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The Professor Who Built a Museum Inside His Office

Specttrum Profiles: Walk into the office of Dr. Manish Kumar Singh at Dr. Ram Manohar Lohia Institute of Medical Sciences (DrRMLIMS), Lucknow, and one thing becomes immediately clear. This is no ordinary professor's office. Every shelf tells a story. Every wall carries a memory. Every corner preserves a journey.

Awards, conference mementoes, handcrafted souvenirs, miniature monuments, tribal artefacts, paintings, cultural symbols and keepsakes from different parts of India and abroad coexist in remarkable harmony. Even the work table leaves only a small space for files and a laptop. Everything else has already been claimed by memories.

It feels less like an office and more like a personal museum curated over decades. Each object has travelled before reaching its place on the shelf. Some arrived after academic conferences. Some came from official visits. Others returned with him after family holidays or personal explorations. Together they create something far more valuable than a collection. They create a visual autobiography.

One of the things that keeps Dr. Manish Kumar Singh energized and deeply connected to life is his passion for travel. Every journey, whether for work or leisure, becomes an opportunity to explore local culture, cuisine and traditions. Over the years, he has developed the delightful habit of bringing home a small souvenir from every memorable destination. 

His collection includes a maple leaf from Algarve in Portugal, a stone from the Cape of Good Hope in South Africa, corals from Phu Quoc in Vietnam, sacred sand from Raman Reti associated with Lord Krishna's childhood, a traditional Thanjavur doll, terracotta artwork from Bengal, a boomerang from Australia, and an ever-growing assortment of coins, currency notes, stamps, fridge magnets, leaves and stones gathered from different parts of the world. Together, these objects form a living travel diary, where every keepsake carries a story, a memory and a personal connection with the place it represents.

Behind this fascinating hobby stands an accomplished public health professional. Dr. Manish Kumar Singh is Professor in the Department of Community Medicine at Dr. Ram Manohar Lohia Institute of Medical Sciences, Lucknow. Holding an MD in Social and Preventive Medicine, he has devoted his career to preventive healthcare, infectious diseases, epidemiology and medical education. His research, teaching and community outreach continue to contribute to public health across India.

His academic responsibilities extend well beyond the classroom. He serves as the Co-Coordinator of the Medical Education Unit at DrRMLIMS and leads the Indian Journal of Community Health as its Editor-in-Chief. At the national level, he also serves as Secretary General of the Indian Association of Preventive and Social Medicine, supporting professional collaboration and public health education throughout the country.

Yet the office reveals another dimension of his personality. Collectors are often misunderstood. Many people collect objects. Dr. Singh collects stories. A carved elephant from one destination. A traditional figurine from another. A conference plaque. A handcrafted souvenir. A coffee mug carrying memories of a city. Together they form a map of experiences rather than possessions.

I first met Dr. Manish Kumar Singh during an editorial assignment in Lucknow. While coordinating the programme, he arranged my stay at the institute's guest house and later insisted that I experience another side of the city that tourists often miss. We stopped at a modest roadside tea stall. There, over a steaming kulhad of chai, our conversation drifted away from medicine towards travel, memories and the stories hidden behind the objects displayed in his office.

Only later, after visiting his workspace, did I understand that the tea was perfectly consistent with his personality. He values experiences more than appearances. His museum continues to grow. So does another dream. One day, he hopes to write a book around his remarkable collection, documenting the memories attached to each object and the journeys that brought them together under one roof.

For a professor of community medicine, preserving memories may seem an unusual hobby. Perhaps it is not. Public health seeks to preserve human well-being. His office quietly preserves human experience. Both, in their own ways, celebrate life.

Updated on: 24 July, 2026.


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Specttrum Profiles documents remarkable people, organisations and ideas through verified human stories, creating a searchable and lasting digital archive of journeys that deserve to be remembered.

Every profile is prepared with editorial care and based on verified information available at the time of publication. As living documents, profiles may be updated periodically to reflect significant milestones, achievements and refinements shared by the profile subject.

Editor: Narvijay Yadav | Email: specttrumnews@gmail.com | Website: narvijay.in

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