A Mumbai doctor without borders

Long before he became a top cancer surgeon Dr Vijay Haribhakti director of the oncology service at the Sir HN Reliance Foundation Hospital had written a parable during a bus ride to Poynad Raigad He was a 21yearold intern then The now 60yearold who has treated celebrities such as Rakesh Roshan kept the book in deep freeze for four decades I was not a known writer or even a doctor but a young man who was struck with thoughts that had to be penned down But a serendipitous sequence of events have ensured that A Journey Forever receives a grand release at the hands of Mukesh Ambani and wife NitaAlso ReadMumbai BMC chief cracks the whip on senior docs Nair Hospital deanAlongside the parable Haribhakti will also release a medical textbook titled Restoration Reconstruction and Rehabilitation in Head and Neck Cancer Incidentally both books have been illustrated by his friend and orthopaedic and spine surgeon Dr Shekhar Bhojraj proving that surgeons can wield pens as skilfully as their scalpelsAlso ReadBodyfixers fame Dr Nina Bal on carving a niche in maledominated industryExcerpts from the interviewWhat inspired a cancer surgeon to turn to fictionA Journey Forever is special for several reasons one of them being that it is my one and only work of fiction My other published works are professional in nature It was inspired by a sudden powerful and overwhelming experience of love while on a bus ride and written over three days in 1979 in a near frenzy during my internship in Poynad I have never found the need to change anything from the original and have only added the preface and the epilogue Some people say it reminded them of Jonathan Livingston Seagull by Richard Bach which was written 35 years agoTell us about A Journey Forever What is it aboutIts a parable that people of all ages can relate to right from my 90yearold father to a friends child who is all of 15 years I am convinced deep down in my heart that this is everyones story Although the content of my life has evolved and transformed the essential context remains very much the same life presents us with a choice Either we choose to stay attached and safe or we choose to become free and vulnerable and live When my daughter Sanjana read the book she loved it was convinced it would appeal to many Almost serendipitously I ran into a dear friend at a social dinner who introduced me to the publishers of Vakils Feffer amp Simons Pvt LtdHow did writing help you deal with a serious professionGrowing up we were exposed to William Shakespeare and Charles Dickens but I never read a lot of poetry I realised along the years that writing comes easily to me especially poetry It comes from within and I enjoy writing short poems on a recreational level as well it flows naturally However I do not have much time to devote to the same and do so on a minimal levelYoure also releasing a medical textbook What was your experience working on thisI always felt most books especially multiauthor books were drab and did not focus on outcomes We see so many complications but are never taught how to prevent or manage them We are never taught the importance of detailed planning In order to understand how many similar books have been written or released in the past we ran a detailed Google search and found that till date no author working in India has ever written a book on these lines ever Moreover none of the books from the West give any details about the commonest cancers in Indian males namely cheek and gum cancersHope is the common theme in both books Could you elaborateThe books outline the power of faith As a doctor one must have faith in his ability and the patient must have faith in the doctor It is the most important thing in our profession as patients trust us to do massive surgeries on them and its the faith that reassures them On a spiritual level you need to have faith in yourself to make things happenWhat are your future plans with writingIn terms of medical writing I do plan on working on my atlas of surgical techniques and original methods devised over the years However in the fictional realm nothing was decided 41 years ago and nothing is decided now If I get the same inspiration I surely will but it will not be plannedAlso ReadMumbai 45 superspeciality doctors licences might be suspendedCatch up on all the latest Mumbai news crime news current affairs and also a complete guide on Mumbai from food to things to do and events across the city here Also download the new midday Android and iOS apps to get latest updates