Modernity nestled in the lap of history – this is how you can describe Maulana Azad Medical College.

While walking through the college gate, one can get a glimpse of the Khooni Darwaza on the right, across the road. The old building, which was once the old Delhi jail, still has the Phansi Ghar, where prisoners were hanged in ancient times.

Cut to 2009. The campus houses a state-of-the-art building and medical labs and churns out scores of surgeons and physicians every year.

Famous for Its brilliant faculty, modern infrastructure, DU patronage and rich history dating back half a century.

Programmes MBBS, BDS, MD, MS, associate fellowship in industrial health, postgraduate fellowship in HIV/AIDS medicine, postgraduate diploma in maternity and child health (PGDMCH) and postgraduate diploma in geriatric medicine (PGDGM) and other PG diploma programmes.

Extra-curricular The college festival, Synapse, ended recently. Students had a gala time over five days, out of which two days were set aside for sporting events. They had rock shows, dance competition, debating, basketball competition and much more. The range of activities demonstrated what our future doctors take an interest in when they are not poring over books.

“Many of us have some hobby. Some attend dance classes, others do theatre. But it’s also true that we get much less time for all this than other DU students,” says Gyan Ranjan Nayak, third professional year student of MBBS. “The eight hours we spend between 8am and 4pm are always packed. Whatever we do besides studying is done after four pm.”

Infrastructure The college complex is quite small, but its five associate hospitals make the entire campus extensive. The partner hospitals, where students learn the ropes of medicine and surgery, are Lok Nayak, GB Pant, Guru Nanak Eye Centre, Chacha Nehru Bal Chikitsalaya and Sushruta Trauma Centre. The college not only trains doctors but also propagates research. “During vacations, students do research for projects funded by ICMR (Indian Council of Medical Research),” says Dr AK Aggarwal, dean.

The college boasts a one-of-a-kind skill development laboratory, where students are given hands-on training in surgery. The lab offers a simulated environment with mannequins, on which students practise life-saving skills. “This lab helps students understand and practise surgery without risking a patient’s life. This facility started three years ago,” says Dr Pawanindra Lal, a professor.

Found on campus “MAMC students have loads of fun, just like students in other DU colleges,” says Gurukripa Kowlgi, popularly known as ‘Guru sir’, a final-year MBBS student. “There are two rock bands, Overdose and Cipher, and teams that organise fashion and dance events. Those hours of daily study don’t stop us from participating in extra-curricular activities.”

Factfile Maulana Azad Medical College was established 22 years after Irwin Hospital (now Lok Nayak Hospital) was started. MAMC made its beginning in 1958, in the hospital block of Irwin Hospital. The foundation of the main building was laid in 1959 by GB Pant, then home minister of India, and the college building was declared open by Pandit Jawahar Lal Nehru on February 26, 1961. Later, the college was extended with the addition of GB Pant Hospital (1964) and Guru Nanak Eye Centre (1977) to the MAMC infrastructure.

Wishlist “The hostel washrooms need a facelift,” says Vijay Dutt (name changed), a third-year student of MBBS in UG Old Boys’ Hostel. “Though some work is being done, its pace is dead slow. The renovation has been going on for the past one-and-a-half years. At present, we have to manage with fewer washrooms.”