Image

എ.കെ.എം.ജി: കപ്പലിലെ കണ്‍വെന്‍ഷനും അലാസ്‌കയും അവിസ്‌മരണീയം

Published on 17 August, 2011
എ.കെ.എം.ജി: കപ്പലിലെ കണ്‍വെന്‍ഷനും അലാസ്‌കയും അവിസ്‌മരണീയം
“Seven Days and seven nights in seventh heaven”

Most spectacular AKMG convention:

2011 AKMG Annual Convention:                                                                               Alaskan Cruise aboard Norwegian Pearl

The 32 AKMG (Association of Kerala Medical Graduates of North America) Annual Convention took place aboard the, ‘Norwegian Pearl,’ a luxury cruise ship to Alaska from July 3 to July 10, 2011. This turned out to be a benchmark cruise with an action packed week that took the attendees from Seattle, WA to Juneau, AL and many ports in between. A total of 600 attendees enjoyed this gala event. This was a 7 day convention, the first one of this kind, for any alumni organization in America.

As Dr. Aravind Pillai, AKMG promised at the beginning, “this would as indeed something unusual and memorable’ and in cooperation with the production partner Cruise Connections Canada, the convention committee indeed did a fabulous job of keeping the attendees well informed with cutting edge scientific advances through a first rate CME program, well fed with gourmet Indian dishes 3 times daily with 32 Indian cooks aboard and a specially designated dining room exclusively for AKMG, and excellent Indian entertainment program with play back singers from Kerala, G Venugopal and Gayatri Ashokan.

Here are some of the highlights of the convention:

July 3 Day 1

After a sumptuous breakfast buffet at the Hilton Garden Inn, Seattle, all the attendees were treated to a 3 hr guided city tour and we visited many of the landmarks like Seattle art museum, the majestic waterfall garden park, statue of Chief Seattle for whom the city was named, Pyke Place farmers’ market with its delightful array of local produce, seafood and charming local arts and crafts, the 650’ tall Space Needle, Seattle’s most familiar icon, Hiram Chittendon locks to control water level in Lake Washington with the jumping smoults, etc. And then we were transferred to the ship and embarked on an unforgettable cruise.

 Although my baggage was a bit late in arriving, that didn’t deter from going for an excellent buffet lunch at Indigo restaurant. And our state room was ready for occupancy.

The ‘welcome aboard’ cocktail reception in the evening at Spinnaker lounge on the 13th floor was quite delightful. Convention was started with a prayer by Dr. Parvathy Mohan. President Dr. Pillai lit the traditional lamp. Free drinks and snacks, nice music and dancing made the evening very pleasant.  Nostalgic photos of the events and personalities of yester years were continuously run on the large screen reminding us the glorious past of AKMG. Introduction to the next few days activities were given. We met many of our old friends and forged new friendships and then danced the night away to the hottest hits from Bollywood. 

July 4, 2011 Day 2 

Our happy July 4 started with a Yoga session under the direction of Dr. Aravind Pillai, our president, followed by a good Indian breakfast and an excellent CME session with many experts speaking on the latest advances in treating heart diseases, reconstructive surgery in head and neck cancer and the often difficult to diagnose ‘acute appendicitis.’

After lunch we enjoyed some on board activities of which there were plenty. There was music and dance everywhere – Family karaoke at Blisss ultralounge,music with String ,quartet at Crystal atrium, line dancing and cha cha classes and Music with Soul at Spinnaker lounge. Of course you could stroll around the art galleries, duty free shops, internet café or Colombian Emeralds International show. Or you could enjoy a nice massage or “Go Smile” teeth whitening at the South Pacific Spa.

