By IANS,
Kathmandu : On Friday, when Calcutta Medical College celebrates its 177th Foundation Day, the festivities will include laying out the red carpet for an old boy who rose to international fame: the first president of Nepal, Dr Ram Baran Yadav.
It is the first college of European medicine in Asia.
Still popularly known as CMC though it was renamed Medical College, Kolkata, the august institute will be the first port of call for Yadav, who begins his 10-day visit to India from Thursday.
The 63-year-old became the first president of Nepal in 2008 after the Hindu kingdom formally became a secular, federal republic, and replaced King Gyanendra as the constitutional head of state.
Yadav, a former physician, studied at CMC for his medical degree, following it up with an advanced degree at the Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research in Chandigarh.
Yadav’s name now ranks with other illustrious CMC alumni like Bidhan Chandra Roy and Nil Ratan Sarkar.
After attending the Foundation Day programme, the Nepali president will head for Andhra Pradesh state in south India to offer worship at the famed Tirupati temple.
The presidential trip also includes a health check-up at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences in New Delhi, and finally, attending the annual convocation programme at his Chandigarh alma mater, where he is the chief guest.
A combination of personal and official, the visit will see Yadav meet his Indian counterpart Pratibha Patil, Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, leader of India’s United Progressive Alliance Sonia Gandhi, and other senior Indian politicians.
(Sudeshna Sarkar can be contacted at [email protected])