Ludhiana, April 27
The archives of CMC Hospital maintain a precise pictorial and documentary record of all major events in the CMC &H since its inception in the year 1893. The history of this more than a century-old institution has thus been preserved carefully through pictures and records.
The genesis of the archives dates to October 1994, when at the inaugural function of the Centennial Celebration it was thrown open to the public. Earlier, the documents and pictures were stored in boxes and it was only due to the herculean efforts of several doctors that the photographs were arranged chronologically.
As one enters, the venue, one sees board number one, with pictures and records of writings before 1930. A picture of three-year-old Ms Edith Brown, founder of the CMC & H, is part of the priceless collection. The board is dedicated to Miss Edith Brown, with her degrees, DBE, MA, MD, MCOG, displayed prominently. One document states how Ms Brown, on her visit to Ludhiana in 1886, was appalled to see the terrible conditions of health of the Muslim women behind the Purdah. She decided to go back to America and get a specialisation in tropical diseases.
When she returned she hired a room in Chaura Bazaar. One woman came to her out of curiosity. Miss Brown gave the woman four annas and told her, “Tell others that everyone who comes here to read will get four annas. No attendance-no class- no four annas.” This is how she started a Women’s Christian College in 1893. A picture of the first couple of students in typical dresses of the last century is quite amusing.
The picture of the original structure of CMC shows it to be quite modest and unassuming, different from the present imposing one. In one of Miss Brown’s notes, she writes, “We must have an army of trained Indian nurses, midwives and dispensers. We must get them into villages, where they are needed. All 560,000 of them”. There are documents which tell visitors that she was awarded the Silver Kaiser-E-Hind Medal for her services by the Punjab Government in 1910. Later, she received the Gold Kaiser-E-Hind in 1922. She has a photograph with King George V granting her the title of Dame Commander of the British Empire. There is an inscription which says “Miss Edith Brown — Principal, 1894 to 1942.”
The second board displays important events from 1930 to 1947. There are pictures of refugees piled atop trucks. On the board are shown some hilarious blunders committed by the students. Sample this. “What is jaundice?” The answer was, “a joindis is inflammation of the joints.” “What is soda water?” The answer, “Soda water is agitated water”. “What is tuberculosis?” “Tuberculosis is the tonic that all are advised to get.”
The third board covers the period 1948 to 1960 and the fourth board has pictorial coverage of events from 1960 onwards. Through the pictures, one comes to know of various principals and the important events that occurred in the life of the institution. One historical event of Dr Brown performing the first surgical operation on a poor lady in Delhi’s St. Stephen Hospital is also recorded.
On one wall are the pictures of the alumni, starting from the year 1953. A record of all the students that have passed out has been put in a register. The centennial year shows the presence of a lot of doctors from overseas, including American and English doctors who were the students of CMC at one time or the other. Another interesting part of the archives are the personal pieces of furniture of Dr Brown, like her dresser, writing table, movable book rack, coffee table. All of them appear to be in a good condition.
The doctors there reveal that they plan to store all the material electronically. They were planning to get computer reprints of original photographs and proper preservation techniques were being applied. The alumni have also set up a website, where photographs of a particular batch and other important pictures from the archives can be downloaded.
