Organised by eight leading medical colleges and spearheaded by AIIMS Delhi, literary fest Oracle brought together a vibrant community of participants, faculty, and literary enthusiasts from across Delhi’s medical fraternity from 16 to 18 January. Passionate medical students found themselves engaged in creative arts, baffling quizzes, debates, extempore speaking and intriguing panel discussions. Often thrust into a rigid academic that flatlines creativity into CVs, the students found Oracle a reinvigorating and enriching experience. Padma Shri legendary Hindi poet, Dr Ashok Chakradhar acted as the judge for the Open Mic event, Awaaz. Participants were brimming with fervour as they presented self-written poetry. The fest at its core was a medical literary fest and saw numerous intellectual engagements throughout.
(L-R) Dr Debraj Shome, Dr Tanaya Narendra, Dr R.L Bijlani, Dr Tripti Sharan, Dr Ashok Chakradhar (Pics: AIIMS)
The festival’s panel discussions invited prominent doctors, such as Dr R.L Bijlani, former Head of Department of Physiology at AIIMS Delhi, Dr Debraj Shome, acclaimed plastic surgeon and author, Dr Tanaya Narendra, popular sex educator and content creator, and Dr Tripti Sharan, author and physician. Oracle also saw Dr Megha Tandon, Professor of Surgery at VMMC & Safdarjung and Dr Atul Goel, the director general of health services at Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, India. Bharat Goel, third-year MBBS student at AIIMS Delhi, literary secretary and the founding president of Oracle, said, “Bringing together 8 medical colleges to collaborate for something bigger than themselves, unified only by the sheer love of language, and then actually making it happen, Oracle felt like a dream I wish never ended. Having sowed the seed, I cannot wait to see how Oracle blooms through the years, leaving a legacy of literature across generations.“
Oracle embodied a belief that empathy, creativity and reflection are essential components of medical education (Pics: AIIMS)
Oracle embodied a belief that empathy, creativity and reflection are essential components of medical education, and that doctors must be nurtured not just as clinicians, but as compassionate thinkers. With its inaugural edition drawing enthusiastic participation and dialogue, it has set a benchmark for medical literary initiatives, underscoring the power of the written and spoken word in shaping the future of medicine.
