Yellapragada Subba Rao

In the narrow road, in front of the Physiology Building is the statue of a world famous Andradite. He is the illustrious Yellapragada Subba Rao, known for his scientific contributions aimed at relieving human suffering. No Andhra of our times comes close to occupying the same position in world science as Yellapragada! Was it an Irony¬ of fate that he was denied the Nobel Prize, which he truly deserved? The standing figure, five feet nine inches tall, is clothed in a well-fitted suit with the right leg shown moving forwards. We get to see a benevolent face with handsome features and a scalp bereft of hair.

Yellapragada Subba Rao was born on 12, June 1895 in Bhimavaram to Jagannadham and Venkamma. Having gone through tenseness turmoil in his early life with two of his brothers having died of fatty diarrhea (spruce), he was inspired to take up Ayurveda for research. Later he decided to leave for ‘greener pastures in research’. Even in those days it was North America. At first he joined as medical orderly at the famous Peter Bent Bringam hospital in Boston. By sheet talent and hard work in that land of opportunity, where talent is natured and not suppressed, he earned the Diploma in Tropical Medicine at Harvard Medical School and joined its department of Biochemistry. His discovery, in collaboration with Fiske, of the colorimetric method of estimation of Serum Phosphorous is still rated as one of the best methods in the world. His other discoveries include Phosphocreatine, ATP use of liver concentrates in pernicious anemia and the isolation of nictonic and pantothenic acids from liver concentrates. His discovery on diethlcarbamazine came into use in treating filariasis – he never forgot his native land and the suffering of his people! Other remarkable discoveries were the first tetracycline (Aureomycin), folic acid, and the anticancer drugs Teropterin, Aminopterin and Methopterin. A very significant administrative contribution was the planning, establishment and development of the Cancer Research Laboratory at Lederle, the pharmaceuticals manufacturer. On 8th August 1948, he breathed his last. In recognition of his unsurpassable contributions, his birth centenary was celebrated in the year 1995.

The sculptor’s carving seems to indicate an expression that Yellapragada is reminding the students and staff entering the college to be always n the lookout and ask the question why? Perhaps one should keep in mind that even today it is still possible to contribute to wards human development by medical research. The sculptor carved his face to give an expression as though Yellapragada is immensely satisfied with the contributions he has made. (The fact is, unfortunately, that the features of the statue have little resemblance with the original.)

It was indeed thoughtful of Prof. D.Bhaskar Reddy to install to statue in frond of the Physiology and Biochemistry block. A worldwide survey of the Alumni of the college can only reveal Yallapragada’s influence on their later development into clinicians, physiologists or biochemists!

Dhanvanthari

In the Oval Garden between the main building and the physiology block are situated three statues The statue of Dhanvanthari, six feet tall and in the traditional style, was carved by the present college sculptor, Mr. Krishna Subba Rao. Dhanvanthari is seen facing east and standing with a crown on his head. A halo depicting his diving radiance is seen behind his head, and his right hand is kept in an abhaya hasta mudra – a posture with the palm held up facing outwards – indicating that he is assuring the onlooker diving protection. Between the fingers of his right hand is a quill, perhaps the same quill with which he wrote his famous pharmacopoeia. He is seen holding a pot in his left had, the pot that contained the divine medicine known for its life saving properties.

Dhanvanthari is said to have gained his knowledge from Indra, the Lord of the Immortals. Brahma, the Creator of the Universe, is said to have composed, Ayurveda (the science of life) in one hundred thousand slokas or stanzas. He expounded Ayurveda to Prajapathi who is beloved to have passed it on to the twins know as the as wins. Indra is said to have learnt Ayurveda from these twins. It is believed that Sushrutha, an Ayurvedic physician from historical times, approached Dhanvanthari to teach him Ayurveda so that he could cure people. Many societies in the past believed in the divine origins of medicine – just as Brahma is said to have revealed Ayurveda to the Indians, legend says that Thoth and Apollo revealed the Egyptian and Greek systems of medicine to their respective peoples. The statue of Dhanvanthari serves to remind us that ancient India had the glorious medicaments from which many modern formulations have come into existence.

