Dr KK’s Heart Care Foundation of India flags off the 29th Perfect Health Mela

New Delhi: Dr. KK’s Heart Care Foundation of India (HCFI), a leading national Non-Profit Organization founded by Padma Shri Awardee Dr. KK Aggarwal, officially kickstarted the 29^th Perfect Health Mela with inter-college competitions on 21st and 22nd November and Inter school competitions from 22nd November to 10th December.

The inaugural session was attended by the Vice-Chancellor Professor (Dr) Mohammad Afshar Alam, Jamia Hamdard; Dr. Veena Aggarwal, Managing Trustee and Chief Guest, HCFI; Mr. Saurab Aggarwal, Director, HCFI; Dr. Manju Chhugani, Dean, Jamia Hamdard; Ms. Rama Pandey, Journalist, TV/Film producer-director; and Ms. Archana Choudhary, Principal, School of Nursing, Tirath Ram Shah. The theme for this year’s Mela is ‘One Health.’

A laughter yoga session was also conducted by Dr. Indu Ahuja and CPR training by the HCFI team.

The first day of the event was co-hosted by the School of Nursing Sciences and Allied Health, Jamia Hamdard University, supported by the School of Nursing, Tirath Ram Shah Hospital. The inter-college competitions to be held over two days have attracted participation from over 25 medical colleges and more than 1000 students. Students can look forward to exciting competitions in the categories of dance, yoga, painting, reels, and quiz, among others. Also, this year active participation in physiotherapy, occupational therapy, and paramedical colleges was seen.

HCFI has been actively engaged in creating mass health awareness since its inception in 1986. It was the vision of Dr. KK Aggarwal to ensure public health awareness and access to affordable healthcare for all. To this end, the HCFI has been organizing the Perfect Health Mela (PHM) annually since 1993 around the concept of one health for people from all walks of life using infotainment modules.

Speaking about this, Dr Veena Aggarwal, Managing Trustee Heart Care Foundation of India, said, “Dr. K K Aggarwal believed in the adage, ‘the show must go on, and in keeping with his spirit, we are once again set to organize the 29^th Perfect Health Mela this year. We are bringing in an all-new format this time and have over 200 schools and colleges participating in this mega event. As with every year, participants can look forward to a lot of fun combined with education and awareness.”

Adding further, Naina Aggarwal and Nilesh Aggarwal, Trustees Heart Care Foundation of India said, “This year’s Perfect Health Mela is special due to more than one reason. After two years of being online, the event will once again come back to its offline format. We are also carrying forward the exemplary vision of Padma Shri Awardee Dr. K K Aggarwal who wanted to spread his knowledge to everyone in a manner that was simple and educational. We are thankful to everyone who has supported us always and continues to do so,and look forward to five days of insightful sessions and events.”

Ankit Ahuja and Saurabh Aggarwal, Directors, HCFI, added, “HCFI’s mission has always been to encourage the innovative spirit of students from colleges and schools with a scientific bent of mind. Given that the youth are the future of India, it is imperative that they are provided with the right avenues to not only showcase their talents but also learn about many things in the process. Health is an interconnected subject, which is why our event focuses on infotainment – mixing fun with learning. We look forward to huge participation this year as always.”

So far, the Perfect Health Mela has attracted more than 5,00,000 visitors digitally and physically every year from all walks of life including social activists, academicians, politicians, celebrities, and doctors apart from the general public.

Giving his opinion, Vice-Chancellor Professor (Dr) Mohammad Afshar Alam, Jamia Hamdard said, “We are very happy to flag off the Perfect Health Mela on our campus this year. Our aim has always been to support organizations that are like-minded in their pursuit of improving access to healthcare through various initiatives. HCFI helmed by Padma Shri Dr. K K Aggarwal has been doing excellent work in this direction and we are happy to support them in continuing his efforts. Dr. KK Aggarwal said that the show must go on and we will do all that we can to help keep the legacy of our mentor alive.”

Dr. Manju Chhugani, Dean, Jamia Hamdard added, “Jamia Hamdard is extremely proud to associate with the Heart Care Foundation of India to carry forward Dr. KK Aggarwal’s mission of educating the medical and nursing community about the importance of One Health. We have been participating in the Perfect Health Mela since 1993 and are proud to be the co-host for the inter-college competitions this year. We thank everyone for their support.”

Ms. Archana Choudhary, Principal, School of Nursing, Tirath Ram Shah added, “We welcome all the participating colleges for the 29^th edition of the Perfect Health Mela, an event that was started by hon’ble Dr. K K Aggarwal. It is great to be hosting this grand event that has seen a huge turnout over the years. We wish all the teams the best for the competitions and congratulate the HCFI for continuing to do their bit in spreading health awareness in a fun way.”

The Perfect Health Mela caters to people from all age groups and all walks of life. It showcases activities across categories such as health education seminars, check-ups, entertainment programs, lifestyle exhibitions, lectures, workshops, and competitions. Over 200 organizations attend the event each year including state and central government entities, PSUs, and leading corporates.

Also present at the occasion were HCFI committee members, Mr. Anil Ahuja and Ms. Geeta Anand.