Sunday Long Reads: Why are there so few women surgeons in India, three French women writers you must read, and more

Here are this week's most interesting reads

Dr Ramesh Sarin battled both gender and race bias to become a surgical oncologist.

Listen to this article

00:00

1x 1.5x 1.8x

Ahead of International Women’s Day, a look at why there are so few women surgeons in India

It was 11.30 pm and Aparna Jaswal had just about settled down when she got a message. The director of cardiac electrophysiology and pacing at Fortis Escorts Heart Institute, Delhi, decided to read it as there were no emergencies to handle and her patients were stable. It was from a medical student who wanted to take up cardiac surgery, had even got a seat in cardiology, but was unsure of her choice. “Her friends and family had dissuaded her saying career opportunities were limited as patients preferred men over women surgeons. I told her what I did. I locate what causes arrhythmia or irregular heartbeats, burn and scar the heart tissue that causes them and implant complex devices to save lives. I also told her that we were just 400 women doing this in the country and we could surely use more hands to prevent sudden deaths,” she says. Though there aren’t many women open heart surgeons, the likes of Jaswal are waiting in the wings.

READ HERE

‘I got support but ultimately it’s my battle and I’ve felt so alone’: Bhavana

Malayalam film Ntikkakkakkoru Premondarnn is Bhavna’s comeback film after a gap of five years.

Bhavana’s voice breaks and crackles, thanks to a patchy mobile network. A couple of times, a bus honks loudly and what sounds like the chitter-chatter of a bustling film set soundtracks the conversation. It’s a busy weekend for the actor — she is shooting a Kannada film, somewhere on the outskirts of Mangalore.

READ HERE

Three French women writers you must read

Marguerite Duras, Leïla Slimani and Ève Curie (Source: Wikimedia Commons)

From Jules Verne’s epoch-defining science fiction masterpieces, to Honoré de Balzac’s pioneering of realist literature, to Gustave Flaubert’s elevation of the novel as an art form that could rival poetry — with France being the guest of honour at the New Delhi World Book Fair that ends today, over the last 10 days, the focus has been on the French contribution to the global literary canon. Like in other spheres, French women, too, have been equally pioneering in literature. It’s difficult to speak of French literature without mentioning the works of Simone de Beauvoir or that of the current Nobel laureate for literature, Annie Ernaux. Here is a recommendation of three female French writers, who have dabbled in everything including, but not limited to, political theory, journalism, screenwriting and prose.

READ MORE

‘Art should make us explore new thoughts’: Ruben Östlund

A still from Triangle of Sadness.

Swedish writer-director Ruben Östlund is famous for making wonderfully outrageous movies as well as sweeping top international awards. Last year, he joined the exclusive club of directors who have won two Palme d’Ors (for The Square in 2017 and Triangle of Sadness in 2022), the highest award at the Cannes Film Festival. This year, he is returning there as the first Swedish Cannes jury president since Ingrid Bergman in 1973. Triangle of Sadness, Östlund’s most commercially successful film, was released in India this week by Impact Films.

READ MORE

In an incisive appeal for reason in an arms-mad world, Sundeep Waslekar’s A World Without War seeks to turn back the ticking nuclear clock

Story continues below this ad

A World Without War by Sundeep Waslekar; HarperCollins; 324 pages; Rs 599 (Source: Amazon.in)

Amid a zeitgeist all but defined by a renewed global embrace of arms and armed “solutions”, A World Without War by the public intellectual Sundeep Waslekar is a work that challenges this emerging new order at two levels

READ MORE

What prompted you to take up writing? Was it a need to document your life for yourself?

Nobel laureate Annie Ernaux (Express Photo By Amit Mehra)

What made me write in the beginning was a deep sorrow which had been there for two years, which you could say was a terrible love story (her marriage to Philippe Ernaux had been unravelling at the time), something that might even resemble a rape. Then two years later, I wrote a book that hasn’t been published. Then I started writing again after 10 years with new motivation. This time, I believe it was about documenting — there was so little known about my childhood, my adolescence, not even where I was born, my origins in society, the moment I completed my studies. I was going from this world to a whole new one, which was changing me as a person. There’s a rule that says that before writing, things are not clear, they are amorphous, so you need to give it a form and find meaning in it. Is it something that gives me form? I’m not sure that it does, but it creates something — a book — and gives life to something that concerns me, but not just me at the same time. It transforms my perception, not just about me but about everything in the world.

READ MORE

Kishore Kumar: The Ultimate Biography pieces together the many ups and downs of the actor-singer’s life

Story continues below this ad

Kishore Kumar’s contribution to the industry and his unmatched artistic legacy is missed out in the book (Source: Express Archives)

ALL his life and illustrious career, Kishore Kumar defied any kind of pigeonholing. Considered to be one of the greatest Indian artistes, he had amazing command over playback singing; made yodelling look easy; and, when on stage, captivated his audience with his livewire performance. Yet, this creative genius was much more than that. He was an incomparable comedian, music composer, producer, writer, lyricist and director. Famously unpredictable, he was known for his quirky behaviour and pranks.

READ MORE

In the animal world, it’s always usually ladies first!

Boss ladies (Pic source: Ranjit Lal)

As a species, the gallant gentleman – the kind who will give up his seat in a bus for a lady — is critically endangered – for two reasons: Firstly, because most modern “gentlemen” have appalling manners, and secondly, ladies don’t need to be pandered to because they know they’re numero uno anyway. Denizens in the animal kingdom have known this for aeons.

READ MORE