The best was yet to come. After supper, we all sat down in ‘Persian style’ casually for an unforgettable Gazal Sandhya with gazal experts from Kerala, Venulogpal and Gayatri. Dr. M. V. Pillai, a master of prodigious talents, introduced the theme for the evening – ‘Remembering the famous Omar Khayyam with his romantic verses in Rubaiyiyat’ and enjoying similar songs from Indian movies. The singers talked a little about the meaning of some of the gazals and how this kind of poetry with great meaning has captured the imagination of everybody. Along with that 25 gift bags, each containing a CD of gazals, a copy of Rubaiyiyat and ………… were auctioned off and the total proceedings of $20,000. 00 went to the Pediatric Cancer Institute at the Regional Cancer Center, Trivandrum, India. 

  July 5, 2011, Day 3

This morning’s CME session was also quite informative and included important topics like ‘Twin epidemics of Corornary Heart Disease and Diabetes in Kerala, India, Problems among adolescents in Gulf countries by AKMG Emirates group of doctors etc. There was  culinary demonstrations for the spouses at Spinnaker Lounge. About 2 pm the ship  embarked at Juneau, capital of Alaska. Although summer was in full swing, the temperatures were only in the upper 50’s and I was grateful that somebody reminded me to bring along a few warm layers of clothing.

Then some of us took a bus tour from the local business center to see the famous Mendenhall Glacier. On the way our driver Ben Dove, a Klingit Indian, gave a running commentary about the first settlers here, the Indians, migration of salmon etc. as we passed along the Salmon hatchery on the side of the road and then stopped at the glacier. The half mile wide and 100 feet tall crystalline structure crystalline structure of solid ice that emits a nice bluish tinge all around, one of the 38 large glaciers in Alaska is truly awe inspiring. At the  Mendenhall Glacier Visitor Center a movie that emphasized glacial phenomena, ecosystems etc was screened.  US Forest Service maintains several hiking trails here that give you a unique opportunity to experience nature at its best. A few others took the ‘whale watch’ trip. There were also Helicopter Icefield excursion as well as Dog sled expeditions. And by 6.45 pm we were all back in our cabins, getting ready for the evening function.

By 7.30 we were all marching into Indigo room for the fabulous Indian dinner. The spread on the table was fit for a king. Then on to Spinnaker lounge for the much anticipated Gazal Sandhya Part 2.  This night, the entire evening was devoted to melodious songs and meaningful poetry, like the way Omar Khayyam did in his days, that truly captivated the audience. A charcoal sketch of Omar Khayyam (by Dr. Nathan) “under the bough with a book of verses, a jug of wine and thou beside me” was a perfect backdrop for this special evening.

Wednesday, July 6, 2011, Day 4

There was no CME and the entire day was spent ashore at Skagway, Alaska. We took the popular ‘White Pass Summit Rail and Bus Excursion.’  Skagway, city of 800 people in winter that swells up to 1200 in summer thanks to the tourists brought by cruise ships, is a historic city born out of the Klondike Gold Rush of 1898. The driver addressed as ‘Chee Chako’ meaning rooky visitors and the original settlers here were Chilkoot Klingit Indian tribe  and then came the ‘Gold Stampeders.’ The fully narrated bus tour took us along the Klondike Highway and Chilkoot trails  exploring downtown where history is preserved among wooden sidewalks, historic buildings and then viewing beautiful waterfalls and glaciers, sunlit peaks in the dotting the distant skies and dense valleys ..yes, nature’s beauty was in full display.

Then came the thrilling train ride, at times a bit scary as we realized that the train was passing along the narrow gauge railroad, an International Historic Civil Engineering Landmark, known as the ‘Scenic Railway of the World’. The panorama of saw toothed mountains and glaciers, deep gorges, beautiful waterfalls and small rivers and tunnels were breathtaking. Along the way our guided pointed out some important sights like Bridal Veil Falls, Tormented Valley, Rock Island, Inspiration point, Dead Horse Gulch, and the “original Klondike trail of ’98” when the ‘gold rush people walked for miles at a stretch with 50lbs back pack. In one area the tree branches all looked northwards because of the fierce northern winds that often blow in this region.

