Dancing with the rhythm of earthquakes of my life

 Not only yesterday's earthquake but all the earthquakes inspired me to write the verse. 

I recollect when I was recuperating after my kidney cancer Mum went to the nearest shop but she didn't feel anything but looking at the chaos, people running out of buildings realized an earthquake had struck! It was the infamous Nepal earthquake whose tremors Delhi experienced. She ran back to the rented house to unlock the door because she left locking the door so that I am not disturbed.

It was the time when the landlord handed a court notice to vacate when I was diagnosed with an optico-thalamic tumor in brain and kidney cancer. But we fought and partially recovered then left.

Why do I feel dizzy can anyone tell?

An ill-fated entry began the troublesome magic spell

Inheriting the courage and delight of mum

She is my only companion and I stick to her like bubble gum 

My entry to the planet was associated with shudders and trembles

The first tremor of the seismic event when I was sixteen days old! 

I faced without grumbling the first jolt!

Doctors said chances of my survival were bleak

I unwittingly didn't collapse because I wasn't weak

The memorable incident of the first tremor

Had no clue of aftershocks, we thought it's fate's mischievous humor 

Initial ones were imperceptible

In the landscape of life, others took it as a mild ripple

Mum's sharp eyes saw my timeline  was seismologically unstable

Massive quakes were unavoidable

The upper story started shaking the whole structure

To preserve the solidity of the defective manufacture

The extra extension which popped up was taken down

One solitary gleam of joy remains in this bubble of quietness

My life is packed with troubles with a haunting silence

As I staggered through the redressing procedure 

A crack ran along the way as the old ticker of my progenitor 

Commenced to stutter but he withstood

But he became lankier

Life briefly oscillated putting me in a precarious position

Leading to a Rescue Mission 

Along the fault line a savage slayer

Who thought himself to be important, seriously greater

Put a ticking bomb to trigger the mightiest of the tremors

While going to the emergency in pain, his swallowing gaze l remember 

Devilishly clever was his acts of killing and gaining power

With nausea and remorse, hope began to shimmer

Hindsight reminded his elaborate frills terms which acted as cover

The soulless creature tried to demolish me

Facing with glee

I beckoned destiny

Made a little plan to perturb him

By not dying but living again

It may be a win over his phantasmagoric violence of the monster

I was the unwanted interference but I went onwards in vitality

Despite the distinctly disquieting sensation under my feet 

Mum whose critical thinking and skills pulled me to my feet 

As I was almost tumbling myself, into a dust mound

Living in lousy  houses where landlords did hound

Clinging onto life, thinking about existence with no option of crying

Again got extensions hugging the lining of the upper story 

And entanglement of the cables as we were unwary

I am fighting that by steering myself, 

With her enormous courage balancing with mind and matter

Balancing with complacency, fear, concentrated cowardice, inertia, And cynicism, misanthropic bitterness, and indignation

A perfect recipe for demolition and annihilation.

We live in a realm where we can move things with our will and power 

Journey through the wilderness, unaware,

 Unconcerned about tomorrow, 

Battle with blight motivated by mum's might 

As she says. "Why fit in when you are born to stand out?"

Life starting with trouble didn't lead to a rubble

If you struggle without any grumble.

Love, support, wishes and care are needed for the rare

I have a rare disease called VHL or Von-Hippel Lindau--this gene is a tumor or cancer-suppressing gene present in every human being and those people who have VHL disease have a mutation, turning them into a tumor producing factory.

I don't think I have to explain mutation because the virus causing the pandemic is also composed of genetic material and it is mutating constantly.

In my case, blood-filled tumors form in up to 10 organs of the body. The only treatment is the removal of tumors, irradiation, and monitoring but unfortunately, multiple tumors formed in the liver which compressed and displaced vital vessels and I had a liver transplant leading to turning off of the immune system.

Soon after this life turning event my father perished leaving us penniless and homeless but God sent his messengers and I survived kidney cancer, and other brain tumors.

I happened to get the rarest brain tumor in the world known as leptomeningeal hemangioblastomas. As per records from 1902-2013 only 132 cases have been reported globally and I may be the first case going for treatment in India.

If you don't have enough knowledge you can't survive such nefarious tumors. 

