Reflections on Things at Hand: CMC Vellore

I think that some people have an almost mystic connection to a place, and apparently for Scudders it is India. Of all the places I've ever visited it is by far my favorite, for any number of reasons. I'm a historian - and who has a more rich and varied history than India? Plus, there is a definite spiritual side to my nature that finds common ground with the deep spirituality of India. I don't try and gloss over all that is wrong with India - and lord know there is enough wrong there. I always think of India has a place that can make you cry twice within a block, the first time in wonderment and the second time in anguish. However, I think it is somehow deeper than that. There is a branch of my family that has been going to India for almost two year hundred years as doctors and missionaries, which is what led my father and I to make the epic train journey from Mumbai to Vellore in early July 2004. We wanted to visit the Christian Medical College and Hospital in Vellore (usually just referred to as CMC Vellore) in Tamil Nadu in southern Indiana. The hospital was founded by Ida S. Scudder, a very distant relative, around a hundred years ago. Apparently the story is that she was visiting her father, a missionary, and was unable to help out three women facing difficult labor (they could get no male medical assistance because of societal norms and at the time Ida had no training). Ida was horrified when all three of the women died, and she went home and graduated from medical school at Cornell. She then returned to India and set up a one bedroom clinic, and then kept expanding into the Christian Medical College was founded. It has since become a very well-respected hospital and medical school. My dad and I knew about the school and contacted them, and they were very excited to have us visit - even going so far as to have a special ceremony for us (even though we explained that we were from the other side of the family did not routinely produce doctors [although my dad is a physician] and missionaries). We took the train down and spent the night at a guest cottage associated with the hospital (and had the surprising comfort meal of fried chicken, mashed potatoes and vanilla ice cream with fresh mango). The next day we had a tour of the hospital, but, unfortunately, we cut the trip short so that we could make a wild trip across India to make it to the Taj Mahal for the 4th of July (another posting in and of itself). My father and I, and my half-sister Annie, would really like to make it back to Vellore for a more extensive tour, including their community work out in the villages. My father was really impressed with the facilities, and it led to an interesting discussion about how medical tourism is becoming a more popular option.