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THIS is the tale of a mother's battle on behalf of her dying 25-year-old son, Venkatesh, who demanded euthanasia to be able to donate his organs. ''The Last Hurrah'', a 150-page fictional biography, seeks to revive the debate on these sensitive issues as it recounts the lone fight of Sujatha to fulfil the last wishes of her son whose earlier dream— to be a soldier had also remained just that — a dream. In fact, life itself became a battle for K Venkatesh, a chess player afflicted by terminally debilitating Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy (DMD). He however, remained indomitable as he fought on, supported by Sujata, demanding a right to die so that others could live. Venkatesh died in Hyderabad in December last year without achieving his wish as the judiciary turned down his plea, but generating a large popular support for his cause. The book, penned by Mumbai-based Children's Aid Society deputy chief officer Shrikant Murthy and published by Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, is not only a tribute to the valiant battle fought by the mother and son, it also raises the issue of harvesting human organs for therapeutic purposes. For those who were moved by Venkatesh's case, which had attracted heavy media coverage, the book offers an insight into the lives of the brave mother and the young man deeply sensitive to the emotional trauma his mother was undegoing because of his failing health. Though ''The Last Hurrah'' moves from sorrow to sorrow, in the end it seeks to elevate the minds as it captures the ordeal of the mother and the son to face tragedy with dignity, Murthy says. The seed of the story was born in the second week of December last, when he saw the news in papers. ''Instantly, it evoked strong feelings in me. I was on the look out for follow up reports. They were there every day either in the papers or on news channels. Ultimately, what I and, for that matter, all had feared, happened — the young man died without fulfilling his last wish.'' The debate on organ donation raged and it dawned upon Murthy to write the biography of an extraordinary young man who died an untimely death. Murthy met Sujatha in Hyderabad in January this year to hear her late son's story and wrote it after coming back to Mumbai as a fictional biography. The writer says when he first went to Hyderabad, a long story was all that he had in mind. But, it grew into a book, all of 150 pages. I endeavoured to create
scenes and made liberal use of the poetic licence. But kept the original
story line intact,'' he says. — UNI |
