Indomitable spirit

This young man is not only mentally strong but mentally active as well,as is reflected in his 81.25 per cent marks he scored in the Madhyamik examinations this yea without attending school. He will soon begin his class 11 studies in Science.

Kaushik is the only child to his parents,and lives with them,his aunt and uncle,and cousins in a house in Belur Math. Due to health reasons,he cannot go out and play with his friends,but enjoys their company when they drop in every evening to fill him in on school activities and play computer games with him. Playing computer games is Kaushik’s favourite way to pass time and he loves racing games,his favourite being “Need for Speed: Most Wanted”.

He was to give his Madhyamik examination in 2009 itself. However,when his mother,Swati,noticed that he had a running fever for many days,they got some check ups done and detected the disease. Though he could not give his examinations then with his classmates,he became a continuing candidate and was allowed to sit for the examinations with other students this year.

His tutors would come home and teach him the school syllabus on days he felt better. On other days,he just took rest. Sometimes,his school teachers would also visit and teach him in the comfort of his own home. His favourite subject is Mathematics,in which he has got 86 marks.

Not only has he struggled with the cancer,but a cycling accident in 2007 has hampered his hand and leg movements. He cannot write fluently and he cannot play his favourite sports,football and cricket. If that wasn’t bad enough,a bone that was grafted got infected and the surgery had to be done with a titanium plate. The arm still bothers him till date. And he had to go to three different hospitals – CMRI,Shishu Mangal,and a hospital in Vellore for operations.

Kaushik is highly grateful to all his teachers,family members,doctors and friends for helping him fight cancer. “He is mentally strong. He talks to doctors himself,sees the reports and tries to understand them. Further studies will depend on his health,but we are optimistic about his progress. He will go to school from June or July,after a plate in his arm is taken out,” says his mother,while gently ruffling his hair.

Among other things,he enjoys drawing,and is a fourth-year student in Bangiya Sangeet Parishad. He is also an excellent yoga student with many prizes to his name. He likes to listen to rap music by artists like Akon and Eminem,but restricts his practice to the bathroom. He also enjoys reading detective books and according to him,Satyajit Ray’s ‘Feluda’ is “praiseworthy and a must read!”

Despite his varied interests,what he enjoys the most is cricket as a game. He enjoys batting,watching matches,and analysing old matches from as long back as the 1970s. He used to play at local clubs but had to stop after the arm injury. “He dislikes 20-20 matches but will still watch each ball carefully with his eyes glued to the TV screen. Cricket has always been something he’s very passionate about. On some days,he wants to be a cricket analyst while on others,he wants to be a batsman in the Indian cricket team. If you try and ask him to pick one favorite player,he will just shake his head and say Sachin,Saurav Ganguly,and Dhoni and refuse to pick up since he likes all three so much. When India won the ODI against England a few years ago,he took off his shirt and started flinging it around screaming Dada’s name in joy!” says Nandita,looking at her now grinning little cousin.

Another love of his is food. “I don’t like to try new things. I just stick to old familiar tastes. My favourite dish is chilli chicken and I recommend it to everyone because it gives mental strength just because it is in this world,” he jokes. He is not too fond of eating fish as would be expected in a typical Bengali family. Instead,he enjoys feeding the fish in his uncle’s aquarium located on the floor above his. He is a dog lover and would love to keep a dog as his pet,but his health prevents him from doing so.

Oral chemotherapy has continued and restrictions are imposed to ensure that his health conditions stay stable. When asked what he would want to do if his health improved completely,he just gave a weak smile and said “I want to go back to my lifestyle before 2007 – playing cricket and football and spending time with my friends. I just want to go back in time and make this all go away.” And with that,he just drifted back into his small world in his mind and turned to his computer to play an action game where he was the warrior and he was saving his village from the grasp of evil spirits.

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