About Me
A Physician, Writer, Translator, and Lifelong Learner Exploring Medicine, Literature, Cinema, Music, and Meaningful Conversations with Purpose.
I would define myself as an adroit, agathokakological human being who is a clinician by profession. I am found risible and narcissistic by aplenty. Both might not be wholly correct, but I affirm I have traces of both. I am, however, sure that I am one of those very few who know how to generate a smile even in the sternest of situations. Being a true prototype for Leo, I deem myself to be a no-nonsense person, and that makes me a not-so-sought-after name amongst an ostentatious group of (certain) medicos whom I have found to be the ne plus ultra of braggadocio.
I am a medical doctor who loves to treat patients with Thyroid disorders and Diabetes and who has sufficient, updated, working knowledge of it. 90% of my private patients are those who have either or both of these.
As a management professional, I worked for a couple of years in UAE, where I earned a “precious” driving license, before getting involved in the set-up of a medical clinic in Ajman.
Back home, during Covid-19, I once again took on an administrative role, where I successfully set up and effectively ran, complaint-free, a first-line treatment centre for Covid for seven months.
Dr. Bobby Moses, the physician par-excellence at Ananthapuri Hospitals and Research Institute, Thiruvananthapuram, is a pious, pure, genuine human soul whom I respect like no other in the medical fraternity. He brought me back to treating patients with confidence during one of the toughest times in my life. My life would be insufficient to thank him. Ever since I first met him on 15th March 2013, I have seen no better physician than him.
Music has always been my passion since I sniffed the first bout of air. I am a trained mridangist who secured a National CCRT Scholarship in Mridangam at the age of thirteen. I am also an untrained, serious amateur singer.
I am a movie buff who loves to watch every sensibly made film on the big screen. “Kaiyyoppu”, directed by Mr. Renjith, is my favourite Malayalam feature film. “Ore Kadal,” “Oru Njayaraazhcha,” and “Arike”, all directed by the acclaimed five-time State Film Award winner Mr. Shyamaprasad, occupy the second, third, and fourth positions in my list of favourites. Drishyam 1 & Drishyam 2 are my favourite screenplays in Malayalam cinema (apart from many others). In my opinion, Priyadarshan is the director who visualises songs the best in Indian cinema.
Over the years, I have developed a passion for writing. I am a serious reader of non-fiction centred around India, Nationalism, Pakistan, Kashmir issues, and the Partition.
“Ponniyin Selvan,” the epic 2,500-page historical fiction novel by Kalki Krishnamurthy, one of the legends of Tamil Literature, is my favourite work of fiction. It has been translated into innumerable languages and adapted and retold countless times over the past 50 years. Its acclaimed two-part film adaptation, produced by Lyca Productions and Madras Talkies, and directed by Maniratnam, remains one of the finest cinematic interpretations of a literary classic. “Aadujeevitham”, the celebrated Malayalam novel by Benyamin, which crossed 200,000 copies sold, is my second favourite work of fiction. Interestingly, this masterpiece has also been adapted into a feature film directed by one of Malayalam cinema’s finest filmmakers, Blessy.
“The Era of Darkness” by Dr. Shashi Tharoor and “The Nine Lives of Pakistan” by Irish journalist Declan Walsh are my favourite non-fiction books. Apart from the legendary Dr. Shashi Tharoor, Mehdi Hassan, and Madiha Afsal are the personalities I most enjoy reading and listening to. Beyond music, cinema, writing, and reading, I have a deep love for teaching. For more than a decade, I have embraced every opportunity to teach, overriding all forms of resistance.
I do not smoke, nor do I consume any form of alcohol.
"Being nice should never be perceived as being weak. It is not a sign of weakness, It is a sign of courtesy, grace, manners and a woman's ability to make everyone feel at home. It should never be construed as weakness"..
- Benazir Bhutto
"There are two powers in this world : one is the sword and other is the pen. There is a great competition and rivalry between the two. There is a third power stronger than both - that of the women."
- Mohammed Ali Jinnah
"It is a bit rich to oppress, enslave, kill and torture people for over 200 years and then celebrate the fact that they are democratic at the end of it."
- Dr. Shashi Tharoor
"As circumstances change, we form new bonds and new friendships. The older ones become estranged for us then. We just shred them."
- Benyamin
"Be peaceful, be courteous, obey the law, respect everyone, but if someone puts his hands on you, send him to the cemetery."
- Malcom X
"A customer is the most important visitor on our premises. He is not dependent on us. We are dependent on him. He is not an interruption to our job. He is the purpose of it. We are not doing him a favour by serving him. He is doing us a favour by giving us an opportunity to serve him".
- M. K. Gandhi