Book review ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ A ballad of remittent fever by Ashoke Mukhopadhya, translated from Bengali by Arunava Sinha. Set in 19th and 20th century, a medical historical fiction with the changing socio-political landscape of Calcutta and other parts of west Bengal, India as its backdrop. A ballad of medics and maladies, and their eternal combat.
It’s the history of the evolution of medical science in India, whilest fighting suspicion, quackery, caste and superstitious beliefs. It’s told through the inter-generational personal story of Dr. Dwarikanath Ghoshal and his doctor descendants, each one unique in their practise, technique and personality, yet bound together by their determination to fight disease and improve the quality of human life. An ode to the medical community in India, who persevered on many fronts from treating people inflicted by disease and injury, educating the populace on hygiene and health, raising funds for research and treatment. Ashoke Mukhopadhyay looks at an amalgamation between allopathy and Ayurveda ,and offers an insight into the practise of the near forgotten ancient science and its surviving ancient text ‘Sushruta Samhita’.
The writing is direct and colloquial, the characters admirable and whole, with their perfections and imperfections. The translation by Aruna Sinha is brilliant, the language flows beautifully, I felt as if the events were unfolding in front of me. I could feel Dwarikanath’s excitement when a new corpse was brought to him to dissect and perform his own autopsy, where as I would steer clear of something like that in reality.
A special mention of my great-grandfather, Dr Birbal Das, a physician in the same time period, a highly progressive man dedicated to fighting illness amongst all castes and communities. He frequented the crematorium to collect unburnt bones to make into full skeletons for his study and understanding of the human body.
This book has a special place in my heart, it took me back in time to relive the challenges my great grandfather must have faced, first in becoming a doctor and then in practising medical science in the face of superstitious beliefs and ignorance.
A ballad of remittent fever by Ashoke Mukhopadhya, translated from Bengali by Arunava Sinha. Set in 19th and 20th century, a medical historical fiction with the changing socio-political landscape of Calcutta and other parts of west Bengal, India as its backdrop. A ballad of medics and maladies, and their eternal combat.
It’s the history of the evolution of medical science in India, whilest fighting suspicion, quackery, caste and superstitious beliefs. It’s told through the inter-generational personal story of Dr. Dwarikanath Ghoshal and his doctor descendants, each one unique in their practise, technique and personality, yet bound together by their determination to fight disease and improve the quality of human life. An ode to the medical community in India, who persevered on many fronts from treating people inflicted by disease and injury, educating the populace on hygiene and health, raising funds for research and treatment. Ashoke Mukhopadhyay looks at an amalgamation between allopathy and Ayurveda ,and offers an insight into the practise of the near forgotten ancient science and its surviving ancient text ‘Sushruta Samhita’.
The writing is direct and colloquial, the characters admirable and whole, with their perfections and imperfections. The translation by Aruna Sinha is brilliant, the language flows beautifully, I felt as if the events were unfolding in front of me. I could feel Dwarikanath’s excitement when a new corpse was brought to him to dissect and perform his own autopsy, where as I would steer clear of something like that in reality.
A special mention of my great-grandfather, Dr Birbal Das, a physician in the same time period, a highly progressive man dedicated to fighting illness amongst all castes and communities. He frequented the crematorium to collect unburnt bones to make into full skeletons for his study and understanding of the human body.
This book has a special place in my heart, it took me back in time to relive the challenges my great grandfather must have faced, first in becoming a doctor and then in practising medical science in the face of superstitious beliefs and ignorance.