We got back to the ship by 5pm after strolling through the down town briefly and saw the historic red onion Salon and brothel museum and then got ready for the evening’s main program – AKMG Karaoke & Dance Night at Stardust Theater. It turned out to be a good performance as many of our talented artists gave a nice rendition of many hit songs.

Thursday July 7, Day 5 

The morning was devoted to another session of CME and the topics ranged from ‘Integration of Yoga into Medicine,’ ‘Sleep Apnea’ and newer treatment,’ and New treatments for Major depression.   By this time the ship was passing by ‘Glacier Bay’ and all of us rushed to the upper deck to get a good view of the glaciers. The captain announced it was a ‘must see’ sight. So we all went to the top deck for a good view. The grandeur of these spectacular glaciers surrounding the mountains is simply beyond description. While we were watching, a large chunk of ice broke off from one of the glaciers and fell into the waters of the Bay that sounded like an explosion. 

AKMG campus night was the featured event in the afternoon. Many of our members showed their talents in the Star Dust theatre with their melodious singing, skits and comedy show. Many of them really were of professional quality.  After the complimentary cocktail hour a Malayalam movie was screened. 

Friday July 8, 2011, Day 6

The  ship landed in Ketchikan, Alaska. All activities were on our own and I chose to explore the small town on my two feet. The town was bustling with activity. A few took the Misty Fjord Seaplanes for sightseeing and a few others went on bear watching seaplane excursion. Although Ketchikan is the rain capital of North America, thankfully this day was sunny and tolerably warm.

The grand finale was scheduled for this evening. Our president Dr. Aravind Pillai gave recognition plaques to several distinguished members for their contributions to AKMG. Dr. Pillai in his presidential address emphasized that he will continue his endeavor to propagate “healthy living” education in all schools in India starting from elementary level. He promised full support to AAPI president elect Dr. Narendra Kumar. Dr. K. C Joseph a psychiatrist from Detroit had sworn in as new AKMG president. In his short speech he praised Dr Pillai for his hard work to bring AKMG to a more vibrant global organization. He appreciated the unprecedented participation of several families from Emirates, India, UK and Canada. Dr. KC Joseph promised to publish Archives of AKMG during his tenure.  Dr. Radhakrishnan Kumaran president of AKMG Emirates and Dr. N. Rajan from UK gave brief presentations.  The musical performance by G. Venugopal and Gayatri was simply outstanding. They entertained us with many golden oldies as well some fast numbers from recent movies.

Saturday July 9, Day 7

The last CME session of the cruise was done on this day and topics covered included the ‘environment and cancer,’ ‘cancer in children’, renal tumors in pediatric age group etc.  After this the General Body meeting of AKMG was held and we discussed future plans and expansion of activities.

Later we docked at Victoria, Canada and had a wonderful trip to the world famous the Butchart Gardens.  We had late movie show ”Neela Thamara”

Sunday July 10, Day 8

Disembarked at Seattle in the morning without any difficulty and the process was well organized and stream lined.  

One of the best conferences ever, it took three years to organize this convention. Many distinguished physicians from overseas representing AKMG UK and AKMG Emirates as well as several from India participated in this memorable 7 day Alaskan cruise. Some of them shared their medical experiences and expertise with their talks during CME seminars. In the end everybody departed with a wide smile on their faces and full of compliments and accolades to the convention team. The redemptive power of hard work by the organizers: Drs. Aravind Pillai (President), Sunil Kumar (Chair), Sam Edwards, K. R. Byju and Usha Mohandas (Co-Chairs) and Abdul Karim (Advisor) was quite obvious throughout the convention.

എ.കെ.എം.ജി: കപ്പലിലെ കണ്‍വെന്‍ഷനും അലാസ്‌കയും അവിസ്‌മരണീയം
Join WhatsApp News
മലയാളത്തില്‍ ടൈപ്പ് ചെയ്യാന്‍ ഇവിടെ ക്ലിക്ക് ചെയ്യുക