Shatrughan Sinha and Maneka Gandhi launched Dr Mukesh Batra’s Toxic in New Delhi, exploring environmental pollution, emotional wellbeing, compassion, homeopathy and the growing pressures of modern life through science, stories and spiritual reflection.

Friendship and Compassion Mark the Launch: Friendship, compassion and the pressures of modern life converged as Shatrughan Sinha and Maneka Gandhi launched Dr Mukesh Batra’s Toxic: Stories, Science, and Remedies for a Cleaner Mind, Body and Spirit, co-authored with Swami Shailendra Saraswati. Published by Bloomsbury India, the book was unveiled at The Lalit, New Delhi.

“Once a friend, always a friend,” said Sinha, speaking affectionately about Dr Batra. “It’s not just about being a friend. Together, we form a mutual admiration society.” His words brought warmth to an occasion that examined the burdens people carry and the damage they often struggle to recognise.

Maneka Gandhi also spoke warmly of Dr Batra, describing him as a remarkable human being who has consistently supported the voiceless. Expressing her admiration for his compassion and commitment to helping others, she added that homeopathy holds a special place in her life because she uses it extensively in healing animals.

A Book Born from Modern Anxiety

For Dr Batra, the book emerged from deep concern about both the world around us and the distress people carry within. Speaking at the launch, he drew attention to polluted air, contaminated food and water, digital dependence, and the silence surrounding emotional struggles. “That is why I wrote Toxic—not as a doctor diagnosing a patient, but as a witness to an entire civilization slowly poisoning itself, sometimes with pollutants and sometimes with its own thoughts,” he said.

He spoke about people who are “too anxious, too exhausted, or too ashamed to name what’s wrong.” That silence, alongside fractured relationships and the relentless pursuit of more, formed the central concern of his address. Reflecting on environmental pollution, he observed that advising someone to take a walk for better health becomes ironic when the very air they breathe is polluted. He extended that concern to water, food, plastic and the contamination of the natural resources upon which life depends.

The Cost of Ambition and Success

Turning to human desire, Dr Batra invoked Ghalib’s Hazaaron Khwahishen Aisi alongside the familiar phrase, “Dil Maange More.” He reflected on how the endless urge to acquire and achieve can gradually become greed, leaving little space for contentment or inner peace.

With Sinha seated beside him, Dr Batra also addressed the emotional pressures of the entertainment industry. Drawing from years of treating people from Bollywood, he spoke about the burden hidden behind glamour, where relentless competition and public judgement make every Friday feel like a verdict. “God sits in the box office every Friday,” he remarked, capturing the uncertainty of a profession shaped by audience response.

He also acknowledged the demands of medicine, where every patient brings a fresh responsibility. His comparison revealed the shared human cost of constantly being expected to perform, whether on screen or in the consulting room.

Healing the Mind, Body and Spirit

Swami Shailendra Saraswati brought the conversation back to the importance of nurturing our inner lives. “It’s not just about our body. We must pay equal attention to our thoughts, emotions and actions,” he said.

The launch also revealed the affection surrounding its author. Sinha’s tribute to an enduring friendship and Gandhi’s appreciation of Dr Batra’s unwavering support for the voiceless gave the evening a deeply personal significance. Alongside the urgent concerns raised by Toxic, their words created space for compassion, connection and the enduring difference one individual can make in the lives of others. 

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