Lifegiver: The Biography of the Legendary Obstetrician and Gynaecologistdr R.P. Soonawala

'Doc has delivered my two greatest joys, Ranbir and Riddhima,' says actress Neetu Singh. 'I am most comfortable with him and will not go to any other doctor.' Thousands of women feel the same way. For Dr R.P. Soonawala is the doctor extraordinaire -- an expert gynaecologist, a skilled surgeon and the gentlest of people. Growing up as the third son of a Parsi doctor in 1930s' Bombay, the young RP was more interested in sprinting and tennis than his studies. Between playing pranks on friends and dating the gorgeous Piloo, whom he would later marry, the young man's life skipped merrily from his Navjot ceremony at seven to early training in medicine. The turning point came when he witnessed the gruesome abortions performed by mercenary doctors in an era when Medically Terminated Pregnancy was illegal in India. Deciding to change that, Dr Soonawala set about devising a new Intra-Uterine Contraceptive Device that would empower women to plan their pregnancy. He would receive the Von Graffenberg Medal from the University of Kiel in 1984, and the Padma Shri in 1991 for his extraordinary innovation. Today, at eighty-six, Dr Soonawala is as active as ever. He is Chairman, Ob-Gyn, at Max Healthcare, and on the governing board of Ajeenkya D.Y. Patil University. His disarming humility and infectious humour continue to charm his friends and patients. Firmly putting behind him the media's unfair allegations at the time of Smita Patil's untimely death, he has gone on to deliver generations of Ambanis and Kapoors, as also Varun Gandhi and Laloo Prasad Yadav's grandchildren. Noted writer Rashmi Uday Singh puts together five years of interviews with the doctor and his family to produce this biography of the man who changed the face of obstetrics and gynaecology in India.

Food and health -- Rashmi Uday Singh has done trailblazing work in both fields for over two decades. India's first health show on TV, Health Today, was produced, scripted, directed and presented by her. Her weekly health column in The Indian Express was popular for fifteen years. World Gourmand cookbook award winner and author of thirty-six books, Rashmi has several more firsts to her credit: India's first-ever city restaurant guide, A Nightlife Guide to Mumbai, and the world's first vegetarian guide to Paris, A Vegetarian in Paris. Rashmi graduated with an honours in English literature, studied journalism and law, then received a master's in management. She trained with the BBC before joining the Indian Revenue Service, which she quit as Deputy Commissioner after fifteen years to follow her creative muse. She continues to shoot her TV shows, represent India at international food contests, and write her weekly columns in Bombay Times and Chennai Times. For over three decades Rashmi has had an amazing personal and medical relationship with Dr R.P. Soonawala, and has interviewed him for her weekly health column and TV show. This biography has been her single-most challenging project. Also the most inspirational.