⚛️ Med School Shenanigans: Dum Maro Dum

From Monisha Choudhury:

The year was 1973, when we shifted from the borrowed Chemistry block behind Vice Chancellor' s office of Delhi University to Safdarjung in our third year of MBBS. 

The place was the First floor lecture theatre at the new building of the Accidents and Emergency wing, borrowed by University College of Medical Sciences from Safdarjung Hospital, New Delhi.

The topic: Hallucinogens

We were covering the Chapter on Hallucinogens by our then temporarily borrowed Professor from Maulana Azad Medical College....later she was my collegue in Lady Hardinge Medical College.

Dr Mehta, had a bee in her bonnet. She decided to teach us with actual examples or samples. She declared she was distributing sealed counted packets of 'The' medicines like Amphetamines and Mandrax for all of us to see and learn.Two demonstrators Jaya Kohli and Jaya Mirchandani I think, were given the task of counting them and after passing them down, collecting them at the end of the class. 

After class, they were duly collected but on counting more than half did not come back. Initially, Dr Mehta calmly requested to return the remaining packets and sent the two to collect them. Very few came back. Now Dr Mehta was getting really angry. 

She requested us to pass and throw them quietly in the coir red mats at the back of the class. But none came. 

Then she declared that this will result in a police case. Asked both the Jayas to lock the doors and man them till all the packets were returned. Nothing happened. 

It was lunchtime by now. We were hungry and though we knew who the probables were, we sat silently for their sake. The guys started screeching “Police Police” mimicking Dr Mehta's voice. 

Then, in desperation, she told us to throw them out of the window and sent both Jayas down to ground floor to collect whatever possible. We all peered to see the poor dears hunt between the bushes. Nothing! 

Fancy the boys parting with the booty! Some in those days were already experimenting. But we were getting exasperated and hungry and with great difficulty the girls got out. The boys were later let out as well without returning their free 'booty'. Dum maro dum for them!