Gopal Baratham
Encyclopedia
Gopal Baratham was a Singapore
an author
and neurosurgeon. He was known for his frank style and his ability to write about topics that were often considered controversial in the conservative city-state.
. In 1954 he registered at the Medical College of the University of Malaya
, Singapore, and, after studying at the Royal London Hospital
in 1965, he entered the Department of Neurosurgery at the University of Edinburgh
in 1969. He finished his studies by 1972, when he was already 36 years old, to become a surgeon at the Thomson Road General Hospital in Singapore. He headed the Neurosurgery Department at the Tan Tock Seng Hospital
between 1984 and 1987, and went into private practice after relinquishing his post as department head. He retired full-time from medical practice in 1999.
Baratham died of pneumonia on the 23 of April, 2002. He was 66. Baratham had been in hospital for about a month for pneumonia and heart problems. He had had open-heart surgery in 1989.
Society.
It was only in 1981 that his first book collection of short stories entitled Figments of Experience was published.
In 1991, Dr. Baratham published his most successful novel, A Candle or the Sun, which he had started working on in 1983. The novel was published in London and not in Singapore due to its controversial nature. The novel was loosely based on the case of the so-called Marxist plotters, a group of Catholic
activists whom the Singapore government had declared to be Communists and subsequently arrested. The same year he also published an erotic love-story called Sayang set in Singapore, Malaysia, and Indonesia
. He won the S.E.A. Write Award
and was elected the president of the ASEAN Association of Neurosurgeons.
In 1994, Dr. Baratham wrote an account of the events surrounding the sentencing to caning
of the American teenager Michael Fay
, called The Caning of Michael Fay.
Singapore
Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...
an author
Author
An author is broadly defined as "the person who originates or gives existence to anything" and that authorship determines responsibility for what is created. Narrowly defined, an author is the originator of any written work.-Legal significance:...
and neurosurgeon. He was known for his frank style and his ability to write about topics that were often considered controversial in the conservative city-state.
Life
Born to a physician and a nurse, Baratham decided to follow his parents and entered the medical profession. However, his youth was marked by the experience of the Japanese occupationJapanese Occupation of Singapore
The Japanese occupation of Singapore in World War II occurred between about 1942 and 1945 after the fall of Singapore on 15 February 1942. Military forces of the Empire of Japan occupied Singapore after defeating the combined Australian, British, Indian and Malayan garrison in the Battle of Singapore...
. In 1954 he registered at the Medical College of the University of Malaya
University of Malaya
The University of Malaya is located on a campus near the centre of Kuala Lumpur, and is the oldest university in Malaysia. It was founded in 1905 as a public-funded tertiary institution...
, Singapore, and, after studying at the Royal London Hospital
Royal London Hospital
The Royal London Hospital was founded in September 1740 and was originally named The London Infirmary. The name changed to The London Hospital in 1748 and then to The Royal London Hospital on its 250th anniversary in 1990. The first patients were treated at a house in Featherstone Street,...
in 1965, he entered the Department of Neurosurgery at the University of Edinburgh
University of Edinburgh
The University of Edinburgh, founded in 1583, is a public research university located in Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland, and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The university is deeply embedded in the fabric of the city, with many of the buildings in the historic Old Town belonging to the university...
in 1969. He finished his studies by 1972, when he was already 36 years old, to become a surgeon at the Thomson Road General Hospital in Singapore. He headed the Neurosurgery Department at the Tan Tock Seng Hospital
Tan Tock Seng Hospital
The Tan Tock Seng Hospital is the second-largest hospital in Singapore after the Singapore General Hospital, but its accident and emergency department is the busiest in the country largely due to its geographically centralised location...
between 1984 and 1987, and went into private practice after relinquishing his post as department head. He retired full-time from medical practice in 1999.
Baratham died of pneumonia on the 23 of April, 2002. He was 66. Baratham had been in hospital for about a month for pneumonia and heart problems. He had had open-heart surgery in 1989.
Writing career
Baratham began his passion for writing in the 1960s, and never stopped writing throughout his medical career. His first novel, Fuel in Vacant Lots, was however never finished. In 1974 he was able to get his first short story, "Island", published in Commentary, the publication of the National University of SingaporeNational University of Singapore
The National University of Singapore is Singapore's oldest university. It is the largest university in the country in terms of student enrollment and curriculum offered....
Society.
It was only in 1981 that his first book collection of short stories entitled Figments of Experience was published.
In 1991, Dr. Baratham published his most successful novel, A Candle or the Sun, which he had started working on in 1983. The novel was published in London and not in Singapore due to its controversial nature. The novel was loosely based on the case of the so-called Marxist plotters, a group of Catholic
Catholic
The word catholic comes from the Greek phrase , meaning "on the whole," "according to the whole" or "in general", and is a combination of the Greek words meaning "about" and meaning "whole"...
activists whom the Singapore government had declared to be Communists and subsequently arrested. The same year he also published an erotic love-story called Sayang set in Singapore, Malaysia, and Indonesia
Indonesia
Indonesia , officially the Republic of Indonesia , is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 13,000 islands. It has 33 provinces with over 238 million people, and is the world's fourth most populous country. Indonesia is a republic, with an...
. He won the S.E.A. Write Award
S.E.A. Write Award
The S.E.A. Write Award, or Southeast Asian Writers Award, is an award that has been presented annually since 1979 to poets and writers in Southeast Asia....
and was elected the president of the ASEAN Association of Neurosurgeons.
In 1994, Dr. Baratham wrote an account of the events surrounding the sentencing to caning
Caning in Singapore
Caning is a widely used form of legal corporal punishment in Singapore. It can be divided into several contexts: judicial, military, school, reformatory/prison, and domestic/private....
of the American teenager Michael Fay
Michael P. Fay
Michael Peter Fay is an American who briefly shot to international notoriety when he was sentenced to caning in Singapore as an 18-year-old in 1994 for theft and vandalism...
, called The Caning of Michael Fay.
Short story collections
- Figments of Experience (Times Books International, 1981)
- People Make You Cry (1988)
- Memories that Glow in the Dark (1995)
- The City of Forgetting (Times Books International, 2001)
- Love Letters and other stories 1988
Novels
- A Candle or The Sun (Serpent's Tail, 1991)
- Sayang (Times Books International, 1991)
- Moonrise, Sunset (Serpent's Tail, 1996)
Non-Fiction
- The Caning of Michael Fay (KRP Publications, 1994)
Secondary Texts
- Of memory and desire: The stories of Gopal Baratham by Kah Choon Ban (Times Books International, 2000)
Awards
- National Book Development Council of Singapore (NBDCS) Highly Commended Book Award - Figments of Experience (1982)
- National Book Development Council of Singapore (NBDCS) Commended Book Award - People Make You Cry and Other Stories (1990)
- Southeast Asia Write Award (1991)