Q&As with the author:

1. Is “The Phoenix Doctors”, a medical novel?

I wouldn’t tag it like that. It is a social novel addressing a growing problem faced by our country. In fact, it has everything in it – angst, sorrow, fear, threat, romance, comedy, tragedy, thrill, fun and all. The common thread that binds it is the lives of doctors. It should be read by every conscientious citizen.

2. Why do you think that it should be read by the common public?

As a doctor, one of the key issues which constantly bothers me is how our society views doctors. On one side, we see extremely successful treatments, and happy patients venerating doctors as Gods. On the other side, the vandalism in hospitals and brutal attacks against doctors have become a common occurrence. It is agreeable and unfortunate that the medical profession is losing its nobility and rectitude in the last two decades, and is now metamorphosing into a business enterprise. The doctor-patient bonhomie is lost and the medical profession is considered a paid service. But in this transformation, what is the exact role played by the doctors? Isn’t it true that society is also part of this unfair situation?

For young invigorated minds, who want to become doctors in the future, the present society does not offer any hope. For meritorious medical students, stepping out of the profession with tall hopes, what are we offering?

3. Lot of readers loved the romance in the story between the main protagonists, Karthik and Meera. Would you like to say something about this?

It is true that I enjoyed writing this particular segment. The subject of the story is a hard truth and I had to bring in medical terminologies and facts to help the reader understand the difficulties of a doctor’s education and practice. So, to bring in some levity to the story, a romance was essential and it came out really nice. The characterisation of Meera was especially well fleshed out and many fell in love with the character. I believe that the story was aptly titled in plural, since it gives lot of importance to Dr Meera. Interestingly, the romance was the only fictional segment in the story. Many of the events that happen in the story like the deaths, poor treatment of young doctors, corporate snobbery and governmental inadequacies were real events.

4. How did you come to write The Phoenix Doctors? How much of the story is drawn from your own experience as a physician?

Many doctors are very ethical and kind hearted humnas. I have seen doctors cry when a patient’s clinical condition turns irretrievable. I have seen doctors spending from their pocket to help poor people in the Government hospitals. I have seen young medical students scrambling to donate blood to save their patients. I have seen doctors work continuously for 36 hours to take care of sick patients. If someone believes that these doctors did these acts for money, then it is a shame on our society. For many of us (doctors), the only interest in striving hard in the hospital would be the well-being of a fellow human. Nothing else.

But looking at the problems faced by doctors and the society being totally oblivious to it, I wanted the common man to understand the real hardships faced by doctors in delivering good health care to the public. I believed that a story is the best way of passing a message to an audience in an interesting manner. I am glad that it had come out well and reached a good part of the society. For the second part of the question, I had drawn inspirations from many doctors for the story. About 60% would be my own personal experiences.