Through the Glass Ceiling

Dr Reina Khadilkar recently launched her first novel,Oh! To Be a Lady Surgeon at MCCIA hall,SB Road.

Dr Reina Khadilkar reveals the inspirations behind her recent book,Oh! To Be A Lady Doctor

Dr Reina Khadilkar recently launched her first novel,Oh! To Be a Lady Surgeon at MCCIA hall,SB Road. The ability of a female surgeon is still doubted when patients contemplate a second opinion. I wrote this novel keeping in mind all the female medical practitioners who face such ordeals at some points of their career, says Dr Khadilkar of her inspiration. A consultant surgeon at Jehangir Hospital,Dr Khadilkar feels that her first effort will reach out to the entire medical fraternity. The book will be a trip down memory lane for practising doctors. It is a sneak peak into the lives of people in the medical world. Oh! To Be a Lady Surgeon will help aspiring female medical students renew their belief in their passion, adds Khadilkar.

The novel is set in the 1970s and runs till the turn of the century,focusing on the story of a girl from a small town and brought up on strong middle-class values. She defies social norms when she takes up surgery as her specialisation while pursuing medicine,the first woman to do so in her college. Her journey through the patriarchal world of medicine and her bittersweet encounters with many people in the process span across the book.

Dr Khadilkar admits that the protagonist in the book lives through a compilation of stories from her female medical practitioner friends. Belonging to small towns does not really make a difference these days. But in the 1970s it was difficult to practise medicine if you came from a small town. I am from Aurangabad and it took me a long time to establish myself successfully in a city like Pune, says the 49-year old writer. “It is not a feminist novel from any angle,but a tribute to the feminine struggle for survival even in the world of medicine, Khadilkar clarifies. She found her support in her husband,Dr Madhav Khadilkar,a surgeon himself.

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