Hope and happiness at a doctors’ reunion

It was a grand reunion at the Bless Retirement Living at South Vazhakulam in Aluva.
The doctors of the 1962 MBBS batch of Thiruvananthapuram Medical College
The doctors of the 1962 MBBS batch of Thiruvananthapuram Medical College

KOCHI: It was a grand reunion at the Bless Retirement Living at South Vazhakulam in Aluva. At least 35 doctors of the 1962 MBBS batch of Thiruvananthapuram Medical College reunited to share memories from the past and speak about their present lives.

The idea to host the function at Bless Retirement Living was developed by Dr R Venugopal, D Radhakrishnan and Dr Sudheer, who are residents at Bless Retirement Living and former batchmates.
It was also their effort to share their experience of living at such a retirement home with their friends.
“My decision to spend the rest of my life in a retirement community was received with disappointment by my friends. And by inviting them to Bless, I wanted to show them the dignified retirement life I am leading here,” said Dr R Venugopal, retired pediatrician from Alappuzha and a satisfied resident of Bless.Most of the batchmates, from Thiruvananthapuram to Kannur, arrived for the event. Some of them even brought their spouses and children also. Old friends from abroad also joined the gathering, making the day a memorable one.

Dr M V Pillai, president and CEO to the Int. Network for Cancer Treatment and Research, USA flew all way to Kerala. Dr C Thomas, visiting plastic surgeon at Aster Medicity flew from Oman to surprise his classmates.

Dr R Venugopal compared old age to that of an eagle. “Just like an eagle takes off its feathers to prepare for old age, we humans also need to remove our emotional baggage to prepare for old age,” he said.
Rather than running a retirement community, what makes Bless special among others is the pack of dedicated and passionate employee group. “With many other residents residing in the same place, hosting such an event was a challenge,” said Dr Venu.

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