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Feature 1

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Indian SunRiya, age 6

...the sun that makes all the difference;

to him the sun is life, bringing newchallenges everyday, rising anew eachmorning after disappearing into anabyss of darkness .

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Pramod George with his daughter, Riya

VIJI VENKATESH

Pramod has been in the GIPAP family since 2004

MAX FOUNDATION, INDIA

GIPAP FAMILY IN INDIA: 8900

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helpless by the fury of the swirling waters and the havoc it hadOn 26th July, 2006 it rained with Biblical intent, or so it seemed,wreaked they looked to any one who could bring them succor..and Mumbai drowned in the Arabian Sea. Though there was noPramod and his friends soon rallied their band of youth workersNoah herding the chosen progenitors into his Ark, in the distantfrom the parish and with them set to work with detergents andsuburb of Kalyan, some 40 odd kilometers from Mumbai, abrushes cleaning up the mess. Later the tireless team begancertain young man called Pramod, was taking his wife and somecooking in great quantit ies rice and vegetables for distribut ion inof his colleagues and neighbors to hopeful, relative safety in thethe neighborhood.most unlikely of Arks the delivery van of the newspaper he

worked for. It was three days since they had all been marooned inThe sun came out eventually to dry and bake life back to sometheir respective offices.semblance of normalcy. For Pramod, it is the sun that makes allthe difference ; to him the sun is life, bringing new challengesThe July monsoon day had begun like any other, and at the off iceseveryday , rising anew each morning after disappearing into anof the newspaper in downtown Mumbai, the pages needed to beabyss of darkness .set for the next days edition. What seemed like a normal wet day

had turned into a horrific and for some, a fatal disaster. Theheavens opened up and the roads turned into rivers. Waterentered every available space smothering everyone in its wetembrace. Pramod and his team first rushed all their computers tothe safety of the first floor and then saw to it that the pages wereset. To this day it is with great pride Pramod claims that theirs wasthe only newspaper that hit the stands (well, submerged standsalbeit) the day after the great deluge.

For the kind of person Pramod is, all this could have been aroutine days work. Never one to shy away from any kind ofchallenge, Pramod keeps himself busy always; even on a holidayhe can be seen rushing off to complete chores (most of the t imefor others) or give of his time and energies to someone in need ofhelp. Each day brings with it a designated agenda and Pramod isarmed with his cheerful and energetic disposition to make it hisown special day.

So it is not surprising that as soon it was possible to leave theshelter of his office building and then somehow reaching theclosest point to home, Pramod coaxed the driver of the deliveryvan, a rickety, closed vehicle well past its roadworthiness to helphim in his mission .Once in Kalyan, home finally, after the

unbelievable ordeal it was time to gauge the damage done. Theswollen creek had entered homes and left behind a trail of dirtand garbage; and in the low lying areas people were without food;and worse without any means to cook food. Struck dumb and

My CML - Jeevan ki dariya mein ek aur boond - Just another drop in theocean of my life

Mini and Pramod sharing a lightmoment together

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With a name like that Pramod says he cannot be anything buthappy. The kind of happiness, which comes out his sense ofcontentment. Contentment in his chosen career, his home andhis work with his parish. Contentment and gratitude to his makerfor his precious life even with the double whammy of a cardiacarrest and cancer, both even before he was 35 yrs.

His parents , both from Gods own country , Kerala, came to thislittle town in the western state of Maharashtra, worked hard ,setup house ,had their children and gave them true Maharashtriannames; Pramod for Joy and Preeti , their daughter for Love. Theygrew up and embraced the community and culture around themand now give back in full measure all they have received. Pramodloves it when he visits Kerala once a year but soon yearns to beback ; back to the rush and mayhem of his daily commute toMumbai , his job, his Sunday School and Youth Clubresponsibilities . His Mantra or take on life is do what you want todo , what your heart tells you to do , what comes naturally to youand do not worry too much about what others will think of you .What ever is coming your way is indeed coming your way and allyou have to do is face up to it ; to the eventuality that is your destiny

As for his CML , it is just another drop in the ocean of his life ,adding to it and making it all the more rich and meaningful. Everytime he looks at his son, little Rubin who will be four soon, heremembers the day he was diagnosed, the day after Rubin was

It gives him focus, it gives him direction, and it gives him theborn and he was told he was blessed with the best kind of cancer.

courage and determination to go ahead with l ife even in the faceHis belief in his faith only grew stronger, knowing that He who gave

of his diagnosis, his leukemia. Chronic Myeloid Leukemia, which,him this cross to bear also would give him the strength and

even though it sears his consciousness, like the suns heat, alsocourage to bear it. Sickness and disease were not new to him. He

fills him with great cheer and optimism and gives new meaning tohad spent many hours in the duty room of his mother, who was

his life; making each day more precious than the other.Matron of the Railway Hospital, amidst bottles and bandages,catching up on school home work before accompanying her

That is why he loves the picture of the sun his nine year oldhome. Mini, his wife was a senior staff nurse too and his daughter

daughter made for him. Very early on in their role as youngyoung Riya, already Papas little Florence Nightingale would

parents Pramod and his wife Mini (his only confidante and souldiligently count out his medication every night

mate whom he has known since childhood belonging as they did

to the same parish) would just have to give Riya her crayons and He drew great strength from this knowledge that he could shareher drawing book and she would be absorbed for hours on end .and lighten his burden as well as spread awareness in his

Riya drew this kind and benign sun in drawing class one day andcongregation. He knew he had received so much of training in

brought i t home for adding finishing touches. Pramod cautionedcoping with life at no cost and he was eager to share all of it . His

her against doing too much with it and messing it up but in the enddiagnosis of cancer helped him realize what a lot he would have

he loved everything about it. The kind eyes and the petal like raysmissed out on in l ife .His love of life became a force within him and

and the steadfast smile. The smile of pure joy, Annanda which ishe saw so many opportunities of leading a fuller life. The day he

another word for Pramod ; Happiness!spoke out his testimonial in church saw many young people comeup to him later seeking counsel for themselves. His convictionand his belief that nothing could stop the inevitable showed himto be the fighter he was and this was the direction his youngfollowers needed. His family, his neighbours, his colleagues allknow of his CML and while he has shed many a tear in the privacyof his solitude, never has the sorrow been a public display. Taking

it in his stride he has worked his way to a much admired seniorposition in his chosen career , kept his social commitments withutmost devotion and with Mini given his parents and children theperfect home, full of love and care ; all of it spil ling over to anyonewho will care to cross their threshold.

Basking in the light of his beloved sun he truly feels his life is thatsparkling ocean , many drops adding to its happy journey , and hisCML just another drop in that ocean.

Meet the Georges - From left to right:Rubin, Riya, Pramod and Mini

Returning from the days work in thehustle and bustle of Mumbai.