Just what the doc ordered: Gynaec to the stars, RP tells his story

Watching him drive his sedan past some serious afternoon traffic to Gallops restaurant at Mahalaxmi racecourse and then tuck into kebabs and jalebi cheesecake between sips of technicoloured fruit mocktail you wonder if Dr RP Soonawala aka RP is actually 86 ldquoYou should watch him go for a cotton candy like a little childrdquo says food and health writer Rashmi Uday Singh about the object of her admiration and subject of her new book Lifegiver published by Harper Collins The official biography of the Padma awardee gynaecologist and obstetrician It released this weekWriter Rashmi Uday Singh says she followed Dr RP Soonawala all the way from Mykanos to Jaipur for research on the book PicSameer MarkandeFive years in the making it has had Singh trail the ridiculously busy octogenarian from one end of the world to the other ldquoFrom Mykanos to Jaipur and everywhere else in betweenrdquo she laughs Although she has authored several titles on food this was the first time she has attempted a biography She calls it her most challenging assignment yet thanks to the research involved and time spent in tracking down RPrsquos patients ldquoMost people were more than happy to contributerdquo says the author ldquoWe had to spend a lot of time on Googlerdquo says the doctor smiling referring to his celebrity clientele ldquoI quite enjoyed revisiting some of my casesrdquoSingh says she shares a special bond with RP ldquohe has been inside my stomach so many times that I had to get inside his headrdquo is her favourite quip just as the many women who have shared their stories in the book ldquoThe relationship between a doctor and patient is specialrdquo he says ldquoespecially between an obstetrician and patient It is a bond that is built over nine months leading to a new life joining the family a joyous occasionrdquoAnd the bonds are many mdash right from industrialist wife and philanthropist Parmeshwar Godrej who is grateful to the doctor for relieving her from the agony of carrying a still born child after all other doctors had refused to operate on her and winning her ldquounconditional confidencerdquo to actress Mumtaz on whom RP performed two procedures he had introduced in 1974 for the first time in the country mdash laparoscopy and microsurgery mdash to identify and eliminate a gynaecological niggle and make her fit for pregnancy again Liquor baron Vijay Mallya flew RP to Los Angeles to deliver his son Sidhartha Ranbir Karishma and Kareena Kapoor were all delivered by him too and in the book Amitabh Bachchan writes how the doctor is indispensable to his familyBut it is not just the stars or royalty like Rajmata Gayatri Devi A significant chunk of Dr Soonawalarsquos patients are from humble backgrounds ldquoAnd he treats them with the same kind of compassion dignityrdquo says Singh who while researching for the book accompanied him to places that have shaped his life including the house at Grant Road where he was delivered by a midwife as was the practiceGiven that RP began practicing in 1948 the story of his life reads like a chapter in medical history and that of the city ldquoWhen we started practicing a doctor would feel the pulse of the patient and diagnose mdashdiagnostic procedures and blood groups came laterrdquo From 1956 to the mid70s some revolutionary innovations were introduced in medical practice including sonography which replaced the Xray ldquoWhile technology has got better and pin hole surgeries have become easier thanks to hitech cameras innovations continue to be based on theories that were introduced during the rsquo60s and rsquo70srdquo says the doctor adding ldquoI feel happy to be have been part of such a significant era in medical historyrdquoA personal triumph says RP while playing down his contribution was The Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act of 1971 ldquoThose days women had no say whether they came from educated backgrounds or otherwise The mortality rate during abortion was 20 in a 100 There were many cases of women losing their lives to quacks because medically terminated pregnancies were illegal in Indiardquo he says A steady stream of these women made it to Wadia Hospital in Parel and Dr Soonawala was at the forefront of a sustained campaign to make it easier for women to choose abortion at an early stageMost importantly he introduced an IntraUterine Contraceptive Device that allowed women to plan their pregnancies The empowering innovation won him the Padma Shri 1991 and the prestigious Von Grafenberg medal from the University of Kiel in 1984Medical history apart the book offers us a glimpse of BombayoftheParsis bytheParsis ldquoHe took me to the hospital district of Parel up the wooden stairways courtyards with old mango treesrdquo says Singh who is particularly fond of the community that has been instrumental in building the island cityldquoI have always been curious about why so many leading doctors and industrialists are Parsis I was told it is because of their belief that abundance rather than abstinence or austerity is important and everything they do is to celebrate the abundance of life in its many formsrdquo she says recounting how everywhere she went with RP women rushed out to meet him with emotional accounts of how he had delivered their children grand children and praising his quietly assuring presence ldquoThe joke at Wadia Hospital is that if anybody reported to work late instead of admonishing them he would ask lsquoBeta aaj khana khayardquorsquoThe discussion veers towards the state of maternity wards in government hospitals and how here Mumbai has an edge over other metros ldquoMost public hospitals in the city have better technology and facilities than government hospitals elsewhere but I still feel doctors show some reluctance in using them wellrdquo he says ldquoYou see when we became doctors medical practice was looked upon as a service Now it is a business And the corporate stakeholders are responsible for this changerdquoOn a lighter note we talk about his boundless energy He attributes it to his family with three generations of tireless medical practitionersHe draws inspiration from his wanderlust His mother was a traveller with a lust for life and is responsible for the way he is turned out even in his 80s mdash his hair has just a dash of grey and he chooses denims and a checked shirt for the interview The doctor shares a secret ldquoA curious mind is a young mindrdquo he says picking up an orchid bud from the floral arrangement on his table while drawing attention to its shape and colour ldquoLook at the architecturerdquo he saysldquoYou see the moment you retire and stop using your mind and body you start ageingrdquo he says driving his dessert spoon into the baked Alaska that has just been flambeacuteed