Down Memory Lane-WIROC and BOS

Volume 1 | Issue 1 |  July – Dec 2016 | Page 2 | D. D. Tanna


Authors: D. D. Tanna [1]

[1] Lotus Clinic, Charni Road, Mumbai, India.

Address of Correspondence
Dr. Dilip D Tanna
Lotus Clinic, Charni Road, Mumbai, India.
Email: ddtanna@gmail.com


The first WIROC (Western India Regional Orthopaedic Conference) was held in Mumbai in 1966. Over the years WIROC has become one of the major meetings in orthopaedics in India. It has always been well organised and a large majority of orthopaedic surgeons attend this meeting regularly. The all India meetings were becoming huge and disorganised whereas WIROC meetings continued to attract large numbers due to what they offered academically, in terms of content and excellence of their faculty. That is why WIROC became a hallmark meeting in India. The Bombay Orthopaedic Society (BOS) grew with people from Gujarat and Maharashtra joining hands with us. Hence the meeting was called Western India Regional Orthopaedic Conference as it represented the orthopaedic surgeons from all western India. In the early days the conference was held alternately in Gujarat/Maharashtra and in Mumbai, necessitating that we travel to attend WIROC. As time passed, number of orthopaedic surgeons in Gujarat and Maharashtra grew and they decided to form their own societies and organisations. BOS came in the forefront to organise the WIROC meetings, which have now become the hallmark of the society.
I have seen BOS as an organisation grow over the years and expand its boundaries. One of the major development I saw was the selection of president of BOS. Earlier in BOS the president was elected on basis of seniority. When turn of a senior member, who never used to attend BOS events came for becoming the president, the young surgeons united and objected to the rule (probably rightly). This led to the process of election for the post of BOS president. This trend continues to be followed till today and I believe it is a healthy practice for a democratic body like BOS. I feel BOS has done a wonderful job in terms of academic training and teaching. BOS is a unique organisation that holds many courses and workshops. It is probably the only city where so many courses in every speciality are been held and surgeons from all across the country come and get trained. I feel BOS has a great future with new young blood pouring into BOS affairs. I visualise that BOS will grow steadily and BOS meetings will continue to be in forefront of all meetings in India.  One of the strongest point of BOS is its unique culture, which started in the BOS monthly clinical meetings in early days of the society. Seniors and stalwarts like Dr. Talwalkar, Dr. Bhansali, Dr. Joshipura and Dr. Chaubal were very open minded and encouraged healthy discussions and arguments without any hesitations. We could bitterly yet respectfully disagree with any of our seniors. Members had and still have the freedom to express a difference of opinion and challenge a viewpoint while maintaining utmost courtesy to the speaker. This tradition has become established and appreciated by juniors and seniors alike. As BOS grew a special trend was started by Dr. S.K. Bhandhare. We would go on weekly picnics to nearby spots and enjoy each other’s company. This unique feature was enjoyed by almost 60 to 70 % of the members. This culture of excelling in academics in an atmosphere of comradeship, is a unique hallmark of BOS. I am proud to be a part of BOS and WIROC over the past years and feel confident that future generations will preserve and enhance this society.  I wish BOS and WIROC all the best, for many many years to come and I also wish the Journal of Clinical Orthopaedics great academic success.


How to Cite this article: Tanna DD. Down Memory Lane-WIROC and BOS. Journal of  Clinical Orthopaedics July – Dec 2016; 1(1):2 .

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