Samuel Hahnemann

To the left of Hunter, near the extreme northern end of the gardenias seated another Rishi of Medicine, Dr.Samuel Frienderich Christian Hahmemann. Carved by Bellamkonda for the Homeo Parishad of Guntur town, the statue is five feet seven inches tall. Hahnemann is seen wearing a frock coat and bow tie, the gentleman’s clothing of those times. His right hand is kept on the right side of the head with the index finger pointing towards to scalp, as through he is in deep meditation! His left hand is seen holding a book placed over his left thigh.

Born in 1755 in Dresden, Germany, Hahnemann qualified as a physician in 1779. He has been described as a great chemist, a good minerolost and botanist experienced clinician and all-round scientific man. After practicing for some time, in modern medicine, he became dissatisfied with the results. So he decided to doe research to find new remedies. After 6 years of work, he published his theories in 1796, in a paper entitled on a new Principle for Ascertaining the Curative Properties of Drugs. It was his observation that Cinchona bark, which cured malaria, also produced fever when ingested by a healthy person. This made him believe that a disease can only be destroyed any cured by a remedy which has a tendency to produce a similar disease, a thesis which he summarized in his sutra or aphorism ‘similia similibus curantur’ (Latin for ‘Like is cured by like’). This theory became the basis of the science of Homeopathy. His second tenet was that medicines increase in their potency with their dilution. His third doctrine was the assertion that spore (the itch) is the sole, true and fundamental cause that produces all the countless forms of disease, which go under the name of nervous disability. Hahnemann’s chief works were Material Medical Pura (in six volumes) and organ on or Rational Medicine. In Organ on he stated that all the diseases listed by him were due to psora. Hahnemann, sitting there, seems to remind us the need to learn alternative systems of medicine so that humanity can benefit from every system.

Facing east, the statues of Dhanvanthari, Hunter and Hahnemann are exactly opposite the entrance of the main building.

Gollabhama

Behind Hahnemann is quite a different sculpture. Starting at you is a Gollabhama (manmaid), an angelic form chiseled out of stone. She stands in the middle of a water pond. She has a beautiful figure, lovingly carved in the traditional style by the sculptor. With an earthenware pot on her left shoulder, she is seen pouring water from the pot gently into her right palm. There is a continuous circulation of water from the pond to the pot in her hand and back to the pond. Petals carved out of stone and cement line the parapet of the pond. In the words of Bellamkonda, he created the Gollabhama in her ‘original form’ – here hair rolled in a knot, lovely earrings and plenty of ornaments around her neck, and wearing a ravika-paavada, the traditional skirt and blouse.

At the time of her inception by DJ the profile of the milkmaid was the first sculpture to be seen as one entered the College. She was facing east, as if paying arpitham, obeisance, to the eternal power, the Sun God. It appeared to me as though she is praying to God to bless the institution! The perennial flow of water seemed to enable the standing beauty to fulfill her prayer as long as the college exists. During my tenure, she was facing the portal of the College and not the East! Ta later Principal, perhaps not knowing the original motive of DJ, had changed her dedication.

After I demitted office, this sculpture was moved to its present position. However some changes can mean something. The Gollabhama was facing east again! To my imagination it appeared as though the lovely lady seems to be doing the arpitham to those little Rising Suns, The Young medical students, as if recollecting the saying ‘Video Narayano Hari’ (a doctor is God incarnate). Is she trying to caution them not to think too much of themselves, having been assured of an entry into the profession? Is she beseeching them to dedicate their lives to the service of the, true to the saying ‘Service to mankind is service to God? Perhaps by elevating them to that level she is asking those gods and goddesses to excel in that temple of Saraswathi, so that they can serve their best in that temple of Dhanvanthari, the general hospital across the road. May be she is concerned about the patients in that hospital who have been the victims of hate, love, jealousy, greed and lust, violence, war, plots of all kinds, disappointments, conspiracies and poisons, infections, damage to blood supply and the nervous system, and developmental malformations!

