COBA
OF MALAYSIA STORY
The story of CALCUTTA OLD BOYS ASSOCIATION OF MALAYSIA
Part 1 in the beginning............
In the early 1950s the University of Calcutta in India became an attractive destination for Malayan school leavers yearning for a university education in the days when Malayans wanting to further their studies had to go overseas as there was no university in Malaya on the verge of independence to come in 1957. Some went to Singapore's University of Malaya, Australia, UK or a small number to India. Admission to courses in sciences especially in the Professional courses such as Medicine, Dentistry, Veterinary science and engineering, were highly sought after and meant going overseas.
Small numbers went on rare government or Colombo Plan scholarships and some able to afford admission to recognised private colleges went to Calcutta mostly to take up a course in Medicine. Thus began the arrival of about 200 Malayans in Calcutta from the early 1950s, Most took up Medicine at the then Private medical college - the Calcutta National Medical Institue (later changed to Calcutta National Medical College at 32 Gorachand Road, near Park Circus Calcutta. A few earlier Malayans were trained at the Calcutta Medical College on College Street, or the RG Kar Medical College or the Nilratan Sarkar Medical College in the city . A 5th Medical College of Calcutta University was at Bankura (town famous for the clay Bankura Horse figurines) and had 3 pioneers from Malaya, including N Ganesan to become the first President of the Malaysian Students Association of Calcutta in 1961. Many of the students stayed in private hostels or rented flats and as numbers grew some got together to form the Malayan Students Association - or MSA. In the late 1960s another group of Malaysians in Mumbai (then Bombay) formed the All India Malaysian Students Association or AIMSA which consisted of several MSAs from all over India.
On 30 August 1994, with almost all Malaysians having graduated from University of Calcutta and other Universities in and around the city and most universities being no longer open to foreign students except on Indian scholarships, those returnees under the leadership of Dr T Sivapatham met at his house in Port Dickson - for the inaugural Calcutta Old Boys Association or COBA.
Today in April 2018 COBA is meeting in Kelang for its 24th Session. It has attracted COBA members from Singapore, Australia and USA and has about 100 members informally in contact on social media and e mail or telephone. Meetings are informal charge no fees and meet by consensus every year in different towns hosted by a member who volunteers to arrange for the dinner free of cost.
These are nostalgic pictures from the early years of MSA of Calcutta since 1961 some 57 years ago !
Dum Dum Airport VIP Lounge Malayan Students of Calcutta with Out First PM YAM Tunku Abdul Rahman and Mr Lee Kuan Yew first PM of Singapore returning from Malaysia talks in UK
DEC 1962 at Dum Dum Airport- N Ganesan first President of MSA Calcutta-second from right
Author with Udayanathan (Sapru) at Dum Dum Airport
More to come in COBA 2
MPDeva
COBA Member
