Professor Hamilton's Passage to India

This novel describes the unpredictable turn of events in the life of an American medical researcher in India and how he has no choice but to surrender to these experiences and their consequences. Charles Hamilton, M.D., professor of infectious diseases, receives a substantial grant to spend a year in India gathering data on parasitic diseases in order to better understand their epidemiology. The year is 1975. His explorations take him to a world of problems and challenges, at the same time wonders and surprises far beyond his medical research. He is rejected by the Indian woman that he finds irresistible, by colleagues that he wants to help, and by his wife, who divorces him. In the process Charles also encounters people and events that teach him something new about life, changing him ever so subtly. Charles Hamilton learns to accept a life that is not just based on recognition and fame and is beyond his control. This is a fresh and unique variation to the observations of E.M. Forster in his A Passage to India, by introducing an American doctor into the Indian society of the 1970's. His experiences with rural and urban India range from hilarious to touching pathos. The unexpected emotional, cultural and political conflicts in his quest turn into a crucible leading to a transformation that is subtle yet moving.