Hope and Help

Also in the Oval Garden, at the far end, is the statue of Hope and Help. Sis feet nine inches tall, it was created by Bellamkonda and donated to the college by that gentleman surgeon of Guntur, Chigurupati Nageswara Rao. Apparently the brain behind this statue has been DJ, who saw the original in the University of Chicago! The sculptor created a doctor wearing the operation theatre apparel of gown and head cap. He is seen lifting a sick patient, probably a collapsed individual, holding him in the axillae. The patient wears a desperate look as he gazes at the doctor, who in turn appears to give a hopeful look. Perhaps he is assuring the unfortunate patient that he will take care of him!

Atlas

In front of the Physiology block is a gigantic statue of Atlas. The sculpture is based on a story from Greek mythology according to which Atlas was condemned forever to support to sky on his shoulders.

Atlas was believed to belong to a family of giant Greek gods known as the Titans. These Titans were overthrown by Zeus. Zeus punished Atlas by condemning him to forever support the huge weight of the globe upon his shoulders. According to the legend, Hercules, the great hero, was asked to fetch the g=three golden apples guarded by Hesperidia. At the time, Hercules asked for the help of Atlas. Atlas, who was carrying the sky, agreed to fetch the apples, provided Hercules held the Sky, in the hope that he could get rid of the burden. Thus when Atlas returned with the apples, he asked Hercules to carry the burden forever. Hercules pretended to agree but played a trick on Atlas. He asked Atlas to take the load for a few minutes while he could put on a pad on his shoulders. The moment Atlas lifted the sky again; Hercules took the apples and took to his heels!

Another story connects Atlas to Perseus, another hero of Greek mythology and a descendant of Zeus. In the course of his exploits Perseus is said to have killed Medusa, a monster whose head was covered with snakes. On his way back home from this feat, he asked Atlas for shelter. But Atlas, earlier warned by a prophecy that a son of Zeus was likely to kill him, was afraid to welcome Perseus. Enraged with this unfriendly attitude, Perseus held up the head of Medusa for Atlas to see. On seeing Medusa, Atlas is supposed to have turned to stone. In ancient Greece, people believed that Atlas Mountains in Africa were the body of the god!

Many centuries ago pictures of Atlas were used to decorate geographical maps. Over the course of time, the word Atlas has come to be used to denote a book of maps. I do not know heather DJ felt that the statue would create an interest to study mythology and history. How true it is that we are so often ignorant of subjects outside our specialties.

Achanta Rukminamma

If we get back to the main portal and move to the left, we come before the statue of Achanta Rukminamma, five feet fine inches tall and standing upon a pedestal. The statue owes created by Bellamkonda at the instance of D.Bhaskar Reddy. Mad of an iron skeleton with a concrete body, she is depicted as wearing a red-boarded yellow saree and a green blouse. Her haid has been rolled up in a knot. She seems to love bangles, a bunch of which is over her wrist. The artist has given her face a pleasant expression. It is as though she feels immense satisfaction at having achieved her ambition of establishing a medical school in her native district! To me she appears to remind us of the need to develop the country on solid and sober lines with the same courage, confidence and dedication she had. Her piercing eyes seem to be watching the staff and students, wondering whether they carry the same lofty ideals she had in serving hear native land with dedication. Behind those doubts she appears to be happy that she was able to achieve her objectives.

Achantamma’s statue stands in front of the Achanta Rukminamma Memorial Building, the main edifice on the campus. A gaze at the pillar on the right shows the emblem of the college cast in bronze, with the inscription of the college motto in Telugu, Sathyam Gnanam Anantham. On the pillar to the left is a similar wooden frame with the first few words of the Oath of Hippocrates. (The oath in its entirety is to be seen inside the building.). On the lintel above the entrance is the painted inscription, Out of the old corn cometh the new corn.

The inscription of top was at the instance of DJ who perhaps wanted the older generation to be constantly reminded of their need to maintain height standard and lofty ideals so that the younger generation could follow true. I installed the inscriptions on the pillars so that the students and staff can be reminded of their motto and of oath of Hippocrates.

