The All-India Institute of Medical Sciences, celebrating its diamond jubilee at present, has lost to termites the tree planted by Queen Elizabeth II on the grand opening of the premier campus.
The All-India Institute of Medical Sciences, celebrating its diamond jubilee at present, has lost to termites the tree planted by Queen Elizabeth II on the grand opening of the premier campus. AIIMS was established in 1956 and the institute’s buildings were formally opened by the British monarch on January 27, 1961, at an impressive ceremony attended by the then President Rajendra Prasad.
“During her visit to the campus, Queen Elizabeth II was accompanied by Prince Philip and Presid-ent Rajendra Prasad. It was a glittering ceremony and on the opening day, she had planted a tree. Unfortunately, we have lost that tree to termites. But we have planted new trees there,” said AIIMS director M.C. Misra.
Rare images of the royal couple visit are part of the institute’s archives, and several of these photographs were put on display during the diamond jubilee exhibition, which ended on Saturday.
Queen Elizabeth, now 90, visited India in 1961 as the state guest for the Republic Day function. At AIIMS, a plaque commemorating the event still stands on a pillar inside the J.L. Nehru Auditorium building. The tree was planted somewhere closer to this building. “It was a Gulmohar tree. After losing it sometime in the past, to termites, we have planted four bottle brush trees at that spot and eight would be planted in the outer circle,” he said. Incidentally, the photograph showing the Queen planting the tree is a coloured one, a rarity as by 1960s, very few had then access to the colour photography technology. Other archival photographs too are a mix of monochrome and colour.
“We dug up our own arc-hives and many students and alumni also helped us to put together the exhibition. These rare images, including those showing the under-construction phase of the campus buildings, give us a unique insight into the inception of AIIMS,” he said.
