By Dr. C.G. Narasimhan            

Mysore Medical College (MMC) was first started in 1924 at Bangalore. Later in 1930 it was shifted to Mysore city at the behest of Nalwadi Krishnaraja Wadiyar. MBBS degree of the College was recognised by the Medical Council of India (MCI) in 1933.

Earlier to 1924, there was a Mysore University Medical School at Bangalore giving a four-year diploma course – LMP (Licentiate Medical Practitioner). The admission to LMP course was after SSLC (now 10th std.) examination.

These LMP doctors were mainly posted to work in rural hospitals. Some took to private practice in towns and cities. They were very popular, almost like messengers of health, making home visits also. The LMP course was abolished in 1956. Those who passed out were allowed to get admitted to MMC for doing the degree course.

In 1950s there were only two Medical Colleges in the State of Karnataka (Mysore then) — one in Mysore and the other in Bangalore. At MMC the admission was merit based and also some by reservation. Bangalore Medical College (BMC) was the first private institution in Karnataka to be started with admission on donation in 1955.

Dr. R. Shivaram of ‘Koravanji’ Kannada magazine-fame and a few others were the Founders.  Donation was the order of Rs.3,000, a huge amount in those days!

Before that, Manipal Medical College, then not belonging to Mysore State, was taking admission by donation. Later in 1958, Government took over the Bangalore Medical  College and inter-college transfer of students from Bangalore to Mysore and vice-versa was allowed on student exchange basis which many could utilise. Though Kasturba Medical College, Mangalore, was started in 1953 it was also not in Karnataka State.

The third College in Karnataka was started at Hubli in 1957 where the admission was mostly to the North Karnataka students. So there was a keen competition for admission to Mysore and Bangalore Colleges in the State.

Present day 11th and 12th standards were called junior and senior intermediate classes after SSLC. CBZ and PCB (Biology) were the preferred combinations leading to Medical course, a few from PCM and after B.Sc, were also selected. Getting a percentage of 60 to 65 in the third part as it was called (CBZ or PCM) would ensure a seat in the Medical College which itself was a herculean task for the students to score.

With 64 percent, I was one among 100 to get admitted to Mysore Medical College in July 1957. Unlike the present day four-and-a-half-years of medical course, ours was of five-and-a-half-years. Before entering Medical College, we had a six-month Pre-Medical course which included advanced Botany, Zoology, Physics and Physical Chemistry at the Yuvaraja’s College, Mysore.

We entered Mysore Medical College building in Jan. 1958 with Anatomy, Physiology and Organic Chemistry as the main subjects in the first two years. The first hurdle to cross was the second year examination which used to be in the month of December. With a very strict Home Examiner like Dr. Y. Appaji (Anatomy) passing the exam was not at all easy. There were a number of failures. It was like a first filter before entering third year which included all the clinical subjects at K.R. Hospital.

I do remember a few students discontinuing the course as they could not pass in the second year exam. Physiology was handled by Prof. B.V. Puttaraj Urs and Dr. S. Rama Rao.

The latter though didn’t have a PG degree was an eloquent teacher. Biochemistry practical classes were ably handled by Dr. H.N. Doddanaranappa.

After the second year, the next filter used to be in the fourth year exam where we had to take Pathology, Bacteriology, Microbiology, Preventive and Social Medicine, Jurisprudence (Forensic Medicine) and Ophthalmology. A memorable event that used to happen during this period was the ‘Hygiene Tour’ arranged by the Department of Preventive and Social Medicine. We as a batch of 38 students were taken to visit the Vaccine Institute in Bangalore, Serum Institute and Army Medical College in Pune, the famous Haffkine Institute and Aarey Milk Colony and the TCF Pharma Factory at Bombay.

Senior Lecturer Dr. M.G. Ranganna had accompanied us. It was great fun to go by the steam engine train and see these places. Final year of the 5-year course consisted the major clinical subjects — Medicine, Surgery, Obstetrics and Gynaecology. ENT, Paediatrics, Radiology  and Orthopaedics were taught as minor subjects.

Out of the 100 students admitted in 1957, only 11 passed the final exam in December 1962 without any failure! This does not happen nowadays. Scoring 60 percent and getting first class in the final year was almost unheard of.

During our days, the first person to get first class was late Dr. M.V. Govindappa and after 5 years later it was my classmate Chendrimada Seetha Ganapathy. After passing the final exam, our housemanship was of one-year duration with 3-month each posting of Medical, Surgical in K.R. Hospital, Obstetrics and Gynaecology in Cheluvamba Hospital, another one month each in other Departments like ENT, Casualty, Anaesthesia.

[To be continued]