Physician shares ‘untold’ stories of patients

A book titled “Among My Own; The Untold Stories of My People” by Dr Naseem Salahuddin was launched at a packed auditorium of Pakistan American Culture Center (PACC), Karachi.

The book is an anthology of 56 stories of the patients from different segments of society and author being a practicing physician at various hospitals has penned the underlying incongruities of human behaviour reflecting tragedy, comedy or pathos in their lives.

"My profession is unique. I meet people from across the wide canvas of society, the rich and the poor, the arrogant and the humble, the powerful and the meek. They come to me for their illness but often let me into their lives and share their personal stories," the writer in prologue of the book said adding that the stories may seem mundane to some readers, but they all reveal the unseen side of human nature in its rawest form.

Dr Naseem Salahuddin who currently heads the Department of Infectious Diseases, Indus Hospital, Karachi graduated from Jinnah Medical College Lahore who previously worked with Aga Khan University Hospital and Liaquat National Hospital soon after her residency and fellowship training in the United States of America.

In conversation with Shahnaz Wazirali, President of SZABIST University, who also happens to be a writer's school friend, Dr Naseem touched on various issues including misogynism, under-cloth children and said, "The marriage of girls without their consent is a great tragedy. The girls are not allowed to make their own decisions. There is a psyche behind it that women should remain subservient to men."

When asked about writing passion, the writer was of the view that she started writing stories in late 1980s and 1990s with her visit to Tharparkar district where she saw abject poverty and bonded labour with women and children fetching water from the wells. "I started writing in Dawn newspaper focusing on the lives of ordinary people, which readers enjoyed. So, I continued it," she said, adding that family and friends persuaded her to compile the stories to publish the compendium. In the preface of the book, the writer said that she garnered anecdotes of the poor and the rich, the oppressed and the oppressors to illuminate the strengths and frailties of human nature. "I hope that the reader, be it a health care worker or a layperson, should get at least vicarious understanding of the inequalities in our society. Those blessed with good fortune bear a moral responsibility to help the ones who have lost the game of life," she said.

The book launch that was moderated by Dr Aamir Jafarey was different then the routine event with interactive sessions with the writer and question answers taken from audiences.

Dr Naseem who has dedicated her life for the health, education and human cause has inherited it from her elders in the family. "My maternal grandfather had donated the parcels of land to landless peasants in rural Sindh, my father, a Sufi at heart, organized welfare institutions for orphans as well as the poor and disabled. I intended to bequeath this tradition to my progeny," she said in the prologue of the book.

"The same thing is transferred to my children. Even at the tender age of twelve and ten, my son and daughter felt no qualms about trekking through lanes of muds and excrement to reach the shanties of straw and vanvas where sand was the floor and sky the ceiling," she opined.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 21^st, 2022.