‘Vinculum’ in essence means a stepping stone, an isthmus, and that is what this book is. It is an isthmus between adolescence and maturity, between dreams and reality and between happiness and sorrow.

Vinculum is a simple, heartwarming tale of five adolescents from different backgrounds thrown together in an environment as fascinating as a medical college, in a locale as romantic as Shimla.


About the Author
Dr. Jaideep Singh Chadha graduated from the Indira gandhi Medical College, Shimla in 1972. He did his Post graduation in Internal Medicine from the Post Graduate Institute of Medical Sciences, Chandigarh in 1978. He has authored two other books Please Mom! It’s my Life and The Funny Side of Golf.

He lives in Chandigarh with his wife, gurminder. He was recently honoured with the ‘Vijay Rattan’ award.



CONTENTS:

Prologue
THE ACCIDENT
THE AFTERMATH
THE TEAR

Reverie
One : THE PARDON
Two : OUR FIRST BEST FRIEND
Three : TONY
Four : THE FIRST STEPPING STONE
Five : THE SECOND STEPPING STONE
Six : DAVID
Seven : THE SCRAP
Eight : THE LETTER
Nine : THE WEDDING
Ten : Tamanna
Eleven : THE SECOND LETTER
Twelve : THE SKULL
Thirteen : THE LAST HURDLE
Fourteen : THE INTERN
Fifteen : DAVID’S PUNISHMENT
Sixteen : GOODBYE TONY
Seventeen : DYING DECLARATION
Eighteen : THE BEGINNING OF THE END
Nineteen : NIGERIAN INTERLUDE
Epilogue


EXCERPT FROM THE BOOK:

Tamanna
I had never really enjoyed mixed parties. The reason was very simple. I did not have a partner, so I sometimes felt a misfit at such parties. Even that day, I went to the party at the discotheque only because a friend, Ramesh, had been so insistent. He had given me the option of walking out any time I found it boring. There was another drawback at these parties. Alcohol was not served. Instead, they dished out cigarettes of hash, shit and the like. In addition, they passed around uppers, downers and other drugs which I was totally averse to. I didn’t like the haze of cigarette smoke or the loud music. The ill-lit claustrophobic atmosphere of discotheques always depressed me. I began contemplating a quiet exit to the ice-skating rink where the others would be waiting. Just then, the door opened and a girl entered the disco and my life hasn’t been the same ever since. She spotted Ramesh and called out to him.
“Hey, the music is fab,” she said in a husky voice.
“So, how about a dance?” Ramesh asked. “What took you so long?”
“Ah,” she said, “Sister Augusta wouldn’t let me out. Anyway, I can’t stay long.” And she started dancing.
Dancing became an art and I couldn’t take my eyes off her. Suddenly, the place became much more interesting. I can’t really tell you about the effect she had on the others present there, because I had eyes only for her. She danced for some time, heaved a sigh and said, “Thanks yaar I’ll cool off a bit and then go back. See you tomorrow!”
She looked around and spotted the vacant seat next to mine and sat down. I had not taken my eyes off her for even a second, so mesmerised was I. There is no use describing her beauty. I might end up saying something clichéd like she had the loveliest face that I had ever seen, or that she had the longest hair ever, or that her legs were superb. The fact is that beauty lies in the eyes of the beholder. One thing that I must tell you about, though, is her nose. It was the most outstanding aspect of her profile, tip tilted endearingly to make her seem both sophisticated and childlike. The dreamy look in her eyes coupled with that nose gave her face a character which I hadn’t seen for a long time off the silver screen. I had forgotten about the party, the dancers, the smoke, or the drugs being circulated. I had even forgotten the fact that it was considered bad manners to stare at someone like that. But I just couldn’t take my eyes off her. All I knew was that something had happened and that I wasn’t the same bored man that I was few moments ago. I had a purpose now to give her all the admiration that I was capable of giving.....


Vinculum Times of India, April 6, 2007

A deeply heart-warming, real-life tale of five adolescent medical students in Simla and how their lives take a turn when one of them dies in a road accident



Vinculum Hindustan Times, April 21, 2007

A heartwarming tale of five students from different backgrounds thrown together