Mumbai-based neurosurgeon Dr Mazda Turel has added “author” to his already distinguished resume with the release of his debut book, Bheja Fry, published by Juggernaut Books. Drawing from decades of experience in operating theatres, consulting rooms, and the deeply personal moments in between, the book offers readers a rare glimpse into the emotional, humorous, and profoundly human realities of medical life.
Far from being a technical medical memoir, Bheja Fry is a collection of stories about resilience, vulnerability, hope, fear, and the unpredictable ways in which illness shapes lives. Among its many memorable characters are a wheelchair-bound woman whose caregiver husband suddenly becomes a patient himself, a dog that detects its owner’s breast cancer before doctors do, and a brilliant teenager with a brain tumour who insists on learning to read MRI scans from his own surgeon.
The title itself reflects Dr Turel’s trademark wit and irreverence. In interviews surrounding the launch, he explained that life itself “fries your brain” at times, but that humour and perspective can help one find meaning amid chaos. The stories in the book balance medical drama with warmth and gentle comedy, capturing what Dr Turel describes as “the coexistence of medicine and belief.”
Many readers in the Parsi community will already know Dr Turel through his long-running columns in publications such as Mid-Day and Jam-e-Jamshed, where his observations about medicine, humanity, and everyday absurdities have built a loyal readership over the years. Several essays in Bheja Fry originated from those columns, though many have been expanded, rewritten, and updated for the book format.
The book has already drawn praise from prominent figures across the arts and public life. Boman Irani describes it as “sharp as a scalpel and warm as a bedside conversation,” while Sunil Gavaskar jokes that reading Dr Turel makes one wish for “2B (brain and back) issues” just to experience his humour firsthand. Screenwriter and filmmaker Sooni Taraporevala calls him “a master storyteller” whose writing is “as incisive as his knife.”
Reviewers have highlighted the book’s unusual ability to combine humour with serious reflection. The New Indian Express noted that the stories move beyond anatomy and diagnosis to explore identity, memory, fear, and hope, describing neurosurgery as a field that “operates in millimetres and lives in uncertainties.” (The New Indian Express) Meanwhile, Mid-Day praised the book for taking readers “inside the mind of a doctor, where medicine meets morality, and healing meets heartbreak.” (Mid-day)
Published in paperback by Juggernaut, the 312-page book is priced at ₹499.
About Dr Mazda Turel
Dr Mazda Turel is an internationally trained neurosurgeon who completed his MBBS at Grant Medical College and later earned his MCh in Neurosurgery from Christian Medical College Vellore, where he received the prestigious Jacob Chandy Gold Medal.
Over the course of his career, Dr Turel has lectured and taught internationally, authored numerous scientific papers, and built a reputation not only as a skilled surgeon but also as a gifted communicator. Alongside his medical practice, he has become widely known for his engaging newspaper columns and storytelling style that blends humour, compassion, and insight into the human condition.
In Bheja Fry, Dr Turel brings together both sides of his personality — the meticulous neurosurgeon and the observant storyteller — creating a work that is as entertaining as it is deeply humane.