It was probably 1989-90. I was very fond of the Mahabharat serial, especially the Geeta. I recorded all the 18 chapters on our VHS one after another. Little did I know that one day destiny would put me in situations where I’d have to take tests of those very chapters while keeping my calm and poise intact.

At the centre, one intern wrote on the board a day before leaving: “When life throws lemons at you, make orange juice and surprise the world…”
She is in her early 20s, so she can dare to write such smart things, but in your 50s people may give you a second glance. Now imagine my plight reading these two dictums, one spiritual and one worldly, when all I am doing is trying to reinvent myself and do something new.

The challenges are many, time is small, expectations galore. Walking in someone else’s shoes may be difficult for ordinary people, but since they are of my son and came to me as legacy, I will wear them and walk with aplomb.

Yes, I am ready to take on everything head-on now. Everyone looks for recognition and appreciation when they join an NGO, but after understanding this thankless and tiring business that my Partth carried on his tiny shoulders with a big smile, I am even ready to take the bricks thrown too. My father once told me, “If you do not come across problems on the path you’re travelling, take it for granted you’re on the wrong path.”

Earning profit is easy by selling something, but changing society is the hardest. The day I was given The Wishing Factory and its responsibilities, people started shrinking away one by one: the doctor, the nurses, the confidantes of my Partth, the new recruits, the interns, right up to the office boy.

So it all started with creating a whole team afresh, like a bird developing new feathers after a change in season, with my lone survivor and saviour, Niharika Ravi Gupta. Her contribution is inestimable. Laudable, commendable, praiseworthy, appreciable — all are too small as words.

All this had to be done while staying within the lines drawn by TWF’s Founder Partth. The mission, goals and vision we inherited will always be the guiding force, so I took a step-by-step approach to understand the legacy and the role it demands.

I took time to understand the beneficiaries, donors, support systems, the role of parents and the logistics that will lead TWF to his goal of a Thalassemia Mukt Bharat by 2040, as mentioned in his diaries, mobile notes and across platforms.

Then came the belief of our trustee Dr Isha Ma’am, his Professor, and Nachiket, his childhood buddy, whose blind trust in my strengths put a huge responsibility on me. We had no prior acquaintance, so they compared my structure, voice, mannerisms, the phrases I use, and ultimately declared me an enlarged photocopy of Partth. I took it as a compliment, along with the responsibility embedded in it.

The spadework he did with such finesse in creating this organisation single-handedly will make the way forward easier. His energy will always guide me. And the way, on that morning before leaving, his last words still echo in my breath — “Papa light on karo na…”
For him, being a blessed soul and a Thalassemia warrior himself, doors opened wherever he went. For me, I may have to knock, wait, judge or push. He knew I would need a light to see beyond invisible doors, so he asked me to switch it on.

Each day has been a learning experience at TWF, the “new-age NGO” he fondly called it. I now laugh at how I scolded him once for being too workaholic, and today I witness the persistence, patience and engagement it demands. This is no less than any industry.

What he created with his vision is no ordinary thing. Yes, he had guardian angels like you all supporting him, but it was his vision that became the base of this NGO. His belief that warriors have the right to live their half-life in a better way, his Robinhood-style wish fulfilments, his way of roping in donors, his courage against those who tried to undermine his efforts — all of it was his creation.

Meeting Sonakshi, Huma Qureshi, Kunal Kapoor, Akshay Kumar, Ranbir Kapoor or even Prabhas never changed him. He never spoke about it, never posted it, never basked in those moments. He simply kept moving, as if he knew his time slot was limited, like a ticking exam clock.

Now comes the role of the Privileged Advisors. Your presence so far, even in a desert, leaving your families behind, shows your belongingness and assures me I am not walking alone. So let’s pledge to leave no stone unturned in achieving a Thalassemia Mukt Bharat sooner than he envisaged.

You may ask how. What are the plans?

The answer is you. Your contacts, your good offices, your resourcefulness and guidance towards a scientific approach. Support from doctors, pathologists, relatives. Pushing the State to make testing mandatory — through filmmaking, CMEs, pharma giants, corporates… whatever it takes.

It may seem difficult, but not impossible. The seed has already been sown. Now it only needs care and grooming to bear fruit.