Aesculipeus and Hygea

The statues o Aceculipeus and his daughter Hygea stand in front of the social and Preventive Medicine department, to the left of the road leading to the main entrance of the Achanta Building. Dikshitulu, the sculptor who worked as the modeler after the retirement of Bellamkonda, at the initiative of Dr.Siva Ram Prasad, created them. The statue of Aesculipeus is five feet and four inches tall, and that of Hygea, four feet nine inches. Aesculipeus is seen sitting on a pedestal with a serpent on his left thigh and supporting a scepter over the left forearm. The lovely Hygea is seen helping her father by holding a bowl into which she is collecting the serpent’s venom.

Both the father and daughter have footwear of their time. The appearance of Aesculipeus is that of a saint full of wisdom and divine powers.

Aesculipeus, who lived around 1200 BC, was one of the pioneers of the Greek system of medicine. In Greek mythology, the serpent signified the art of healing, a symbol which is retained in most medical logos even to this time. Aesculipeus had two daughters, Hygea and Panacea. They left dynasties of healers in curative and preventive medicine (hygienists), each with different philosophies. Hygea was known to be fashionable among all intellectuals whereas Panacea was believed to have obtained all the wealth. The term Hydride was derived from Hygea, while today the term panaca is used to mean a medicine that cures all diseases.

In ancient times the Greeks were known as the civilisers of the Mediterranean world, just as the Hindus were considered in India. One of the great contributions of Greek civilization too the Western world was that it taught men to think of questions like why and how. The Greeks bequeathed disciplines of thought such as logic philosophy, rhetoric and geometry to Western world.

Jupilee and the Dog

In the center of the small garden in front of the social and Preventive Medicine department is a statue depicting a famous event in the history of medicine: a boy is shown in the process of being bitten by a mad dog. The sculpture conveys a vivid portrayal of how the boy is grappling with the mad dog. They boy’s name was Jupilee, and he was the second patient on whom Louis Pasteur tried his anti rabies vaccine. It was in this second patient that the vaccine was successful in preventing the development of rabies! The first patient on whom Pasture tired the vaccine succumbed to the disease. Thus it is the second patient who has become immortal, along with Pasteur. Bellamkonda created the statue at the suggestion of DJ. Perhaps his motive could have been that the staff and students should study the history of medicine so that they can be inspired by such should as Pasteur. Who knows, DJ might have also desired that our country too should produce such great saints in medicine!

Lotus Pond

In front of the main building, in the Oval Garden, is a pond with a huge lotus carved by Bellamkonda. At the center of the pond is a fountain. In India we associate the lotus with Saraswathi, the goddess of learning. Perhaps DJ desired that the students should feel the presence of Saraswathi in their Institution!

Jagannadha Reddy

Prof. D.Jagannadha Reddy was a patriot, and a man of integrity and honesty. After serving the Indian Army Medical Corps during World War II, he returned to civil service. In 1952, he was appointed Principal of Guntur Medical College, a position where he served with rate distinction for 8 years. DJ was an able administrator, teacher and humanist who knew no boundaries of caste, creed or religion. Not least, he had a flair for student management. Short and not very tall, he was a giant with courage, confidence and grit. He was respected by the higher authorities of those times for his head and heart. Above all he was a man determined to serve humanity. His objective was only one, excellence!

A war veteran, DJ had the qualities of courage, determination and energy worthy of a warrior. It is not a UN common that war saps such qualities, but this was not the case with DJ. The discipline that was inculcated in the armed forces made him a hero in civil service, a Hero admired even till today by one and all that came in contact with him irrespective of caste, creed, religion or region. How many such persons can I count in my motherland today! DJ’s former students, who have and are now occupying eminent positions all over the world, still recollect his integrity, stature and humanism, as did the administrators of his time. His standing was such that he could appoint any lay staff and later get the pacification of the government! Gone are those days. DJ’s tenure at Guntur Medical College, from 1954 to 1962, was a time of idealism. Eight years was a period sufficient to contribute immensely to an institution if one desired. How different it is that nowadays a Principal is posted in the last days of his service, sometimes as a punishment given by our ‘mature’ administrators!

