Book Review
The Reluctant Doctor: Stilettos to Stethoscope-True Stories from inside a Clinic
Author - Dr.Balesh Jindal
Publisher - Vitasta publishing private limited
Genre - Biographies and autobiographies
Language - English
About the book -
She was fashionable and rich. She wore stilettos and danced at the latest clubs and had dreams of going to London to become a famous paediatrician. But her destiny was elsewhere — in the dusty little village of Kapashera. This is a compelling and honest memoir of a young doctor who had to give up her dreams to face the challenges of a rural practice. She goes on to change the lives of her patients by treating not only their physical diseases but solving their psychological, marital, and adolescent issues. In four decades of her practice, the author watched as India woke up to globalisation, and the new farmland wealth that exposed the highs and lows of the human behaviour. There are horrific stories of the villagers’ superstitious beliefs and blind faith in the village quacks and voodoo doctors, with disastrous consequences. Yet there is joy, celebration, and hope amidst despair. Each story is part of a thirty-eight-year unhurried journey that holds you spellbound as you turn the pages.
About the Author -
A graduate from Lady Hardinge Medical College, Dr Balesh Jindal has practised medicine for the last thirty-eight years. She has been a pioneer in providing a one-stop health facility at low cost and single-handedly changing the mortality rates for the children in Kapashera. Her work in treating Tuberculosis and HIV is well documented. She has been the recipient of the Award for Compassion by Stanford University’s Centre of Compassion. BBC has also featured her work The Most Compassionate Day in the World. In addition to her outstanding achievements as a Doctor, Jindal is also an accomplished artist, poet and badminton player.
My take -
I generally do not read autobiographies for the simple fact that most of the time, I can't relate to them.
But this one book has changed my perception towards this genre.
A beautifully penned book, this story is a real tale of a young lady, who wanted to be a paediatrician and practice in London. But fate brought her to practice as a family physician in a small nondescript village of Kapashera. Something that she started as a timepass till she could realise her dreams of going abroad and pursuing post-graduation in her favourite subject, became the permanent truth of her life as she spent the next four decades dedicated to treating the economically challenged sections of the society that were her patients in Kapashera.
The author has beautifully depicted the dilemmas that go through one's mind when what they expect and what actually happens in life are complete opposites of each other. Having been brought up in the rich and Elite circles of Delhi, the author never saw herself doing private practice in a small village. Like she has rightfully mentioned, doing post-graduation and going abroad is seen as a glamorous career while doing general practice is looked down upon even now, even though a general practitioner is someone who works at the very basic, grass root level, and has a big hand in changing the dynamics of the health of the society that he or she treats.
The author's father was the most influential and pivotal person to establish her practice, since as a twenty-three year old freshly graduate girl, the author had neither the experience nor the vision that her father had. However, his insistence, his persistence and his support at every step helped her set up her practice.
As she began practicing in the rural area, the author began witnessing the pathetic condition of the health services that existed for the village and the surrounding villages as well. To facilitate the treatment and overcome the shortcomings, she began storing pharmacy of her own, brought an X ray machine and even started doing procedures like hysterosalpingography so as to give a one stop solution to as many poor people as she could.
Through her journey of four decades, the author has seen and witnessed far many things - the impact of Indira Gandhi assassination, the liberalisation of the nineties and the changes it brought, the globalization of the millenials and it's after effects, the change in the pattern and progression of various diseases with introduction of fast food, the side effects of the excessive cash people gained after selling their land possessions, the impact of westernization and springing call centres on the youth!
The author has had a very keen observation even as she performed her duties as a physician. She has beautifully described how the life of villagers revolved around the harvest season. Having treated patients of diseases like gastroenteritis, jaundice and typhoid regularly, she has seen the evolving pattern of these diseases, as well as what worked and what didn't. Having worked at the grass root level, she has her own insights regarding why certain government policies like vasectomies and tubectomies for population control and DOTS therapy for curbing tuberculosis didn't benefit the population the way it should have. She has rightfully pointed out the fallacies in these programs, something which the policy makers must not have predicted, and her inputs are truly thought provoking.
She has also nicely explained the family dynamics she observed in the families in the villages, and how in India, a family unit is far more important and superior than an individual. We realise that while she practiced as a treating physician, unknowingly, she has worked as a psychological counsellor for far many people than even she can state. She has been a keen listener, empathetic towards the patient's problems, non judgemental even when their actions or decisions didn't fit her moral compass and a universal problem solver. She has also witnessed the gender bias that is deep rooted in our society, and how it is accepted equally by women themselves.
Another important thing that the author brings to light is the ill effects of quackery. The poor uneducated people do not understand the difference between a qualified doctor and a quack. And as a result the quacks rampantly do a lot of illegal and unethical things just to mint out money.
While reading the book, I was transported back to my medical College days and with each case, I could remember some or the other similar incidence. I also realised that each one of us lives with some regret or the other, in our lives, and yet, with time, experience and maturity, we come to realise that what happened was meant to be.
I would urge every person, medico or otherwise, to read this book. This book is not just about medical cases and experiences, it is a life story full of learning and philosophies that one can implement in their own lives.
The only downside for me was the way the book ended. It felt a bit abrupt. Or maybe I was just wishing that the book would go on and on!
I rate this book five stars.
