta,Tanisha
Pruthi, Varchasvi Meena, Chhavi Sharma, Mitul Khadia, Pavitra

86 Societies

AAROHANA

Front row(sitting)-Parineeta Singhal, Mahak Goel,Swati Sharma,Aishwarya Ghosh,Harshita Singh,Ruchi Goyal,Deeksha Chaurasia
2nd row(sitting)-Evelyn Minz,Twinkle Makkar, Megha Priyadarshi, Manzill,Kriti Mittal,Neha Mahar,Akanksha Sudhakar,Kirti
Mehra,Pooja Yadav,Kritika Pahadia
Front row(standing)- Areesha Usman, Tanu Priya Kaushal,Asmita Chanda, Alisha raj,Neelam Kumari,Aayesha Ahmed ,Papiya
Mistry,Nikita Mary Mundakel,Vaishnavi Jayaram,Simran Doria,Minal,Poonam Bodh
Top row-Smriti Saryan, Vanga siri Ashwita,Namrata Hazarika,Anindita Bose,Kruti Karde,Aarti Parashar,Aishwarya
Madaan,Swaathi Venkatesan
Not in photo-Aashti Mendiratta, Anjali Sharma, Bindu, Moiom H. Phom, Mitul Raj

t has been a victorious year for Aarohana- The Music Society of LHMC and its acapella subunit. We
competed at various colleges and universities as solos, duets or the group, which includes IIT-D, UCMS,
MAMC, DTU, Jamia Milia Islamia, VMMC, NSIT, NLU and other renowned institutes. The Acapella unit
bagged first prize at NLU and VMMC and the lead singers won the duet competition at MAMC.
Aarohana also successfully pulled off mesmerizing intra-college performances on the occasion of
Janmashtmi, Teachers Day, Interns Day and Hostel Day. We successfully organised an intra-society
competition. This year also marked new additions to our treasure in the form of amplifiers and mikes,
converting our practice sessions into unforgettable fun time and reminding us to keep our energy up and
practice harder. The team has a full-fledged karaoke system as well.
Keeping in mind the increasing love for acoustic learning, the society organised the Guitar classes for the
first time within the college premises which was a big hit among all the semesters and even the college
faculty. Two enthusiastic tutors helped us grasp the cords for the same. We would like to thank all our
teachers for being so patient and hardworking in training us.
-Swati Sharma & Manzill

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The Verve 87

3rd row: Swathi, Pallavi, Shailley, Sandra, Jaya, Anjali, Sharma, Manisha, Abhilasha, Akansha, Shikha
urlidharan, Tanya Satija, Shrishti, Stuti Shandelya
4th row: Shubhrika, Sheeba Khan, Poonam Bodh, Nivedita K. Chengappa, Evelyn, Mini Sharma, Aishwarya M 5th row: Dheeresh,
Rekha Sevda, Mamta Sohal, Gargee Rattan, Nisha Meena, Nikita Mary Mundakel
2nd row: Shuchi, Saloni, Sakshi, Sharma, Rakhi Dhankar, Mitul, Laxita, Amrita, Surbhi, Afsana, Shikha Tanwar
1st row: Khushboo, Ritu, Ridhi, Shikha Aggarwal, Rupal Jain, Priyanka kumari, Sneha, Shilpi, Shobha, Shashi
Not in photo: Nipun Kumar, Sheetal, Saniya, Ruzhual, Aarushi Aggarwal, Manjeet

MAMC

laying together, supporting and encouraging

your team, defending it till the end and then
celebrating victory and defeat together. This is what
sports is all about. The sports society of LHMCVENCEDOR participated with enthusiasm in
various events of badminton, basket ball, table tennis
and athletics held at AIIMS UCMS, LSR, MAMC and
VMMC. We even began the training of a full-fledged
Basketball Team with students from all semesters.
AIIMS

1.Badminton:
Dheeresh-reached quarter final in womens singles; 3rd in mixed doubles
Pallavi, Rupal Jain - participated (Reached 2nd
round)
Saloni khattar -participated
2.Basket ball : Team participated (Reached 2nd
round)
3.Table tennis : Priyal-participated
UCMS

