One of the most amazing stories in Indian science, which makes me both despair and hope. On this day, 42 years ago, Subhash Mukhopadhyay delivered the second in-vitro fertilized baby in the world, Durga, just sixty seven days after the first child was born in Britain.

What happened after was unbelievable. The state government rejected his claim and treated him as a charlatan and most of the Indian medical community turned their backs on him. He committed suicide, a broken man three years later.

5 years after his death. TC Anand Kumar, one of India's finest medical minds, was the architect what was regarded as India's first 'official' test tube baby came to know of Dr Mukhopadhyay's previous work and decided to make a detailed study of his notes and research findings

In 1997, Anand delivered a stunning lecture in a seminar in Calcutta which clearly established Dr. Mukhopadhyay as the doctor who delivered India's first test tube baby, and relinquished his own official claim to that record.

He made such a convincing case that ICMR finally accepted his recommendation to accept Dr Mukhopadhyay's original claim.

Tapan Sinha's 1990 film, Ek Doctor Ki Maut was based on Dr Mukhopadhyay's life and ended with his failure, I wish Sinha had made it a few years later and added TC Anand's selfless story to that narrative