There are a few books that quietly sneak up on you. You pick it up expecting something light, and somewhere along the way you realise you have not put it down in two hours and you are grinning like an absolute fool on public transport.

The Great Indian Medico Masala by Dr Kumar Nirbhay is exactly that kind of book.

Dr Kumar Nirbhay is a Senior Physician at the Railway Hospital in Nagpur with over two decades of clinical experience. He is also, as it turns out, a natural storyteller with an eye for the absurd and a genuine warmth for the people around him.

This book is a collection of short stories drawn from his life as a doctor in India. The chaos of medical college, the indignities of hostel living, the terror of senior doctors, and the quiet moments that remind you why medicine is, at its core, a very human profession. Every story is short, punchy, and lands exactly where it intends to. Dr Nirbhay’s writing has the easy confidence of someone who has been telling stories at the dinner table for years and knows exactly when to deliver the punchline.

Take the opening story, about a medical fresher who finds the most creative possible solution to surviving the ragging ritual in his hostel. Or the one about Harendra, who cannot string together a sentence in English and becomes, through sheer stubborn will, the most feared English speaker on campus. Each story takes about five minutes to read but stays with you considerably longer

Dr Nirbhay clearly loves medicine, loves his patients, and loves the strange, messy, deeply human world of Indian medical colleges. That love shows. The book is dedicated to his patients, "who make my life more interesting and worthy." That line tells you everything about the spirit in which these stories were written.

If you have ever spent time in an Indian government hospital, either as a patient, a student, or a doctor, you will recognise this world instantly. But you do not need a medical background to enjoy this book at all. These are stories about ambition and embarrassment, about the gap between what we expect of ourselves and what life actually turns out to be. Dr Nirbhay writes about all of it with extreme warmth and wit.

In his own words from the author's note: "Whether you're a fellow doctor, a student, or a curious reader peeking into the medical world, I hope these stories make you smile, think, and maybe see doctors as more than just white coats with stethoscopes."

He delivers on that promise, story after story.

Masala, as every Indian knows, is the right combination of flavours that makes something memorable. The Great Indian Medico Masala has it all: humour, genuine emotion, characters you recognise from your own life, and stories that feel true despite their absurdness.

Read more by ordering your copy here.