Writing is a thrilling experience for me – always has been. So writing a new book, my fourth after a gap of thirteen years, has been a labour of love. The biggest challenge was to find two hours a day to devote. Quite a luxury when you have to manage five companies and over 1,000 staff as well as pursue two other fairly demanding passions, photography and music.
On the plus side, content was never a problem – I had 40 years of clinical experience to draw from. The important thing was to distil this information and make it simple, concise and easy to use. My first draft turned out much longer than I wanted. Subsequent drafts trimmed the size and polished the prose.
We then came to layout and cover design. The first designs featured homeopathy pills some of which looked like billiard balls and others like bubbles! Discarding that idea, I thought of using a picture of myself as probably the best known if not the best looking (!) face of homeopathy. I've lost weight since that photo and when the book is reprinted, it shall star the slimmer, trimmer edition of the author!
When I think on what prompted me to write, I realize that I have always been fascinated by literature. In school, I used to know many of the works of William Shakespeare and George Bernard Shaw by heart. I can still recite passages from Richard II. While my writing on medicine, is naturally more mundane, it still serves as a way to communicate to and connect with people. For 40 years, I have been writing columns in leading newspapers and magazines. It is a wonderful way to reach the benefits of homeopathy to the maximum number of people.
The book has been formally released at functions in Delhi, Bangalore and Mumbai. In Delhi, it was formally launched by good friends Shashi and Sunanda Tharoor at a function presided over by Smt Maneka Gandhi. In Bangalore, I was gratified to have Anil Kumble making a rare appearance to do the honours. It was doubly rewarding to learn that Kumble's own grandfather had been a 'home' homeopath and that he had been reared on it. I couldn't help but remark that then it was no wonder how well the ace cricketer had turned out! In Mumbai, loyal patients, Pritish Nandy and Shabana Azmi released the book at a cosy function at Crossword.
I am overwhelmed by the response to the book. Friends, patients and even acquaintances have called to congratulate me and share their experience of reading this book. I feel so glad that the work and time put in has not been in vain. The book is dedicated to my patients, and it is to them that I owe it all.