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OBITUARY |
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Year : 2022 | Volume
: 18
| Issue : 4 | Page : 141 |
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Dr. Gopalan M
Unnikrishnan Menon
Executive Editor, Amrita Institute of Medical Sciences,
Date of Submission | 14-Feb-2023 |
Date of Acceptance | 14-Feb-2023 |
Date of Web Publication | 20-Feb-2023 |
Correspondence Address: Dr. Unnikrishnan Menon Amrita Institute of Medical Sciences
 Source of Support: None, Conflict of Interest: None
DOI: 10.4103/AMJM.AMJM_4_23
How to cite this article: Menon U. Dr. Gopalan M. Amrita J Med 2022;18:141 |

Anatomy - that is where the medical curriculum begins. A subject full of art and science, considering the need for diagrams and teaching models. It is not every department and indeed, medical institution, that is blessed to have the services of a person interested, and talented, in the latter specialty. One such was Dr. Gopalan M., Anatomy Professor and Medical Illustrator par excellence.
Amrita School of Medicine and Amrita Institute of Medical Sciences and Research Centre has been left poorer with the passing away of this genial soul on the 6th of January 2023. Words are not sufficient to describe the man and his work. Right from teaching anatomy to the first year students, to encouraging academics in the form of participation in conferences, to the interactions with various departments in relation to the need for making teaching models, he was the very embodiment of willingness and the gung-ho attitude.
Born in 1949, and with medical education from Calicut MCH, Sir joined the Amrita family in 2002, and was there all throughout except for a short duration. Teaching, and the imagining and actual making of teaching and working models of various body structures, were his passions. His undeniable excellence in this field earned him laurels all over the country and abroad. He then envisaged his per project, that of a full-fledged dedicated Simulation Centre, for the teaching of various procedures to the interns and postgraduate students. My acquaintance with Sir happened fortuitously, but I was blessed to have a long and fruitful academic and personal association with him. I remember him with gratitude for those memories.
The mark of the man came after he was diagnosed with cancer. Through all those tough days of the symptoms and treatment modalities, he hardly ever gave the impression of being weighed down by the disease. Classes, lectures, conferences, awards, all continued to happen as a matter of course. Till the very end, he remained receptive to new ideas, and ready with some of his own, all for the good cause of medical education and clinical applications of models. His family, with his wife being a faculty in Amrita, and two sons, were great pillars of support.
“My life is my message” was the famous quote of a great Indian. This could very much be the “take home message” from this short (and inadequate) obituary of Gopalan Sir, for all those who came to know him, and benefited from him, be it the undergraduate students, colleagues, or clinical faculty. On behalf of the Amrita Journal team, I pay my deepest and heartfelt obeisance to the departed soul, and offer condolences to the bereaved family. Om shanti, Gopalan Sir.
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