Gripping and unputdownable!

Dr Sumit Ghoshal. Picture from his Facebook wall.

Raju Korti
Writing a good novel is hard. If it were so easy, we’d all be writing best-selling, prize-winning fiction. There is no dearth of people out there who can tell you how to write a novel. There are many who will wax eloquent on what goes into the making of good fiction. The benchmarks are any but the best is the one that works for you.
Going by that yardstick, Dr Sumit Ghoshal has pieced together a brilliantly stitched story that, to me, has a heady blende of the pace of James Hadley Chase and Robin Cook's eye for intricate details. That's no mean task because easier reads than written. At a personal level I am not really taken by surprise since I have had the good fortune of working with Sumitbhai in The Indian Express and the DNA and have always marveled at his ability to pack so much sense while being frugal with words.
In my definition, a good writer who handles the kind of genre that Sumitbhai has done, blurs the line between fact and fiction. Or else, has this subtlety to fictionalize facts.
It is difficult to believe that "Unhealthy Practices" is his first attempt at fiction since the flow and the narrative are seasoned enough to give any veteran a run for his/her money. To use a trite phrase, the book is unputdownable from first word to last.
For all those who must wonder why I put my finger on Chase is for two reasons. The dexterity with which the characters have been painted carries the same stamp. There is another finespun with the situations -- anything but synthetic as is the won't with majority Indian writers -- that leave you with a poignant feeling. You almost end up sympathizing with the darker characters.
Although the title says a lot, I believe the book is actually a scathing indictment of the blatant commercialization of Medical Science which, among other things has severely compromised with professional ethics. The medical profession has long subscribed to a body of ethical statements developed primarily for the benefit of the patient. As a member of this profession, a physician must recognize responsibility to patients first and foremost, as well as to society, to other health professionals, and to self.
The story revolves round the affairs of a trustee hospital whose chairman Madhavji Shah is ready to subsidize scruples to jack up institution's dwindling revenue. As part of this mercenary exercise, Shah, who has connections in the ruling party and can pull strings, throws out senior doctors for not bringing in enough patients and therefore more money. A serious patient is taken off the Intensive Care Unit and shunted to another room/ward so high-end rooms can be allotted to those who can cough up more money.
Even as one senior doctor after another is asked to leave, Prashant Kadakia, the youngest member of the Board of Trustees -- whose father is a past chairman -- devolves upon himself to gain control of the institution. The incumbent chairman keeps plumbing newer depths in throwing ethics to winds and goes as far as kidnapping and murder of some NRI's who are ready to pump in money to extricate the hospital from its morass.
Kadakia takes the help of a reporter Yogesh Tripathi, whose has lost his father is the same hospital on what borders on negligence. Yogesh in turn finds a soul mate in Vineeta, a resident doctor who helps him on the sly with information on the happenings in the hospital. Dr Jagdish Choksi, the medical director wields the axe and does all the dirty work of getting rid of doctors who do not bring in revenue.
As the tussle for the control of the hospital intensifies, the story runs through a series of intrigues and manipulations that degenerate to criminal levels. The pitch here is queered by the presence of an adamant union which demands a hefty bonus from the hospital whose finances are on the brink. Unable to negotiate the turn of events, Choksi is forced to resign and is replaced by Dr Ashok Zaveri who handles pressure and sort of assists Kadakia to bring a semblance of sanity to the hospital's administration. Finally, Kadakia manages to overthrow the board of trustees responsible for its downfall and initiates a process to refurbish its image.
There is a Chase-ish twist towards the end when one of the character, Pratibha Jhala -- who loses her husband due to medical negligence and befriends another doctor from the hospital -- contracts HIV and succumbs to it. Turns out that Pratibha is the past wife of Prashant Kadakia.
The first thing that strikes a reader is the ability of the author to connect and relate events with a vivid description. The story unspools before his eyes like a motion film. That coupled with a lucid narrative gives the story a cutting edge. Perhaps, the only minor irritants are a few editing errors here and there which I am sure Sumitbhai would rectify in the next edition. Implicit in this observation is my fervent wish that all copies are briskly sold out.
As a reader, I have always been very exacting and trained to look for flaws but Sumitbhai doesn't give you any to pinpoint. The characterization and description have the deft touches of a seasoned artiste who can toy with a paint brush. Sumitbhai draws from his twin experience as a once-practicing doctor and as a been-there journalist.
Since this is a personal blog, I think apologies are also due in order for, this piece should have been written long back. On a lighter note, I would like to tell Sumitbhai "better late than never."
More power to his pen.

[Unhealthy Practices, printed by notionpress.com, authored by Dr Sumit Ghoshal, pages 287, price Rs 299.]