Adversity, Who?

For readers within the realm, Satyanarayana’s candid account offers many recognisable moments: the seeming callousness of some medical and educational professionals, the secondary status of ‘normal’ siblings, an imaginative and compassionate teacher’s unexpected heroism, the often painful reassessment of relationships with friends and family.

Satyanarayana, a senior-level bureaucrat who admirably juggled a demanding career alongside the care of her son Chaitanya, tells her story earnestly and with deserved pride. But I found myself searching for more glimpses of humour. Without it, a blow-by-blow account of what was undoubtedly an eventually fulfilling journey risks slipping perilously close to self-pity. A tag this story fortunately escapes, partially by the inclusion of happy family snaps and, even better, prints of paintings by Chaitanya himself—burgeoning roses, watermelon slices, a scattering of strawberries.