Once you go for surgery the blood-filled tumors would bleed spreading tumor cells throughout the brain and spine and they, in turn, would travel with the fluid inside the brain which acts as a cushion for the brain. There's also a risk of bacterial meningitis due to the absence of an immune system.

I was told I have 3-6 months in 2013 after diagnosis... if I had gone for surgery but I was clever not to choose surgery.

I used radiation therapy for stopping the growth or mildly shrinking of the tumors.

I had 2 cyberknife and 2 radiation therapy.

But the 2017 radiation therapy went wrong, my ' little grey cells' are working and I became an author, columnist with Times of India but my white matter was damaged.

As I was exposed to a lot of radiation in the brain, the consequences of which are white matter damage leading to Cerebral ischemia or brain ischemia, and when there isn’t enough blood flow to the brain leading to limited oxygen supply it may lead to the death of brain tissue, or ischemic stroke.

But another thing happened the nerves started getting damaged and then it is assumed that the dislodged have started traveling. 

My 5th nerve has been destroyed. Other nerves too look like they are on the path of destruction. We have 12 cranial nerves right inside the neck region. If the tumors in their journey travel to the nerve controlling the lungs or heart, I will take off from the world bidding adieu to all. I have 3-6 months now to beat the nuisance tumors. I need your help.

The electrons can be made to strike a tungsten target within the head of the accelerator to create a beam of photons (or “X-rays”). These X-ray beams are then directed at the site of cancer. Photons have no charge or mass and can be regarded as small packets of energy. Photons deposit their energy along the entire path that they travel through the body. Therefore, a beam of X-rays irradiates not only the area of the tumor but also the healthy tissue that the beam encounters on its way towards the tumor and beyond the tumor. X-rays used for treating cancer usually do not stop within the body. X-rays travel right through you. On the other hand, proton beam therapy is delivered by larger, much more expensive accelerators called cyclotrons and synchrotrons.

A proton beam directed at a tumor travels in a straight trajectory towards its target, gives off most of its energy at a defined depth called the Bragg peak, and then stops. While X-rays often deposit more energy within the healthy tissues of the body than within the tumor.

 I need 40 lakhs for the treatment. I assume you'd help me out. I live with Mum in a rented house. Already my medicines are very costly. I am not afraid of death. Life has to end once you are born but I think of my 68-year-old mother. After her first miscarriage during my birth, there were problems but she wanted me and for 41 years she has cared for me as nobody would. 

Animals care for their offspring for some time and teach them to eat, walk, how to get food or fly. But at one point in time, they leave them to make their way in life but that's why my mother is unique.

"An' why? Because...because I got you to look after me, and you got me to look after you, and that's why." -John Steinbeck

She has no one apart from me. She'll be shattered and I honestly worry about her. Only her care has kept me alive and now the hell will break loose and she won't be able to tolerate it...we have a great bonding... My appeal kindly contribute as little as 5/ because drops of water make an ocean 🙏

As Uncle Bill told our Spidey "With great power comes great responsibility"

Those with power fill up the ocean I need.

https://milaap.org/fundraisers/support-payel-bhattacharya-1?utm_source=whatsapp&utm_medium=fundraisers-footer&mlp_referrer_id=78812

Love is in the air: unlock your giver's heart

 In the month of February, we live in the realm of romance. Across the world, chocolates, flowers, and gifts are exchanged between lovers, all in the name of St. Valentine. 

Rose day marks the beginning of Valentine's week or love week. It is celebrated on February 7 every year followed by propose day, chocolate day, teddy day, promise day, hug day, kiss day, and Valentine's Day.

But who is this mysterious saint and where did these traditions come from? 

There is an important cultural, religious and commercial spree of love without knowing how did he become associated with this ancient rite?

The festival, which celebrated the coming of spring, included fertility rites and the pairing off of women with men by lottery. The men sacrificed a goat and a dog, then whipped women with the hides of the animals they had just slain.

The Catholic Church recognizes at least three different saints named Valentine or Valentinus, all of whom were martyred. One legend contends that Valentine was a priest who served during the third century in Rome. When Emperor Claudius II decided that single men made better soldiers than those with wives and families, he outlawed marriage for young men. Valentine, realizing the injustice of the decree, disobeyed Claudius and continued to perform marriages for young lovers in secret. When Valentine’s actions were discovered, Claudius ordered that he be put to death. He also helped Christians escape harsh Roman prisons.

