Yesterday once more: Leading doctors recreate the Class of ‘74

MUMBAI: On Friday evening as the city sparkled to mark India’s 75th Republic Day, in Lower Parel some of the most eminent doctors and medical practitioners of their generation – all in the late 60s and 70s, and in the prime of their careers — gamely donned wigs, gowns, hats and capes to perform to a medley of rousing pop and Bollywood hits in a musical titled ‘Yesterday Once More.’
The occasion was to celebrate the reunion of KEM Hospital and Seth Gordhandas Sunderdas Medical College’s Class of ’74’s 50th reunion. It galvanised leading ophthalmologists, oncologists and radiologists from Mumbai and overseas to portray characters such as the Infanta Catrina de Braganza, Queen Alexandria, Empress of India, Shri Gordhandas Sunderdas and Sir Pheroza Mehta, to trace the story of the men and women who built the foundations of their beloved alma mater, the neighbourhood of Parel and Mumbai itself.
The perfectly choreographed musical by Shaimak Davar featured epochal moments such as the transfer of the seven islands comprising Bombay from the Portuguese to the British; evolution of Parel as the leading textile producer to the world; the donation of the princely amount of ₹14.5 lakh by the family of Seth Gordhandas Sunderdas, a wealthy textile magnate, towards a college manned by Indians to serve the needs of the mill-working community; the appointment of Dr G V Deshmukh amongst the first batch of teachers at the G S Medical College, to its leading role in the recent battle against Covid. Tributes to the ethos of Mumbai were expressed through energetic lavani dances, soulful Fado renditions and even a high-stepping dabbawalla song and dance routine. The show was witnessed by over 175 alumni and their spouses.
Written and co-directed by fellow Class of ’74 batch mate Dr Swati Piramal, the production paid tribute to the nationalistic fervour and altruism of the founding fathers of the college, laced with nostalgia.
There were also affectionate references to the idealism of the young students, their days of cutting-chai in the college canteen, the romances in the library (at least seven happily married leading doctor couples emerged from here), the challenges of burning the midnight oil in the dreaded Anatomy hall and perusing textbooks such as ‘Gray’s Anatomy’.
“The preparation for this grand reunion – the largest in GSMC’s history – began on April 15, 2023, under the leadership of Dr Rajesh Parikh, Dr Swati Piramal, Dr Suleman Merchant, Dr Qureshi Maskati and Dr Suresh Sundar,” said alumnus Dr Ketan Mehta, a pulmonary and critical-care physician and founder MD of NeilMed, the international pioneer in nasal and sinus care.
He and 17 of his batch mates flew in from USA to participate for the occasion. 156 classmates were located after an elaborate search.
The ex-students visited the college, conducted a charity drive, followed by a get-together in the evening hosted by Dr Rajesh Parikh and his celebrated IVF specialist wife Dr Firuza Parikh (also a batch mate). After the musical and dinner, the group retired for a laidback weekend at Alibaug.
“We could have danced all night,” said Dr Piramal, after the show. Born into a noteworthy business clan, she is the first in the family who chose medicine as a career, and spent some of her most fulfilling days at the college. She recalled how as an undergrad, she had chanced upon a young girl in calipers, paralyzed by polio from neck down, in a bylane of Parel.
“Parel was a mill area and endemic to polio,” she said. “Workers had migrated from their villages with their families and thousands of children were affected by the virus, causing untold misery and suffering. At the time parents believed an evil spirit had entered their children to cause the affliction.”
Troubled by the condition of the girl, Piramal gathered classmates and resolved to make a no-polio zone within their 10-km radius. Students rallied for the cause and 10 years later, achieved their objective – the number of affected children dropped from 25,000 a day to zero, resulting in a memorable visit from Mother Theresa herself. “India’s polio immunization efforts started some years later and today the virus is nearly eliminated,” she said.
Besides writing, co-directing and lending her support for the production of the musical and its accompanying booklet, Dr Piramal who is the vice-chairperson of the Piramal Group, a global business conglomerate with diverse interests in pharmaceuticals, financial services and real estate, portrayed the role of Queen Alexandra and performed a spirited tribute to Vyjanthimala and her iconic ‘Eena Meena Deeka’ dance, from the 1957 hit ‘Aasha’.
This, after a visit to Ayodhya for the inauguration of the Ram Mandir, earlier in the week, active preparations for a reunion with her Walsingham School alumni, coming up soon, and other commitments.
How does she do it?
“I do things immediately and at once,” said Piramal, adding how the production wasn’t easy to pull off. “Shiamak’s troupe is used to working with much younger and agile players. Not senior citizens like us, who take time for costume changes, entrances and exits. But, it was wonderful to catch up with everyone after all these years.”