DJ went on a establish the Post graduate Institute of Medical Research at Pondicherry, and later on became the Vice-Chancellor of Sri Venkateswara University, Tirupati. The Pondicherry College was DJ’s greatest creation, but his contribution to Guntur Medical College was no small thing.

Mr.Krishna, DJ’s ‘charioteer’ at the office, and mine too almost forty years later, had this to say to me: ‘Long after retirement he came to visit the College and Hospital. In one of the wards, he sat down on a chair with his head lowered and told me thus: ‘Krishna, what happened to this college and hospital? There is so much change! He appeared very much upset.’ Change is inevitable, but to see an unexpected change for the worse in the College, which DJ nurtured with his dreams, seemed to have shattered him! How would him soul feel now? I do not know! But if staff members and students would rededicate themselves and work hard to bring back the excellence of DJ’s days, perhaps his soul will rest in peace! This is how I feel.

Henry Grey

Stepping forwards towards the Anatomy department on the second floor, a bust of Henry Grey is seen situated directly opposite ‘ The Origin of the Species’. Cast in plaster of Paris, it was created by Bellamkonda at the direction of Prof. Hari Rao and Prof. Pinnamaneni Narasimha Rao the bust is placed on a globe with the map of India facing the visitor.

Henry Grey is known to every medical student, thanks to Grey’s Anatoy. It was not the first text of kind, but in both its content and its lucidity, it was unlike any previous Anatomy text and most later ones. Whenever a new Anatomy book is published, it is inevitable that it will be compared to this golden standard – such is the unique position that Grey’s Anatomy occupies. Henry Grey was born in 1827 in a humble family. His father was a private messenger to George IV and William IV. As a student he secured the Triennial prize of the Royal College of Surgeons at the age of twenty one. He published the first edition of his famous book in 1858 and a second edition in 1860. In the year 1862 at the young age of thirty four, Grey met with an untimely death. Sir Benzamin Brodie said of him at that time: ‘His death, just as he was on the point of obtaining the reward of his labours is…. A great loss to St. George’s Hospital and Medical School’.

On either side of Grey are the plaster of Paris busts of Prof.Anantha Narayana Iyer and Prof. Krishna Rao, reputed anatomists of yesteryears at Andhra Medical College, Visakhapatnam. Both were knows as excellent teachers who commanded immense respect amongst both students and colleagues.

Apollo

Moving onwards towards the Anatomy dissection hall is the lovely statue of Apollo, the Greek god. Made of a steel frame and a concrete body, it was created by Bellamkonda at the instance of Prof. Hari Rao. The sculptor has reporesented Apollo as a clean shaven naked youth. With his right palm he is seen supporting the musical instrument known as the lyre, while his left hand is seen holding a bow. Apollo and his twin Artemis were born in the island of Delos to Zeus and Leto. From the time of the poet Homer, he was considered as an all pervading god connected with the Sun. He became the most revered and influential of all Greek gods, a deity of many functions and meanings. He was said to have made men aware of their guilt and purified them. He is supposed to have created the constitution of their city states. Apollo communicated to men through prophets and oracles, for them to know the future as well as the will of Zeus. Even the other gods were believed to be afraid of him. Only his father Zeus and his mother Leto could endure his presence. His bow symbolized distance, death, terror and awe. On the other hand, the lyre reflected his gentle nature. The lyre reflected the joy of communion with Olympus, the home of gods, through the medium of music, poetry and dance. He was the god of crops and herds and a diving force against wild animals and disease. This aspect has given him an epithet, Alexikakos, which means an averter of evil. His fore name Phoebus means ‘bright’ or ‘pure’. Although Apollo was said to be the most Greek of gods he was been understood by modern scholars to be or foreign origin, coming either from the lands north of Greece or from Asia.

Niobe

Going out of the Dissection hall to the other side of the Anatomy department, at a site exactly symmetrical to the statue of Apollo, is the statue of Niobe with here daughter. Inspired by Prof. Hari Rao, Bellamkonda created it out of an Iron skeleton an da concrete body. This beautiful lady is wearing a nicely carved gown, while the baby is almost naked. She is seen clutching her daughter with her right hand, while the baby is holding on to her mother. An expression of sorrow and fear is vividly portrayed on the mother’s face.

