History of TD Medical College

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History of TD Medical College, Alappuzha

Side view of TDMC Building

The T.D.Medical College is situated in the suburban area of Vandanam, 9 km south of the Alappuzha (previously Alleppey) town, facing the NH 47, in Alappuzha district of Kerala State, South India. The initials T.D. stand for Thirumala Devaswom, which in Sanskrit means belonging to the Lord of Thirumala, since this medical college was started in 1963 under the patronage of the T.D.Temple at Anantha Narayana Puram of Alappuzha. Initially the management of the college was done by the Kerala Cultural & Educational Society. It was later brought under a trust called "T.D.Medical College Trust", which was headed by the President of the Thirumala Devaswom. The day to day administration of the college was done by the T.D.Medical College Administrative Council. .N.V.Prabhu, Thoppil House, Alappuzha, the Honorary Secretary of this council, was the driving force behind the starting of this medical college. A total of 145 acres of land was purchased at Vandanam, in the coastal belt for the future development of the college campus, to include the hospitals, hostels, residential quarters.

THE EMBLEM OF T.D.MEDICAL COLLEGE : Emblem of TDMC

The emblem of the T.D.Medical College is unique in several respects. On the top portion, in the centre there is a rose with the icon of Lord Narasimha, the fourth incarnation of Lord Mahavishnu according to Hindu mythology, who is the presiding deity in the Alappuzha Anantha Narayana Puram T.D.Temple. The two lighted wick lamps on either side denote knowledge.

.Below this there are two quotations "Naayamaatmaa balaheenena labhyah" and "Sareeramaadyam khalu dharma saadanam". Both have important messages to the medical students and medical men in general.

The first quotation is from Mundakopanishad, a spiritual classic on Hindu philosophy. It conveys the idea that one who is weak mentally and physically cannot realize this ‘Atman’. Otherwise it means that one has to be mentally and physically strong to achieve the ultimate goal in life.

The second quotation is from " Kumaarasambhavam", a great poem in Sanskrit by the Mahaakavi Kaalidasa. The implied message is that the physical body is the most important instrument in carrying out ones righteous duties, meaning thereby that a healthy body is a must for a person embarking on his duties.

The lower portion of the emblem shows the various instruments used by the student to acquire the necessary knowledge to practise his profession.

PERIOD OF PRIVATE MANAGEMENT :

This was the fourth medical college in the Kerala State, but the first one to be started under private management. The foundation stone for the college building at Vandanam was laid in March 1962 and the the first batch of 25 students were admitted to the premedical course in the local arts college, the S.D.College, in August 1962. Thus in August 1963 the first MBBS classes were started for the first batch which consisted of 50 students. The T.D.Medical College Trust was collecting a capitation fee of Rs.7500/- from the students for admission to the medical college and an annual tuition fee of Rs.500/- plus a special fee of Rs.250/-.

The Kerala Government had agreed to upgrade the District Headquarters Hospital at Alappuzha and hand it over to the medical college management, to be used as teaching hospital for the medical students. Since the hospital facilities were not made available by then for clinical teaching, the first batch of students were transferred to other medical colleges in Kerala from their 2nd MBBS onwards. From the second batch onwards medical students are trained in the District Headquarters Hospital.

GOVERNMENT TAKE OVER :

Due to the objection raised by the Kerala University in running the medical college in this state collecting capitation fee from the students, the T.D.M.C. management ran into financial problems and the Kerala Government came forward for their help and took over the management of the institution from 17th October 1967 for a period of five years initially, under an agreement executed between the T.D.Medical College Trust and the Government. Since the T.D.Medical College Trust did not come forward to take back the management of the college at the end of the stipulated initial five year period, as per conditions in the agreement, the college became vested with the Government of Kerala from17th October 1972 and Government order No.G.O.M.S.263/73/HD dt. 23rd October 1973 was issued accordingly. Thus this became the 4th Government Medical College in the state. Since no compensation whatsoever was paid to the T.D.M.C.management by the Government during take over, the name T.D.Medical College is still retained in the records.

Buildings :

In 1967 when the Government temporarily took over the management of the medical college there were only two wings of the college building in the ground floor constructed by the private management at a cost of about Rs.8.8 lakhs. The central portion housing the library in the ground floor and the auditorium in the first floor were constructed by the Government at a cost of about Rs.13 lakhs, which was completed in 1971. The construction of the remaining part of the first floor was done after the medical college was taken over by the Government.