Misfortune, they say, comes riding on horse-back and goes back on foot. But then, life is God’s novel, and as the Supreme Creator, he is also its ultimate author. Where mercy, love and pity dwell, God too loves that abode. This in a nutshell is the underlying message from Ms Shilpa Bhasin Mehra’s evocative book “All Battles Aren’t Legal”. It is an awe-inspiring given its absorbing account of an individual’s struggle in the wake of a debilitating and devastating illness.
The book is a powerful narration of how indomitable spirit can tide over an adversity where hope becomes the first casualty. Ms Bhasin Mehra was struck by a sudden Meningitis (an infection and inflammation of the fluid and membranes surrounding the brain and spinal cord) that sent her into a deep coma for 40 days and thereafter a waist-down paralysis for 2 ½ years. The two are near-fatal enough to sap someone’s spirit to sustain, let alone live, but Ms Bhasin Mehra was made of sterner stuff and a will power that also rode on a strong support system from family and well-wishers alike. The script of her story has friends, doctors, faith-healers, family and well-wishers playing crucial roles as parallel heroes.
Ms Bhasin Mehra’s book should not be read just as a remarkable and reawakening story of life recovered against all hope. It has lessons for all humans: That “Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away. Coming from someone who by her own admission was a ‘spoilt rotten child’ and not spiritual per se it is amazing that she packs so much emotional depth in her account. Indeed, Life is the best teacher!
The gripping story is peppered by all its essential elements – gratitude and poignancy but laced with a sense of humour that obviously served her as an antidote for the pent-up negativity that such protracted ailments bring in their wake. It is an account of a person who has been to the other side and then came back to celebrate it.
As fourth generation of lawyers’ family, all luminaries in their own right, Law as a career was a natural option for Ms Bhasin Mehra. The most profound influence was father Mr Lalit Bhasin, who now heads the Society of Indian Law Firms (SILF). The childhood ambition of making a mark in the legal profession was bolstered when she was trained and nurtured by Mr K K Venugopal, former Attorney General of India. The experience was challenging and rewarding.
Life in Dubai post-marriage, and setting up her own legal consultancy in 2015, followed a smooth trajectory until 2003 March when she was struck by a viral meningitis that sent her into a coma for 40 days followed by a 2 ½-year bout with paralysis (she terms it a tsunami). That would have sapped anyone’s will to live, and although life expectedly turned topsy turvy, Ms Bhasin Mehra took the ailments head on. Even on bed, she would jot down her thoughts in her laptop that alternated as a personal diary. Those jottings metamorphosed into a full-fledged book. It was also a case of fortune favouring the brave as clients would come to her to seek counsel.
The doting father was instrumental in getting her thoughts published as a book in 2005. The title of the book has a particular import, coming as it does from a career lawyer who spends time fighting battles in courtrooms. Because it was her real-life experience of how she came back from the brink of death (during the coma she believes she was declared dead twice and revived), people found it very inspiring. Almost nine years have elapsed since the book saw the light of the day but she continues to get reviews that reassure and work as a soothing balm. Little wonder, the book holds a special place in her heart.
As a trailblazer who epitomizes a woman holding forth in a traditional male bastion, Ms Bhasin Mehra has already been an inspiration to a countless woman but her book throws a completely different light on her inner self that is characteristically dominated by resilience, perseverance and the unyielding determination to fight battles life throw at you. Ms Bhasin Mehra’s great flair for understanding complex situations and commercial realities, presenting them clearly and succinctly to
her non-legal colleagues, have percolated in her book.
From inspirations to being inspirational, albeit through a roller coaster ride, she exemplifies that a good professional can also be a kindred soul. As she believes: The best way to fight personal and professional battles is by becoming introspective and retrospective. As a teenager, the idea of being a writer never quite resonated with her despite her mother’s belief in her writing skills. Her early writing experiences were confined to birthday cards, and she didn’t take it seriously at the time. As a lawyer, her writing was primarily focused on legal opinions and contracts but then, destiny had to take its own course.
There is a philosophy that sums her up going by an excerpt from the book: “My life was adjourned sine die. The medical experts had no answers. When I was in coma, they gave me a 0% chance of survival. When I came out of coma, during my long rehabilitation process, there was no specific time period for recovery. We are so accustomed to specific reasons, time frames, causes and effects. Now all that didn’t seem to apply. My disease was a deadly viral meningitis, which could just happen to anyone. There is no treatment as such for it. One virus and look at the consequential damages. Suddenly, my logical thinking, thanks to the legal education, was in question. I realized that there is no logic in such time of crisis and also no answers. There are only prayers and the hope that God will listen to your prayers. It’s strange when doctors use words like ‘miracle’. I am alive because God heard all the pleadings. I must have had brilliant lawyers defending me because the judgement was in my favour. I won the case.”
There are 59 chapters in the 168-page book which speaks of her ability to say so much in frugal words. Her picture on the book cover has a smiling face that doesn’t reflect the pain she endured but what is inside; is devoid of verbosity or any pompous sermonising. It has, however, abundant element of gratitude and humility. Embracing that ethos, she calls herself as a “work in progress.” That she believes in the sanguinity of hope and optimism counting as much as medicines do; reflect when she mentions Dr Vinit Suri, Neurologist, Apollo Hospitals, who would fortify her beaten nerves daily, strengthening her resolve to fight.
The chapters on spirituality, Attitude, Sense of Humour, Defiance, Identity. Life That Matters and Fear give an insight of her resolute persona. A noteworthy feature of all the chapters is brevity. Aptly, the foreword comes from Dr Prathap Reddy, Chairman, Apollo Hospitals. He pertinently points out Ms Bhasin Mehra’s reference to the Art of Living and says “the essence of it runs through the book like a theme and offers the reader a talisman that no matter what challenges life may throw at you, ultimately it is our response to those challenges that define us.” In precise words, the book can be a guideline on the Art of Living.
For sheer pace, the book is unputdownable, but it is the emotional punch she packs in the book gets to the reader. That explains why her book has won appreciation from the country’s whose who – from Sonia Gandhi, Mukesh Ambani, Dr Ashok Seth, Dr Karan Singh, Mr K K Venugopal, a host of legal eagles, MPs and ministers and people from distinguished walks of other life. The book is available on Amazon and has a 4.7* rating. For Rs 368, you are not just buying a book, you are treated to the life’s curve.
“All Battles Aren’t Legal”, author Ms Shilpa Bhasin Mehra, published by notionpress.com, price Rs 368, pages 168.
A Column By
Raju Kotri – Editor
The Resource 24X7
A Journalist With 4 Decades of Experience With Leading Media Houses.
