A medical doctor who
became a famous writer in Tamil winning the Sahithya Academy Award in 1984 was
S.Thiripurasundari popularly known as Lakshmi. She passed away in 1987. Though
there are a couple of others who have been writers in Tamil while pursuing
their medical profession I know of the
following doctors who are active on the Tamil literary scene in recent years. Dr.Joice
Thilakam a retired medical officer of
Corporation of Chennai and Dr.J.Bhaskaran (JB) a practicing medical
doctor .While Dr.Joice has been contributing articles and stories to several
Tamil journals for over 25 years, JB started writing only in his late fifties. JB`s
story is not only of a doctor turned writer but also of a doctor with double
specialization as a dermatologist and Neurologist
Though I got acquainted with
JB through The Tamizh Puthaga
Nanbargal with which I was associated I got to know him closely when I
translated a collection of his short
stories from Tamil to English. JB at 68 continues to practice as a medical
doctor for half a day splitting his time
between Public Health Centre in Mambalam and his own clinic in K.K.Nagar. This
is the story about a medical doctor becoming a prolific writer in Tamil.
Let us begin with JB`s medical background. He was born In
Chidambaram in 1953 as the second of seven siblings to Jayaraman and Savithri.
His father was a stenographer with Gemini Film Circuit, the film
distribution wing of the iconic Gemini films. He had his early education in a
Chidambaram Middle school and later joined the Ramakrishna Mission Boys High school
in T.Nagar, where the medium of instruction was Tamil. He had a tough time
adjusting to English medium of instruction when he joined Loyola college to do
his PUC. While he was considering taking up natural sciences for his
graduation, it was one of his uncles, who persuaded him to apply for admission
in a medical college. He had no idea of taking up medical profession nor was he
confident of finding the money for doing the course as his father`s meager
income was not enough to support a big family. Luckily for him in the public
examination of the Tamil Nadu State for Secondary School Leaving Certificate he had scored
over 87% on the basis of which he got
the prestigious
“National Merit Scholarship” for his entire medical studies.
That was the beginning of his tryst with the medical profession. Between
1972-1977 he studied
at the Madras Medical College. On completion of his training he was
awarded the MBBS degree by the
Madras University. However
he was not successful in getting admission to do his MD for five years in a row because he belonged to the forward
community. While he was practicing in a private nursing home he decided to do a two year full time Postgraduate Diploma course in
Dermatology at Madras Medical College which included special training in
Leprosy and sexually transmitted diseases. The year was 1979.
“I got married to Kala when I was 27 when I was still studying for my diploma in
dermatology. Though I was not yet an earning member, the fact that my wife
was employed as an officer in a well
known private bank helped run the family. My would be father in law was
confident that though I was unemployed at the time of the marriage I would be a
successful doctor in the future. After
completing the diploma course I got an opportunity to work in the iconic Adyar
Cancer Institute which was considered then as the Saranalaya for all those who could not get admission to do a PG (MD)course
in medicine.I spent the next 3 years working closely with Dr.Shantha. While I
learnt a lot at the institute where every patient was a challenge, the atmosphere
generally was depressing because of the
number of deaths I witnessed. So I decided to quit and joined the T.S.Srinivasan Department of
Clinical Neurology and Research at Madras a part of the Public Health Center, a
150 bed community hospital located in
Mamabalam as Resident Physician. This is where I got exposed to Neurology”.
At the PHC he got the opportunity to work closely with
Dr.Krishnamurthy Srinivas, a well known Neurologist of the time who was
associated with PHC right from its inception. He took a liking for JB and
taught him practical lessons in neurology and in 1992 appointed JB as Junior Consultant in Neurology in the Department of
Neurology, Public Health Center. The same year, helped by Dr.Srinivas he also attended a Postgraduate student training for the Diploma in Clinical Neurology at
the internationally renowned Institute of Neurology and National Hospital for
Neurology and Neurosurgery in London: a specialist course widely recognized in the
United Kingdom and overseas. Thus started his unique dual specialization as a
Dermatologist cum Neurologist. While Dr.Krishnamurthy Srinivas was his mentor
in Neurology he credits late
Dr.A.S.Thamabiah, the legendary skin specialist of his time and
Dr.Patric Yesudian as his gurus in dermatology.
While practicing at public health Centre and his private
Clinic in K.K.Nagar, JB also offered his services as a visiting consultant to
many other institutions in the city. He was also busy contributing
articles on his profession to many
industry journals. His book in Tamil on skin diseases called Saruma Noigal in 2008 published by Nalam a unit of the New
Horizon media was his first book.
