One fighter Down
Dedicated to Preeti, Batch of 2014
know one room will always be
quiet. Back in the days of rag-
ging when you’re too disorient-
ed to keep track of what day of
the week it is, you’re astonished
to see that one person who hasn’t
lost her way in the frenzy. That
was her. She had her mind set, set
high in the sky. She was here to
prove a point. And she did.
It was only once in a blue moon,
that I saw this eagle losing her
drift. It was in those moments
that I felt my knees going weak.
Do lions also feel the heat? But
soon enough I would be proven
wrong; “So what if the therapy
is the reason I’m not strong?” I
almost heard her echo once. And
then she would be back with a
bang. Strong is such a relative
word. Sometimes, the illness is
stronger. Sometimes, the girl is.
Inspire.
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To me, this word is an emotion.
It is an emotion that evokes tor-
nadoes within. It is capable of
changing the beliefs of a per-
son. Unshakable beliefs become
shakeable. All one needs is inspi-
ration. She is my inspiration.
Walking down the corridors of
the second floor of hostel 11, I
Couldn’t go to class because of a
facture? I’ll tell you about the girl
who, walked on the legs which,
thanks to her rigorous cycles of
radio and chemotherapy, had
been reduced to a pile of hay.
They could no longer bear their
own weight. Standing up was
such a formidable task. This is
the girl who walked in, I’m sor-
ry, raged into the Convergence
Block for the first professional ex-
amination. The big C can’t crip-
ple your aspirations, can it?
My friend was a rebel. A silent
rebel. All this while, she was cul-
tivating dissent. She wouldn’t ac-
cept that her ailment might have
merely chosen her by chance.
She knew it was the local doctor
who didn’t know the might of the
medicines he treated her with; or
the ignorance of the place she
belonged to, or perhaps her sheer
helplessness which ultimately
bore this ugly fruit. She wanted
to fight back. And she never gave
up.
She stands testimony to the fact
that courage is a way of life. Once
you’ve decided to have your say,
you don’t think about the obsta-
cles, no matter how intimidating
they are. You only think about
how you put up a better figh t.
She taught me that if I lose, it’s
only because I’ve stopped trying.
Because nothing can beat me
when I’m still fighting.
By Saloni Une, 3133, Batch of ‘14.