1. Badminton:
Aarushi,Afsana,Priya,Rakhi,Ruzhual,Sandra,Sho
bha,Sneha (Participated)
Rupal Jain-reached quarter finals
Swathi-participated (Reached 2nd round)
2. Basketball: Team participated

1.Badminton:
Rakhi, Rupal Jain - reached semi-finals
Shobha -participated
Swathi -participated(Reached 2nd round)
VMMC

1.Badminton: Swathi- participated(Reached

semifinals)
2.Basketball Team participated
LSR

1.Badminton Singles:
Aarushi,Priya Singhal,Priyanka,Rakhi,Sandra,
Shikha, Sneha -Participated
Swathi-Participated(Reached 2nd round)
2.Badminton Doubles:
Aarushi and Priya Singhal
Rakhi and Sandra -Participated
3.Athletics:
Anjali, Priya -100m race
Shashi -100m race, long jump,javelin throw
-Rupal Jain
Batch of 2014

88 Societies

HOSTEL lIBRARY

he UG hostel library, Tresor, was reopened in the month of August 2015 after a brief period of
discontinuity. We, enthusiastically, bought new books, recorded and labelled them. People from literary
society, debate society and number of volunteers contributed greatly to management of library. Library was
open to the students of all the semesters, from Monday to Saturday (4:30-5:30). Then a campaign of book
donation was started and students as well as teachers, donated books of all the genre to library. They were
thanked by giving certificates and badges for their generous contribution. We are grateful to all the people for
their precious contribution.
-Neha Panika
(Hostel Library Incharge)

PERSPECTIVE

erspective started off this year with organising a basic photography workshop for its members held by
Mr. Dwividendra. K. Nim,an alumnus of LHMC. We also covered the events of drama society of LHMC.
Pragya Ahuja one of the members of the society made it to the final round in National Geographic Amateur
photography competition.

Fourth row: Khyati Sharma, Pragya Ahuja,Pallavi Lakra,V Ashwita Siri, Aneesha, Anshika
Third row: Mitul, Archee, Arushi, Ayesha Ahmad, Anjali Bhasin, Aakriti Arora
Second row: Shilpi, Nivetha, Jubina, Anjali Gautam, Anushka
First Row: Tanvi Jha, Kakoli Roy, Lekha Chandel, Khushboo
Not in Photo: Kajol Aggarwal, Nikita Gautam, Ankita Bala, Monika Yadav, Chhavi.

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90 Societies

HARDINGE
CHRONICLES

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MEDIQUEST

When learning is purposeful, creativity blossoms. When creativity blossoms, thinking emanates. When thinking
emanates, knowledge is fully lit. When knowledge is lit, economy flourishes.
Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, Indomitable Spirit

We at Mediquest believe that expanding horizons is essential to ignite ones true potential and I, Nitya
Beriwal am the coordinator of the same.
The society was founded and initiated in the centenary year of LHMC to bring dynamicity to the view
undergraduate hold towards medicine. The society was founded to explore humanitarian aspects of medical
science. We at Mediquest believe that medicine is beyond academic extension and that students should be
actively involved in the same so that they can satiate their curiosity and passion adequately.
Besides exploring plethora of conferences, workshops, student meets the organization is involved in
discussions on latest medical innovations, emerging theories on questions of consciousness, concept of mind
that is relating the same to the integrated theory of everything as proposed by several scientists of the era.
The society plans to expand its activity to conduct events and discussions on a larger scale. We hope that this
recently formed society reaches new pinnacles in the time to come.
Nitya Beriwal (founder)
Batch of 2013

Second Row: SimranDoria, Shaileja Yadav, Simran Sharma, Nitika Parihar, Priyanka Pillania
First Row: Pallavi Singh, Nitya Beriwal, Priya Setia
Not in photo: Kanika Kalara, Sneha Gupta

92

The Arts Column

Megha Priyadarshi (2014)

Megha Priyadarshi (2014)

Tanvi Goel (2015)

Simran Madan (2014)