Emperor Claudius II executed two men — both named Valentine — on Feb. 14 of different years in the 3rd century A.D. Their martyrdom was honored by the Catholic Church with the celebration of St. Valentine's Day. Indeed there are several martyrdom stories associated with Valentine.

It is rather more likely that the saints are the successors to pre-Christian pagan deities connected to certain times of the year and that each preserves a part of a deity's aura and mythical functions. In other words, the imaginal substance of a saint is composed of a subtle blend of paganism and Christianity. From this point of view, the worship of saints seeks to absorb the polytheistic tendencies of the pre-Christian religion into the monotheistic framework of Christianity.

Saint Valentine restored sight to the blind daughter of the jailor. The legend goes he wrote a letter to the jailer's daughter signing " your Valentine" as a farewell before his execution.

The ancient Romans may also be responsible for the name of modern-day love. Their martyrdom was honored by the Catholic Church with the celebration of St. Valentine's Day.

Still, others insist that it was Saint Valentine of Terni, a bishop, who was the true namesake of the holiday. He, too, was beheaded by Claudius II outside Rome.

The truth behind the Valentine legends is murky.

Geoffrey Chaucer’s poem is a dream vision portraying a parliament of birds to choose their names. The idea that Valentine’s Day is a day for lovers is thought to originate with Geoffrey Chaucer’s Parliament of Fowls, a poem written in the late 14th century. It describes a group of birds which gather together in the early spring – on ‘seynt valentynes day’ – to choose their mates for the year.

The first paragraph translated into modern English means

The life so short, the craft so long to learn,

The assay so hard, so sharp the conquering,

The fearful joy that slips away in turn,

All this mean I by Love, that my feeling

Astonishes with its wondrous working

So fiercely that when I on love do think

I know not well whether I float or sink.

Few people know that the last day of February is celebrated as Rare disease day.

There are over 300 million people living with one or more of over 6,000 identified rare diseases around the world, each supported by family, friends, and a team of carers that make up the rare disease community.

Each rare disease may only affect a handful of people, scattered around the world, but taken together the number of people directly affected is equivalent to the population of the world’s third-largest country.

Rare diseases currently affect 3.5% - 5.9% of the worldwide population.

72% of rare diseases are genetic whilst others are the result of infections (bacterial or viral), allergies, and environmental causes, or are degenerative and proliferative.

70% of those genetic rare diseases start in childhood.

A disease is defined as rare in Europe when it affects fewer than 1 in 2,000 people.

~rarediseaseday.org.

In the European Union (EU), rare diseases (RD) are officially defined as disorders affecting no more than 5 per 10,000 persons. These are life-threatening or chronically debilitating diseases with a low prevalence and a high level of complexity.

In India, patient organizations first became involved in Rare Disease Day in 2010. Most of the population are unaware and they are not treated with equality.

 Here I not only faced challenges in my childhood days because I never looked like I was sick, but I also looked cheerful, with big observant eyes filled with curiosity but everything was wrong internally. 

When the money-minded, relatives ditched us after my father perished, Mum with her neat and orderly mind kept her struggle with survival moving forward.

 The early years were toughest: we had no money and no idea what to eat the next day. The relations with a twisted mentality are still fighting and trying to swat me out of the way.

The challenge was thrown down our way has been quite an adventure, setbacks with hard work and luck involved.

Going down memory lane, how I survived so many surgeries including my landmark liver transplant, kidney cancer, MDR TB, and obviously fighting brain tumors more than folksies have lice on their head, is indeed a marvel, a wonder indicating God's intervention. As mountains rose on my way it couldn't startle and I didn't quiver with fear.

I live in a realm where with Mum's support I can move the mountains with determination and resolve.

So, all I want to say is dear friends don't just think about your loved ones and love life, love your neighbor as yourself.

