Dr. gabale
by Margo Aramian Ragan
Medicine is a dance of the body and mind, as is Literature.” These are the words Dr. Deven Gabale used to explain to me how he has combined his commitment to medicine with a passion for writing literature. On July 4, 2003 he traded his white lab coat for the writer, director and producer's chair when he was invited to write an original play that was performed in Madison Square Garden before an audience of thousands.
Dr. Gabale is known by many as a kind and compassionate doctor of Urology in practice with Urology Care Alliance with offices at St. Mary Medical Center, Langhorne and Capitol Health Hospital, Pennington New Jersey. What many do not know is he enjoys a reputation as a poet, playwright and storyteller.
“One of my earliest experiences of writing occurred when I was very young, perhaps three or four years old,” Dr. Gabale recalled. “I wrote a poem about a march I had just witnessed, and showed my effort to my grandfather. He was enthralled with my poem, as were other members of my family. This said to me that it was okay to do what I was doing.”
Dr. Gabale's family clearly nurtured the talents of their gifted child. His father was a film producer who trusted his son to pursue his passion. “My mother was more intense,” said Dr. Gabale. “She was a mathematician, economist, and teacher, and at age 90, she is still teaching needy children. She used to tell me that opportunities come and go; therefore, one has to be prepared to seize opportunity when the time arises.”
His family was a major influence in supporting his literary talents, but so too were his teachers. “I had a 6th grade teacher who probably had acting experience,” said Dr. Gabale. “I remember the first day of class when he walked into class, told us to close our books, and began reading Macbeth to us. We had no idea who Shakespeare was, or what Macbeth was all about, but we were entranced by the rhythm of the words, and the basic story he was telling.”
Another teacher encouraged Dr. Gabale to read a wide spectrum of literature ranging from 20th century American classics such as Hemingway's The Old Man and The Sea, to British masters like Charles Dickens. Mythologies from eastern and western cultures in particular captured his imagination because of similarities of the stories to be told. “The mythologies explored the human condition and mind, showing the commonality of humans across the globe and cultures,” Dr. Gabale said. “Two emotions are universal—happiness and sadness. When those emotions are disturbed or destroyed, there is a chain of events that beg to be explained, a story to be told.”
To learn more about Dr. gable, turn to page 72 in the Spring 2016 issue of Bucks County Magazine.