ENT surgeon moonlights as standup comedian

Dr Jagdish Chaturvedi is a man who dons many hats. He is an ENT surgeon, a standup comedian, an actor and an entrepreneur. At the start of the year, he released a video ‘Main Corona Virus’ on YouTube, which garnered quite a lot of attention. “At the time, India was unaffected by the virus, but as a medical professional, I had quite a lot of information. I created the video to keep people informed,” he shares. He chose comedy as the format because he felt it would have a much more far-reaching effect than a serious sit-down discussion.

The success of the video inspired him to create a web series called ‘Starting Trouble’. The medical comedy series is based on Dr Chaturvedi’s book ‘Inventing Medical Devices’ as well as real-life experiences. The series is now streaming on the platform.

“I wanted to inspire more doctors to innovate. The Indian medical community’s greatest drawback is that we rely on imported technology. Many don’t create space for ideation and invention because they think they should focus solely on clinical practice,” he says. He created the web series to make the idea more accessible to young doctors, nurses and medical students, though there were several challenges he had to come, especially with respect to funding.

He also created a platform, www.hiih.com, with the aim of helping Indian doctors who wish to create medical solutions. “If you have an idea, the platform can help translate that into reality by connecting you to experts and engineers,” he explains.

Dr Chaturvedi also recently released a rap song video on YouTube, through which he explains the do’s and don’ts of self-quarantine. “It is not being taken as seriously as it should be. During a pandemic, people should work under the assumption that they are infected, as opposed to thinking that they would not be affected by it. A little caution, even edging on the side of paranoia, could help break the chain,” he says.