Gopal Baratham (Dr), prominent neurosurgeon and distinguished author of three novels, five volumes of short stories and a non-fiction book, was considered a literary light during his lifetime. His first book, the political thriller, A Candle or The Sun, won the Southeast Asia Write Award in 1991 and was short-listed for the Commonwealth Book Prize in 1992. One of the first Singapore writers to have their work published by a British publisher, he received international praise for his fictional writings that are based on Singapore society.