Dr Mahendra Lai Sircar - A Legendary Indian Physician

Abstract

Dr Mahendra Lai Sircar, a legendary Indian Physician and son of Taraknath Sarkar, was born in 1833 in Paikpara in Howrah. When he was a child of five years he lost his father. He was brought up by his maternal uncles, Iswar Chandra Ghosh and Mahesh Chandra Ghosh in their house in Nebutala in Calcutta. He was sent to a “Gurumasai†or teacher to learn Bengali and to another tutor Tiakurdas Dey, to learn English. He then secured admission in the Hare School as a free student in 1840. In 1849 he passed the junior Scholarship Examination and joined Hindu College where he studied upto 1854. He showed a tremendous interest in science and transferred to Calcutta Medical College. He obtained IMS in 1861 and MD in 1863. Mahendralal Sircar and Jagabandhu Bose were the second MDs of the Calcutta University after Chandra Kumar Dey.