ALUMNI SPEAK :
INTERVIEW THREE : August 22nd, 2021 (to be uploaded
INTERVIEW TWO : July 11th, 2021
INTERVIEW ONE : August 13th, 2018
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INTERVIEW : TWO : July 11th, 2021
INTERVIEW : 2nd in the Series of Veterinarians of the MVC: July 11th, 2021
This is the second part of the series of Interviews with Veterinarians of MVC. Here are the excerpts of an interview of Dr. M. Nayeem with Abdul-Aleem.
Dr Mohammed Nayeem M.V.Sc ; PhD, – Former Professor and Head, Department of Physiology and Biochemistry (1996-2000), Madras Veterinary College.
Q: CAREER HIGHLIGHTS :
A: I joined Animal Husbandry Department Tamil Nadu in the year 1964 was posted at Roypuram Veterinary Dispensary in 1965. I was popular with animal owners , the daily attendance increased from 5-6 to nearly 60 during my tenure .
At the Madras Veterinary College I perfected experimental models on dogs to study myocardial infarction, ( open heart surgery ) , performed isolated cardiac perfusions on rats for which I was invited to Madras Medical Mission to guide two students, later for the same work I was invited to the CLRI , Adyar to guide five Ph.Ds . I also guided students from AC Tech. College on animal experimental work.
As a teacher I was nominated for the BEST TEACHER AWARD by the ICAR in 2000 AD in which year I retired from service.
Q: DESIGNATION AT THE TIME OF RETIREMENT :
A: Professor and Head Department of Physiology and Biochemistry, Madras Veterinary College.
Q: MEMORIES OF COLLEGE DAYS :
A: I joined a 4 year course leading to B.V.Sc; at Madras Veterinary College from 1958 to 1964 , one year I missed due to prolonged illness. It was a great time I spent with a selected group of students, two from Malaysia and we were always together where ever we went. We were great sports enthusiasts .
Q & A : BATCH /YEAR OF B.V.Sc : 1964
Q: FIELD OF EXPERTISE OR SPECIALIZATION :
A: Cardiovascular physiology ( my Ph.D thesis ) / Rumen physiology ( my M.V.Sc thesis )
Q: Dr. I . M . AZIZUDDIN – Memories, Oral History
A: I first heard about Dr I M Azizuddin when I was a student at Madrasa Azam , one of my uncles , Advocate Mohammed Mahmood, was heard telling my father M. A. Jaleel an Agricultural Scientist, that a great personality, a Principal had expired. Later I learnt that it was about Dr I.M Azizuddin who was the then Principal of Madras Veterinary College (MVC).
Before joining college, I was given a recommendation letter by Khan Bahadur Abdul Hafiz Sahib, late Dr Azizuddin’s father in law, for admission at the MVC. As soon as I joined the college our college subedar Mr Rahman who had served Dr Azizuddin used to very often mention about the great achievements of Dr Azizuddin especially about his administrative capacity and his helpful nature.
During my study days two professors , Dr Ranganathan and Dr Moses ,used to mention about Dr Azizuddin as the one who gave veterinary profession a respectable standing in society especially at the Madras Medical College where he used to be invited as an external examiner. I used to feel quite proud to hear such accolades of this great man.
Q: PERSONAL INTEREST – SPORTS : SUPPORTING HOCKEY PLAYERS :
I took a lot of interest in the development of sports especially Hockey, was the Vice President of ‘Universal Hockey Club, Chennai . This team participated in tournaments at Chitoor, Tirupathy and Tirunelvelli.
The Universal Hockey Club’ won several tournaments like Y.M.C.A TROPHY (in the picture below 1986) and Tamil Nadu first division trophy 1984 .
1986 : Players and Officials of the Club. (standing from Left to Right) : Laeeq Ahmed, Aejaz Ahmed, Moheem Basha, Syed Rizwanullah , Kabeer Qadri, Asif Ali , Maqdoom Basha, Ghouse Basha, Mohammed Yousuf , M.A. Nabi ( Secretary ), Dr. Mohammed Nayeem (Vice President) , Liaquat Ali (Treasurer ), Iqbal Ali Dastageer Basha, Umar Shareef Imran Basha and Mohammed Riaz.
Reminiscences: Interesting tit-bits/notes on the officials /team players : M. A. Nabi the Secretary of the Universal Hockey Club, passed away some years back. His son Mohammed Riaz is the famous hockey player from Tamil Nadu who went on to lead as the Captain of the Indian Hockey team during ASIAD and SAGames and was part of the teams at the Olympics. Mohammed Riaz was also honoured with the Arjuna Award by Government of India .
(L to R) Mohammed Badiuddin, Captain, M A Nabi, Ubert Johnson – all Southern Railways Hockey Team
Incidentally , another great hockey player Mohammed Badiuddin, an engineer by profession, the brother in law of Dr I.M Azizuddin, also played great hockey. He was the Captain of the Tamil Nadu Hockey Team for several years, Captain of Southern Railways Hockey Team again for several years ,selected for the Indian National Hockey Team, was the backbone of the Tamil Nadu Hockey team for a long period during that tenure.
