Warriors in White by Sujata Sharma
Warriors in White
by Sujata Sharma
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
My Ratings 4.5/5
Synopsis
It was during the winter of year 2019 when Covid struck. In a matter of days, the virus stealthily spread at an alarming, breakneck speed all over the world, leading to devastating loss of lives and crippling of economies. Like all biological entities, it had to have a purpose. To search for that purpose, Prof. Sujata Sharma of All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi undertakes a memorable expedition on her imaginary spaceship into the solar system. She encounters all the nine heavenly bodies of 'Navagraha' and their corresponding Warriors in White in AIIMS and other leading hospitals of India. Using a heady combination of molecular medicine, astronomy and Vedic astrology, she understands the nuances and eccentricities of the virus. At a celestial level, the expedition begins from the Sun, Prof Randeep Guleria and progresses to other planets and warriors, eventually spanning the entire galaxy. At a terrestrial level, the journey starts from New Delhi to Chandigarh via Bengaluru, zipping through Mumbai and Varanasi, onwards to Noida and finally ending back in Delhi. This exhilarating and inspiring voyage in the middle of the deadliest pandemic of the world helps her to finally discover the elusive Covid's purpose.
My Thoughts
Powerful, uplifting and even reassuring. Warriors in White by Sujata Sharma is an an amazing piece of literature with marvelous storytelling as well as a clear-eyed polemicist. she writes with such compassion and humanity that you feel you are in the room.
When the once-in-a-century pandemic struck, it didn't matter that it was predicted and expected - nor even that we had watched it before, playing out in multiplexes over popcorn. We ambled, half-asleep, into disaster. In the first three months of 2020, perplexity drifted into mild concern that suddenly sheered into panic. Economies nose-dived. Schools workplaces closed. Populations hid inside their homes. Whole societies shut down. In most people's living memory, no crisis had caused such global upheaval so swiftly and so comprehensively. The scale and pace of the pandemic were stunning. Sujata Sharma tells the stories of the nine heavenly bodies of 'Navagraha' and their corresponding Warriors in White in AIIMS and other leading hospitals of India in this compelling book. Sujata gives the reader the opportunity to follow these doctors, and to share in their experiences. Their initial stress of responsibility for patient care is compounded by the urgency of trying to save patients from this deadly disease. Each of these doctors copes in various ways as they learn the strengths and weaknesses of the medical care system against a new virus. Sujata excels at humanizing both the doctors as well as some of their patients. Sujata paints a vivid picture of the struggles and bravery of doctors to battle the covid crisis. The storyline is heartfelt. Sujata weaves this highly topical and needed journey of diversity with a gripping tale of doctors fighting a pandemic.
This is powerful writing. It will move you to tears, fill you with gratitude for those who care, fill you with awe in the face of human kindness and courage, and stir your anger and determination to hold those in power to account.
Highly Recommended!
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