Nepal President turns nostalgic on return to alma mater

Chandigarh, Feb 4 (PTI) Lauding India''s achievementsin health and education sectors, a nostalgic NepalesePresident Ram Baran Yadav today said his students days in thiscountry had left an indelible imprint on his life and helpedhim reach this position.

Returning to his alma mater, the Post GraduateInstitute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER) here,Yadav, who celebrated his 63rd birthday today, recalled hisdays spent at the premier institute at its 31st convocation.

Yadav, who received an MD in 1985 from the institute,struck a chord with his audience immediately. "My teachers andmy colleagues, brothers and sisters of my fraternity," he saidas the students cheered.

"For me, it is like a homecoming to this prestigiousinstitution, where I had the proud honour and opportunity topursue my postgraduate course nearly three decades ago," hesaid and recounted in great detail his experiences at thePGIMER as well as his days at Kolkata, from where he did MBBS.

The Nepalase leader, who is on a 10-day visit to thecountry, said the rich culture of Punjab and West Bengal had"left an imprint on me and helped me reach to this position".

The Nepalese President also said that he was deeplyimpressed by India''s achievements in the health and educationsectors and also thanked the Indian government for itscontinuous support extended to the B P Koirala HealthInstitute in Nepal.

Yadav, whose son and daughter-in-law have also passedout from this institute and his personal physician also holdsa degree from here, hailed PGIMER as a premier institution inthe field of medical education and research and said that itsstudents are treated with great respect across the world.

"I was born in Nepal, brought up in Nepal; but Ilearnt medicine in Chandigarh and joined the politics after mystay in Bengal. I am very much impressed with the deedsof Indian heroes. I have also read Nehru''s ''Discovery ofIndia''," he said.

Paying tribute to Pandit Jawahar Lal Nehru, Yadavsaid, "I feel it is my duty to pay tributes to Nehru andSardar Kairon (former chief minister of Punjab), who had thevision to establish this great institute."

He also talked about how he was inspired by MahatmaGandhi, Subhash Chander Bose, Nehru and Kairon.

The convocation, where the Nepalese President was thechief guest, was presided over by the Union Health MinisterGhulam Nabi Azad.

Punjab and Haryana Governors, Shivraj Patiland Jagannath Pahadia, Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder SinghHooda and PGIMER Director K K Talwar, were also present in thefunction. 330 students were awarded degrees at the function.