~~~The Miracle Called Life~~~. Review on Jeevithamenna Athbhutham - K S Aniyan

In recent months, if there is a book which smitten me hard, it is this book, Jeevithamenna Athbutham (The miracle called Life). The book is an open window to a tunnel where many of our fellow humans enter without knowing whether they can return or not. Each and every one who read this book has only one experience to share - shocking and outstanding. Many with a softer heart cannot finish reading many of its chapters without tears and some times with tears of over joy. Without doubt, this is one book which gets life only in once in ten years or so and a not to miss kind book. As of now the book is only available in Malayalam and hope sooner it gets a translated version. Probably the book has a potential to reach to the world more than what we believe.

The book shares the experience of Dr. VP Gangadharan, a Senior Consultant on Med. Oncology. The book is special for two reasons. First, it is informative which clear of many of our doubts and believes about Cancer with the help of hundreds of life situations which will shake us to the reality. It will remind us of many other diseases we hold with us which is more powerful and capable to destroy us. Secondly, the experience of the doctor is been described by a writer (KS Aniyan) keeping the emotions with all its powers. This adds the sharpness for the experiences to reach to the innermost layer of our hearts. The book gives a complete reading experience and one who completes the book will acknowledge that it is a literary work as well.

Like the title suggests, the book will give a life realization. It permits us to witness the thin rope on which we make our relations. When a patient saved from cancer died of heart attack, when a cured patient gets the disease back, when we cannot find justice to the injustice nature cause to true human beings, when illiterate and ignorant manage to keep their pleasantness even in darkest corner of their life journey, it is a glass window with which we can feel life but can only touch with imagination. Thanks to Aniyan's brilliant writing style, any reader who read will be touched by the incidents. The writer got a golden touch in that.

The book gives a hope which otherwise we thought nonexistent. The chance of recovering for one patient out of three is a good hope which we can see here. When we say a hope of recovering one, it is also a hope which permit two people die out of three. This is a challenge both the medical science and humanity to chase and defeat. It is high time we find a fine cure for the madness called Cancer. It is also high time that we search and find the root cause of cancer to prevent it from the source. A day early we find that will save many a thousand lives!

The book is an experience. In fact it is a collection of experience. Each chapter or story is a life in itself. One cannot forget the patients and many of the relatives. If we are touched by short stories or few novels, this book have the emotional content of 100 books. No reader can ever forget the life thriving characters like Venkida Raju and his relation with his family who literally beg to survive, the heart felt condition of Pushpa Swamy whose call of 'Ayyappa...ente Ayyappa', fate of Anusha, whose hope of a recovery hindered by ignorant parents, Abdu, who died out of heart attack while recovery on Cancer was on process, the stubborn politician who refuse to compromise with his wife even in his last days, the fun and songs created by little Leelavathi, the talkative Sumi....the list goes on.

While we read the stories of the patients, the reader is often given a cross section of pain and thoughts shared by the great doctor. The success story of the hard working doctor is told along with the emotional struggle he has to live on daily basis.

There is only one word to describe the book, 'AMAZING'! 'A BOOK WHICH SHOULD NOT BE MISSED'!!