“It was a thrilling feeling holding the first copy of my
first printed book”says JB. The success of the book made him write another book on epilepsy
titled Valippu Noigal that got him the award as the Best author/book in
medical sciences for the year 2010 from the Government of Tamil Nadu.
“Receiving the award from the then Chief Minister Selvi
Jayalalitha was a proud moment for me”
he adds. This was followed by another book on headaches in Tamil which got him the `NRK Award` for the best
book essays by the Uratha Sinthanai forum
in 2015.
While the writing bug had already caught him, it was his
foray with the Face Book which opened the doors for his journey as creative
writer. It was in 2010 that he posted his first humorous piece on the popular
south Indian delicacy, the ubiquitous ``bajji` that got him immediate response
from his FB friends appreciating his style of writing and for the extensive
research he had done on the subject. Many other articles on similar popular
topics found him gaining more friends/readers on the FB.
“It is the immediate response I started getting for anything I posted
on my FB page that inspired me to
write not only articles but also short stories based on my experiences both as
a medical doctor and as a common man. My first short story appeared in Naveena Vritchum, a monthly published by the popular writer
`Azhagiasinger`. It was my friend
Balasandilyan another popular writer/poet in Tamil who introduced me to Mrs
Girija Raghavan the dynamic editor of the Ladies Special magazine. She not only
published some of my short stories but also encouraged me to write on a variety
of topics. Kizhambur the editor of the iconic Tami monthly Kalaimagal also encouraged me by
publishing many of my articles and stories in his magazine”.
JB now found himself
deluged with requests from other magazines too. He became a prolific writer of essays on a variety of
topics including food, short stories, commentaries on literary works, book reviews and travelogues.
Whatever subject he wrote about were
based on intensive research. Besides his
own keen observation of people and deep understanding of the topics he covered
were evident in his writings. He is also blessed with a phenomenal memory. His writings are in simple Tamil with a touch of humour.
When I asked him how
he is able to write with authority on so many
diverse topics, he said,” I read a lot.
I am capable of reading three or four books simultaneously. Every room
in my home has some book or the other I am reading at a time. Most of my
reading and writing happen only in the nights. I am a late bird. My short
stories are based on the experiences of thousands of patients I have met over
the years and also my own experiences”
While he was busy as
a writer it was Azhagiasinger of Naveena Vritchum again who
initiated him into the world of
speakers on Tamil literature by inviting
him to participate in a panel discussion
on the award winning writer late Jayakanthan. There were
three other eminent writers on the
panel. It was a defining moment for JB.
He had come so well prepared that he made an impact on the audience. Soon
Kizhambur and others started inviting him as a speaker at literary
meetings organized by them. JB as a
speaker had arrived.
In the meanwhile persuaded by friends he decided to
publish his first book consisting of a collection of his essays. Titled
`Appavin Diary` , with a Foreword by the popular writer of his time late Ashoka
Mithran the book was launched at a function attended by hundreds of friends.
“ This was in 2016. My father was alive at that time and
attended the function. He was delighted beyond words when he was recognized
and his role in his children`s lives was
appreciated”
Since then he has brought out eight more books. `Thedal- a collection of short stories;
`Adhu Oru Kanakkalam and Kuvikam Kadaisi pakkam- a collection of his essays,
`Kinatrukkul Kaveri` his second collection of short stories. In 2021 his book
containing his Book reviews was published besides the English version of his
first collection of short stories Thedal titled `The search and other short
stories ` translated by me. In January,2022 two books one based on a collection of his articles
serialized in Ladies Special magazine and the other one based on his postings on his FB page, were
published.
While he had turned a
prolific writer by reducing the time he spent on his medical practice he has
won scores of prizes and awards for his articles and stories published in
various magazines that keep him motivated
to write more.
“I consider the First
prize I got for my story in the Ki Va Ja memorial short story
contest conducted by Kalaimagal and the first prize I got for my story in the short story competition by Ilakkia Peedam as special” he said
What next? JB told me that he has already got an outline for a novel he is working on. Hopefully it will
come out before the end of 2022.
Even the small screen has been exploiting JB`s talents over the years.
He is regularly invited by popular TV channels to talk about his expertise as a
specialist in Dermotology and Neurology. In recent times some chennels are even
inviting him to participate in literary discussions.
JB has come a full circle from being a well known medical
doctor to now a rising star in the world of Tamil literature. He is truly an
inspiration for many other talented professionals to explore their passion for writing or any
other creative pursuits while being successful
in their respective professions -age
being no barrier for pursuing one`s passions!
This article has appeared in madras Musings Issue dt Feb 15-28 ,2022