The story behind the statue is from Greek mythology. Niobe was the daughter of King Tantalus and wife of Kind Amphion. Having had six sons and six daughters, she boasted that here progeny were suprerior to the twin deities of Apollo and Artemis. To punish her pride, Apollo is said to have killed all ofNiobe’s sons and Artemis, all her daughters. After ten days the bodies were finally buried by the gods. Niobe is said to have gone to her Phrygian home, in modern day Trukey, where she is believed to have turned into a rock, Mount Syphilus. It is said, when snow melts over the rock, that Niobe continues to ‘weep’! They symbol NB of the chemical element Niobium is derived from the name Niobe. It is used in alloys, tools, dies and superconducting magnets.

After going past this statue, you come to the History laboratory. Like the Pathology laboratory, this laboratory was also renovated in the Golden Jubilee year. To the right of the Histology laboratory is the Anatomy Lecture Hall.

Andrea Vesalius

Moving forwards and approaching the dissection hall, that most precious place in any medical school, we see on the lintel an imaginative relief sculpture of almost of dozen persons. It is a reproduction by Bellamkonda from the title page of the first edition of the book De Humanis Corporis Fabricia (‘on the book of the human body’), written by Andrea Vesalius in the year 1543. Vesalius is shown in the dissection theatre, holding a scalpel while demonstrating anatomy to students. The chest of the cadaver has been opened up for this purpose. Three candles burning at the head end of the table give the much needed light. The students, both men and women, are seriously observing the anatomy being demonstrated. A woman student is taking notes.

Andrea Vesalius belonged to a family which was outstanding in medicine. As a yough he dissected mice, rats and dogs.

At the age of twenty eight, he wrote his book, a landmark in the history of medicine. His standing in the history of Anatomy is such that time gets divided into Pre-Vesalian, Vesalian and Post-Vesalian periods. He was a devoted artist, humanist and naturalist also. He gave us the understanding that a correct knowledge of the human body was necessary for the progress of medicine. At Lourain, he established a dissection centre for medical students. He went to Venice and later to Padua where he received the degree of Doctor of Medicine and was appointed Professor of Anatomy and Surgery. He served as a court physician and as a surgeon in the field to the armies of Emperor Charles V. This portrait by Bellamkonda was the result of the encouragement of Prof.Hari Rao. This sculpture reminds us about the early contributions made in Europe towards the development of medicine.

Theory of Evolution

As you enter Darwin Hall, a glance to the side reveals a pantomime or caricature of Darwin’s theory and his writings. This sculpture in stone is titled ‘ The Origin of the Species’, and it shows primitive man examining a skull, the skull of one of his ancestors according to the theory. Six volumes of Darwin’s writings are on the floor with the author’s name written on the spine of the books. The idea that we are descended from the apes was unacceptable to Darwin’s critics, and depictions like this statue were a common way of denigrating the theory. In this instance though, the sculpture is a humorous way of conveying the essence of Darwin’s theory.

To the right of the first step as you enter Darwin Hall is a small room where Bellamkonda expressed his genius. Looking up in Darwin Hall are two inscriptions on wood, ‘Anatomy can train your memory and make you accurate and orderly in expression and description’, and ‘to err is human but when the eraser wears out head of the pencil you are overdoing it’.

At the age of twenty eight, he wrote his book, a landmark in the history of medicine. His standing in the history of Anatomy is such that time gets divided into Pre-Vesalian, Vesalian and Post-Vesalian periods. He was a devoted artist, humanist and naturalist also. He gave us the understanding that a correct knowledge of the human body was necessary for the progress of medicine. At Lourain, he established a dissection centre for medical students. He went to Venice and later to Padua where he received the degree of Doctor of Medicine and was appointed Professor of Anatomy and Surgery. He served as a court physician and as a surgeon in the field to the armies of Emperor Charles V. This portrait by Bellamkonda was the result of the encouragement of Prof.Hari Rao. This sculpture reminds us about the early contributions made in Europe towards the development of medicine.