Not lonely, says CMC’s only 2017-18 MBBS student

When the central government enforced NEET (National Eligibility cum Entrance Test) for admission to medical colleges in Tamil Nadu, the CMC moved the court resulting in the prestigious institution not admitting students for the course that year. 

Siddhant was the only exception as he was admitted under the central government quota. Son of late major Rajesh Nair, originally from Kerala, and Supriya from Maharashtra, Siddhant was initially surprised when he was granted admission. “But the real surprise was when I was told that I was the only student admitted for 2017-18,” he told this reporter. 

Being resilient helped as right from the time he joined, he was never made to feel lonely. He was also never left alone. “As he had no classmates to spend time with, the college decided to make his seniors include him in all of their inter-batch activities,” said principal Anna Pulimood. 

Asked if Siddhant ever requested such a ‘facility’, she said, “No, he did not ask for it. It was our decision to ensure that he was part of all the activities in the campus.” 

Asked about his classroom experience since he has to clear Anatomy, Physiology and Biochemistry in the first year, Siddhant said, “Physiology classes are one-to-one, while in both Anatomy and Biochemistry, post-graduate students help me.” 

His schedule starts from 8.15 am when he attends classes for two hours and after a short break, takes part in Anatomy dissections for another two hours. “After lunch, it is back to practicals in other subjects for two more hours,” he said. 

Asked if his mother, who practices psychology in Mumbai, was worried about him being the only student in class, he laughed it off saying “not really”. 

Strangely, in contrast to the usual student whine about unappetising hostel food, he said, “I love the food in the hostel.” In the evenings, he plays tennis and as he is also into athletics, spends time in the college ground at Bagayam.