Jyoti Arora - Dream's Sake
On occasion of International Thalassemia Day, we introduce Jyoti Arora, a young and emerging novelist from Ghaziabad. A post graduate in English Literature and Applied Psychology, she has been working as a freelance writer since 2007. Books are her passion and in the course of her career, she has abridged about 30 English classics and wrote several original books and short story collections for kids. Her debut novel ‘Dream’s Sake’ was published by V&S Publishers in April 2011 and has been getting good reviews from readers and critics alike. Being a patient of Thalassemia, she has had to struggle a lot to complete her education. Due to her medical problems, she dropped out of school after class seventh. But she continued her studies on her own through correspondence courses and managed to achieve her dream of being a published author, a feat that has been lauded by many major newspapers and magazines like Times of India, Hindustan Times, Asian Age, Mint, Dainik Jagran, Femina, Aha! Zindagi etc. Her story of struggle and achievement was also showcased by TV channels like Pragya Tv, and P7 News. In 2011, Jyoti also won a blogging competition that gave her the title of Samsung Mobiler. She now reviews Samsung mobiles and promotes them on her blog. Jyoti is currently working on her second novel.
"Being a patient of Thalassemia, life was never easy for me. Thalassemia forces upon you a constant battle just to win your survival. And it takes a heavy toll in the process. A disorder like Thalassemia does not just rob you of your health. If you are not careful, it will also rob you of all your hopes, your dreams and the will to live. I’m immensely thankful that didn’t happen to me. Immensely thankful that I managed to hold on to my dreams, and my dreams, in turn, managed to keep my hold on life intact.
When I stopped going to school after class seventh, my world suddenly became too confined. Most of the ambitions that my childish brain had dreamed up while in school now turned into impossibilities. Even continuing my education became just an option, instead of compulsion. I suppose, nobody at that time thought studies would do me any good, so they were not compulsory for me. Nobody, I suppose, expected me to be anything more than a Thalassemic. Certainly nobody expected me to turn into any sort of an achiever, or even to harbour any ambition to do so.
Such are the assumptions that people create about individuals struggling against any sort of disability. And these assumptions, unfortunately and much too often, leave a very negative influence on differently able people, slowly robbing them of their dreams and ambitions. Soon their life becomes purposeless. And being without purpose means being without anything to hope for, anything to look forward to. I shudder to consider the prospect of such being my life.
But when all else went away, a dream took wing in
my heart, my imagination guided its flight and creativity gave it strength to
fly high. As passionate about books as I am, I was not content to be just a
reader. Since the time I started pursuing graduation, I also started dreaming
of one day becoming a popular novelist. It was this dream that kept my thoughts
focussed, preventing them from slipping into the mire of despondency. It was
this dream that gave purpose to my endeavours and channelled my creativity. And
you know, when you are creating something, it always results in positive
feelings and a sense of achievement. It takes your attention away from your
problems and makes you feel useful. And that has very positive psychological
and physical effects on a person’s wellbeing. And if the person is struggling
from major health problems like I was, this becomes of immense value.
So when all else seemed to be going out of my grasp, I took hold of my creativity and it and I slogged together to achieve my dream. I worked hard at my writing, I loved my dream with a restless passion, and I hoped intensely for it to come true. This gave me a reason to strive on and feel a purpose in my life. And at times when all else seemed dark, it was this dream that like a guiding light kept urging me forward.
And it is this dream only that’s still keeping me going. My debut novel, Dream’s Sake, was published in 2011. But God willing, many more are still to come. And I’m eagerly looking forward to them, and striving on."
Jyoti Arora (www.jyotiarora.com)
Jyoti Arora on Kuchh Poore Kuchh Adhoore Khwab Zindagi Ke (Part 1)
Video Trailer of Dream's Sake
© 2011 Infinite Ability. The article presented on this website have been published. Copyright of the material used has been cited. Article from here, in full or part, should not be used without expressed permission from the author.