Love one another, have mercy on those who need support to survive. Your life would turn out to be heavenly 

To help

https://milaap.org/fundraisers/support-payel-bhattacharya-1

Life is a comedy: when life offers reasons to cry, show life you can smile and be strong

  

The day started sunny and crispy

Birds twittering on the branches of the tree ahead of the house

In severe aloneness; childhood journey to adolescence

The fierce unremitting aloneness: you are in every sense of isolation

The realization that life is so stunning yet short

Makes you feel an incredible elation

With confidence, you try climbing the mountain top 

Never brooding, in fear you can't douse

With impertinence and refusal to conform

With the uniqueness of wisdom

It was a chilly winter's night

Evening stars were shining bright

Winter shook the bones and with chattering teeth in unison, 

When you celebrate peace, and pleasure, joy and bliss

But cared none

You notice something amiss

Lightning crackled and Thunderstorm boomed

Life is certainly a breath of fresh air

As the  heinous madness loomed

With disagreement, hideous, outlandish monstrosity 

Imbecility, laughter, power, money, persuasion

Supplication, persecution

You still live fervently 

Being sad, utterly tired, is common in your  gloom

How you cope with a death sentence 

With intelligence and adaptability of modern virus

Worrying is disastrous 

Does not tell anyone about your adventurous will and acceptance

Inspire us how you fight the messenger of doom

Any life is better than none

Instead of going to your oblivion

Aficionado you turn.

Life itself is only a vision, a dream, but very risky

Not indulgence but with will power you struggle to face the malady

Heroes, Victims, Martyrs, Warriors choose your destiny

Pursuing passions is never too late. 

Channeling energies and enthusiasms into things that you care 

 Don't crush yourself into a boring, troubled existence. 

In utter hopelessness glowing hope is born

Doing at least one invaluable thing during your life—

You leave a trail of your spirit after you are gone.

When the embittered mind is in tatters, despair, and confusion

Hope is lurking in the brain in every cranny.

Rouse up will to do a worthwhile thing shucking negativity

That's how life should be embraced with passion and positivity

You can delay your end of their divinely ordained duty.

Vitality is life and the punchline is dodge fear embrace positivity

Your unique identity created in your dancing chromosomes

Arise the cyclone

Gollum's raspy guttural comic tragedy

There's no ring to extend life from your death chemistry

Don't hallucinate

On your fate

Not succumbing to gloom and self-pity

With everyday challenges and intimidations, not murdering time

You continue your climb

In deep-reaching isolation

Faced with determination

Without any hallucination

Life becomes a comedy

Beyond fears and limitations

 

Ethan climbed the cliff straight up very high

With guts and nerves without a sigh

The Intelligence Agent climbs the mountains without pain

A witty Sherlock jump the falls headlong using brain

With a portable cylinder of oxygen 

Her fortune, health, money gone

The tough and rough times she's undergone

Worse and worse grow the evil curse

Many uncharted territories she had to traverse

Where the eagles, look with a pitiless glare

In the wide realm of wild reality, she faced glaring stare

Waking  up in the morning, with an awful aching head

O the blues! Weary blues!

Her strong will!

She enjoyed a life of thrill!

Steeled nerves 

Since she was born

"I will win the game" her spirit has sworn

Mind focusing on "Hurrah for positive science!"

Equally positive she can climb up to the incandescent stars

Listening to Bob Dylan's guitar

As afresh wave of consciousness untangled a knot in the nerves

With the power of positive thinking

Grief became a melody

She felt the tears in the vale became a delightful glee

 I am going towards my expectation 

Reasoning closely with introspection 

Discarding the junk of other minds

Strewn in the track of which she had an inkling 

With fierce, fearless mind climbing uphill

She thought as I get troubled in body and mind

Her hand slipped

But she gave a dazzling smile

Tarry awhile 

The mother becomes a fierce Goddess

Climbing at her old age regardless 

"Look around you, don't be blind"

She has a perfect handle on the situation

Take control, show your strength and comprehension

She said with angelic resignation 

A dream of hopes of your pure mind

Concentrating on the problems and difficulties

The apt solution she will find 

Her absent-mindedness will make her subject of cruelties

They are working towards a dream

Alarmingly hanging by one hand under the moonbeam

She swerved to the left rock with a smiling face

She's not blind from within, shows her grace

She climbs up and up to the top leading the way

Mother heard the howling pack of wolves coming towards them, 

Springing to her feet, drawing on the sword progressed fearless mum

The pack accompanied them and she felt they are not the prey

She was intrigued that an aura of brightness is hovering over her top

Her Dreams! Would vividly color  life, 

And end the fleeting, shadowy, misty strife

With faith superior to hope

 With the quiet precision of science, God will sort problems,

As with aplomb, they proceed towards the hilltop.