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
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