The Most Beautiful one

The measure of a life, after all, is not its duration, but its donation. Corrie Ten Boom

Neela looked at her daughter lovingly, the baby had an attractive smile. She kept gazing at her contented smile as she caressed her hair backwards. The child was a stout baby, the sparse hair on her head was just enough to cover the bald head, and then her eyes focussed the cleft lip. She never wanted the little girl to get what she had found the most difficult in life to cope with. Neela loved the fact that her daughter Naina was healthy, she had the most beautiful eyes and so the name, ‘Naina’ was the most pertinent. However, the neighbours and family who had come for the naming ceremony, failed to notice the large eyes with the dark eyeballs. They only pitied Neela for having given birth to a look-alike daughter who they felt would find it difficult getting a handsome husband. Neela had a cleft lip, but was the most charming woman who could cook, dance, sing and keep the whole community happy through her mirth. She was employed as a manager in a nationalized bank. Her husband Shekhar had fallen in love with her liveliness and capabilities. Though theirs was an arranged marriage, he had a deep love for Neela. When little Naina was born with a cleft lip they wondered why history had repeated itself, despite all the medication and care. The doctor put it in plain words, saying that the tissues and special cells grew from the brain towards the center of the face to form the lips and other organs. Sometimes these tissues do not grow completely, leaving a gap in the upper lip. An operation was performed to fill the gap in the upper lip yet the defect remained to a large extent.

Little Naina grew well in the warmth of her parents, but found it difficult to bear the ugly brunts of her friends and teachers in the city. She could feel people looking at her lips with pity as she spoke to them. She endured the pain by diverting her attention towards her studies. Shekhar had an uncle who was very well off though he did not have children of his own. His uncle and aunt loved Shekhar and offered him the upper portion of their independent house far off from the city. Little Naina was admitted into the local CBSE school. Neela also managed to take a transfer to the local branch. The new place helped the family blossom in the milieu of simplicity. Naina found a retreat in the family who lived downstairs. The family had two grown up girls, a younger brother and parents. The lady of the house was called Kamakshi aunty by Naina, she was loving and made Naina feel at home. Naina loved Geethaakka, the youngest daughter of Kamakshi, the most. Geethakka was in the eleventh standard and was often found studying beside the rose bushes in the garden. She would let loose her long hair and sway the chair as she studied. Little Naina loved to hold her hair, comb her and pet her just as she did for her toy Lavanya. She remained a constant companion to her. The little girl shared all her goodies and dreams with Geethakka. Naina never knew when Geethakka turned into Lavanya for her.

One of the days, Geethakka developed a severe pain and was hurried to the hospital. She was diagnosed with a liver disorder, the case was a bad one and the doctor predicted Geethakka would not live long. She would now be clutching her stomach in pain constantly. The family was disturbed and the pain could be felt by little Naina. She called her uncle Nanadumama, a surgeon in Mumbai to come and cure Geethakka, her adorable Lavanya. Neela gave all the details to Nandumama who took Geethakka to a friend, a Gastroenterologist. Having understood that the liver disorder was an uncanny one, he told Kamakshi that Geethakka needed a liver transplant at the earliest. Geethakka had heard and read a lot about organ transplant. The whole family had pledged their eyes, but a liver transplant would need a donor who had a matching blood group.

Naina had heard the doctor speak to Geethakka’s family. The whole family was ready to donate a small part of their liver to Geethakka, but Geethakka shared her mother’s blood group and her mother was unfortunately a diabetic. Naina wanted to know all about organ transplant. Nandumama told her that the cells of the liver could be donated by a living person, but Geethakka’s body had to be receptive. Little Naina told Nandumama and Neela that she would donate her cells to Geethakka. Nothing could dissuade the little girl, finally the tests confirmed that their blood groups matched and that she could donate a few of her tissues. The operation was a success, little Naina was back on her toes very soon. Geethakka needed a couple of months. Naina nursed her back to health calling her Lavanya, the whole family remained indebted to the adorable child. The gesture spread like fire in the community, Naina was looked upon with admiration, but for Geethakka and Neela she remained the most beautiful one.