AYAANSH GUPTA COULD string together words when he was just one, his parents said. And he could recite mantras when he was two. At three, he does console his mother whenever he notices tears in her eyes. Words have been the lifeline for Ayaansh, who cannot yet sit, stand, chew or even breathe properly. “His speech helped us fight for him. It kept us motivated,” said his father, Yogesh.
In 2019, just before he turned one, Ayaansh was diagnosed with spinal muscular atrophy (SMA). Hyderabad residents Yogesh and Rupal were told that their son would live for only two or three more years. The rare genetic disease affects the central nervous system, severely limiting muscle movement.
The couple had first observed abnormalities when he was six months old. “He had limited movement,” said Yogesh. “He used to get tired in just one or two minutes. We thought it could just be a delay in development. One day, he suddenly lost control of his neck.”
After a mental assessment and a few tests, the neuromuscular disease was diagnosed.
“After the reports came, we broke down in front of the doctors as we did not know what to do,” said Yogesh. “The doctors also conveyed that if we plan to have another child, there would be a 20 per cent chance of the child having the same disorder.”
Denne historien er fra July 18, 2021-utgaven av THE WEEK.
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Denne historien er fra July 18, 2021-utgaven av THE WEEK.
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William Dalrymple goes further back
Indian readers have long known William Dalrymple as the chronicler nonpareil of India in the early years of the British raj. His latest book, The Golden Road, is a striking departure, since it takes him to a period from about the third century BC to the 12th-13th centuries CE.
The bleat from the street
What with all the apps delivering straight to one’s doorstep, the supermarkets, the food halls and even the occasional (super-expensive) pop-up thela (cart) offering the woke from field-to-fork option, the good old veggie-market/mandi has fallen off my regular beat.
Courage and conviction
Justice A.M. Ahmadi's biography by his granddaughter brings out behind-the-scenes tension in the Supreme Court as it dealt with the Babri Masjid demolition case
EPIC ENTERPRISE
Gowri Ramnarayan's translation of Ponniyin Selvan brings a fresh perspective to her grandfather's magnum opus
Upgrade your jeans
If you don’t live in the top four-five northern states of India, winter means little else than a pair of jeans. I live in Mumbai, where only mad people wear jeans throughout the year. High temperatures and extreme levels of humidity ensure we go to work in mulmul salwars, cotton pants, or, if you are lucky like me, wear shorts every day.
Garden by the sea
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RECRUITERS SPEAK
Industry requirements and selection criteria of management graduates
MORAL COMPASS
The need to infuse ethics into India's MBA landscape
B-SCHOOLS SHOULD UNDERSTAND THAT INDIAN ECONOMY IS GOING TO WITNESS A TREMENDOUS GROWTH
INTERVIEW - Prof DEBASHIS CHATTERJEE, director, Indian Institute of Management, Kozhikode
COURSE CORRECTION
India's best b-schools are navigating tumultuous times. Hurdles include lower salaries offered to their graduates and students misusing AI