Dr Mohammed Nayeem now aged 81 was born on April 01st, 1940 ,lives with his wife at Chennai and is a proud father of 3 children Mohammed Zubair, Mohammed Zaid and Mohammed Zaki, who are engineers by profession .They have represented their colleges in sports, Zubair in football, Zaid in Cricket and Hockey as Captain, Crescent Engineering College of both the teams and Zaki in Cricket as Captain, Rajalakshmi Engineering College team. Zaki was also a member of Anna University Cricket team which had India’s Test player R Ashwin as a member.
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INTERVIEW : ONE : August 13th, 2018
Interview with Dr. Habibullah Khan, student of Madras Veterinary College
(L to R) Dr. Habibullah Khan, Tasneem Akbari
Habibullah Khan, retired veterinary doctor, completed his education from Madras Veterinary College, Vepery in early 1950s. He specialised in dairy sciences.
Dr. Habibullah Khan, now 84, lives with his daughter in Texas, U.S.A
(L to R) Jameela Banu and Dr. Habibullah Khan in their residence in Chennai
I always wanting to study medicine, Dr. Khan applied for two disciplines- human medicine and veterinary. And he never regretted joining the latter. “Animals may not be able to talk verbally, but they have an innate ability to communicate through their eyes and body language”, says Dr. Khan. “Sometimes just by looking at their eyes I could figure out if they were scared, angry, hungry or in pain”. Dr. Khan proceeded to specialise in dairy science and lived on farms at times, being on call at odd hours in the night to tend to sick animals.
Memories of his College days
Dr. Habibullah Khan had a memorable college life- some people and some memories have stayed with him forever. For example, his first meeting with Dr. Azizuddin, his principal during the time of his college admission. Six feet tall, he was a towering personality with a grace and command like no other. “I still remember meeting him with my father”, says Dr. Khan. “My father was very impressed and said ‘You have got a very good Principal’”.
Dr. I.M. Azizuddin – Principal
To have been a student of the only veterinary college of south India then was a privilege. The course had students from all over India and from some other nations too. Today, at 84 years of age, Dr. Khan jogs his memory to talk about the days of his youth but the fervour with which he talks about Dr. Azizuddin even today, reflects the impact his persona had on him.
“He was like a Godfather to us and someone I looked up to. I always used to think that if any person had to serve in this position, then he should be like Dr. Azizuddin. Though I served as the Dean and Director post in my time but even I have not been like this with my students”.
“Dr. Azizuddin was loved by everyone”, reminisces Dr. Khan. “Though I was not a student of microbiology, I heard from my friends that he was a very good teacher”.He was the only Doctor who had got his Ph.D. in microbiology in both human medicine and veterinary medicine.
He had such a command and gait that the students revered him. “The students would rush to their classes from the corridors when they saw him approaching. And not because he was strict – they held that respect for him because of the authority he exuded. We had such a great regard for him.”
“Very few people have the ability to be a good leader and a good person at the same time. Dr. Azizuddin was a rare combination of this two”. Dr. Khan recalls the time he was stricken with typhoid and had to take a long break from his studies but Dr. Azizuddin reassured him to not worry about it and recuperate completely before getting back.
Dr. Azizuddin was known to motivate and drive his students both academically and as well as in extra-curricular activities. “He had a great fascination for sports, especially football and when the college team played in intercollegiate matches, one could find Dr. Azizuddin running alongside the field supporting and shouting out encouragement to the players,” laughs Dr. Khan.
In college he was a dean but on the field he was one among them. “This is a very fond memory I have of him from one of the matches played at Loyola College. I was shocked to see him. Never have I seen a principal get so involved. This was a completely different side of Dr. Azizuddin I got to see”.
A strict disciplinarian, Dr. Azizuddin would shower praise only where it was deserved. “It’s unfortunate that he passed away at such an early age. He gave his contemporaries big shoes to fill”, he says.
Dr. Khan welcomes the idea of honouring deserving students. “A gold medal in pathology and microbiology for undergraduate students would be very encouraging and motivating. I wish this thought had come to me earlier”, he says. But a diabetic and an amputee, Dr. Khan has limited mobility to give shape to this as he has been living away in US since 4 years.
“Being a veterinary doctor has been a very fulfilling experience because diagnosing and relieving animals of their pain is a highly gratifying feeling”.
Dr. M. Md. Habibullah Khan – Former :
- Director of Extension Education : 1990 -1995
- Registrar (In-charge) : 1992 – 1993
- Director, Centre for Animal Production Studies: 1994 – 1995
Madras Veterinary College, Tamil Nadu Veterinary & Animal Sciences University (TANUVAS)
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