Subhechcha Ganguly 
Strutting across the freshly polished white marble that floored the new Manipal University Library, I was basking in this rather spectacular vintage enveloped ambience, emanating of decades old of cloth stitched books of Anatomy guides and dog-eared old papyrus like fragile paperbacks of Pathology notes. It ignited sparks of fascination just to witness all these beautifully preserved masterpieces of manuscripts, dating to times when modern medicine was still spreading its wings out of its pioneering nests of homeopathy. Staring down from the impeccably, varnished wooden shelves embedded on the walls, from their literary heights of glory, these were books that had travelled down time tunnel, outliving prestigious pioneers and forefathers like Suhusrutha, Hippocrates and Sedilot, guiding the future generations to uphold standards of medicine.
I couldn’t help myself but to wonder in awe of how methodically they have worked together to create such incredibly, intricate collection of books, imbibing them into the syllabus mandatory for the birth of every good doctor. Reminiscing good old days of medical school, every medical student bore the excitement of prestigiously evolving from a learning dissector into a teaching prosector. Under the remarkable tutelage of both my reputable Professors of Anatomy, Prof Dr Som and Prof Dr Sateesha Nayak, I started my Day one of cadaver dissection training by staring unbelievably into the precise pictures laying the pages of good old books of 6th Edition BD Chaurasia Human Anatomy and the 40th edition of Grey’s Anatomy.
Can you imagine if our forefathers would have ever thought the profound impact their scripts and scribbles would have in the moulding process of every medical practitioner across the world? Did you think Henry Grey would have had the faintest of idea about his drawings become the most reliable guide to the world’s best doctors when it comes to any moment of doubt? Who would have thought that Suhusrutha’s stacks of papyrus inscribing medical concoctions revolutionise the practice of medicine procedures? Oftentimes, I wonder if any of them ever saw themselves as inspirations who may make the difference. On the other hand, what aspired them to do what they had done?
Regardless of which field of expertise it maybe, every single line drawn, every single letter written and even, every single punctuation made unfolds into waves of grave decision making and knowledge imbibing. The unimaginable importance of old writings and drawings that not only stood against trials of time, but inevitably became the laying foundation of the modern world. They transcend beyond boundaries and continents, remaining as the Holy Grail of knowledge and referential point of the current millennium world. The field of medicine is one of the many gigantic fields that showcase the power and value of writings in their progress and development. Despite priding about in the mighty glory of millennial modernity and technological advancements, nothing beats the incredible aspiring inspirations rooted from old literary scriptures.
To surmise all those long winding statements I just rambled about, it’s simple to say that every leap and bound to ever boom progression originated from a sparkle of inspiration ignited from the legacy of work from our past generations. History always lived through the pages of older literature or even words of mouth of elders, aspiring the young to shoot higher than the sky. The human minds are intrinsically wired to constantly seek motivations in order to enthusiastically kickoff their dreams. I, for one, can attest to that fact without a shred of question. Thus, inspirations are essential nudges of subtle but crucially positive encouragement, required to catapult most breakthroughs in the direction of ever evolving human evolution.
Bringing us back to the present moment, I believe that the world of writing is indifferent to this undeniable truth as well. Powerhouses that generated reverberating write ups, sending off jolts of energy and adrenaline, all begun with a rather simple cloud of thought that translated into strings of revolutions through the spillage of ink of a carefully veined quill. Writers have sent resonating messages through their pens bringing about astonishing changes to existing dogmas and civilisations. As a matter of fact, I think the idiom of “The pen is always sharper than the sword” describes the power of writings in a million ways more than words can ever do.
Being the new kid in this magnanimous world of writing, I’ve always dedicated every piece of my humble scribble to my Dad and beloved ones as they are my defining quintessential exuberance of life. However, it is undeniable that I too have an inspiring writing icon who brings out the ogles and giggles of my hidden fan girl. It would be my privilege to have the opportunity to pen on one of the most inspiring pioneers, who created tidal waves of historically, groundbreaking transformations across the world, through her humbling work of art. It would be our very own infamous writer, or diarist, as many would refer to, Anne Frank. She has always been my personal favourite with regards to her innocent yet resounding craftsmanship in the world of writing.
As quoted bravely by our diarist, “I can shake of everything as I write; my sorrows disappear and my courage reborn”, writing is truly a saviour in times of both good and despair. Purely scribbled with notes of innocence and never-ending hope, “Kitty” or better known as “The Diary of a Young Girl” was the beautifully moving masterpiece crafted through the effortless penmanship of sweet little Anne Frank.Despite the grim reality that painted shades of ever-growing darkness that overshadowed every breaking dawn, it never broke the free willed spirit of young, 13-year-old, Anne Frank from writing her heart out. It was an emblematic embodiment of each and every belief of a young woman encapsulating hope, love and nature although being under constant threat of death and sufferings. The Holocaust will always be one of the shunned, historical epochs of the eras of entire human civilisation by chronostratigraphy. Her story was the imminent, collective voice of millions of victims who ceased to nonexistence under the iron clasps of Nazis.
For a naïve child who was constantly shadowed by insufferable death throughout her hiding, her diary was the only beacon of light that kept her hopes alive. Woven intricately with nuances of emotions and subtlety of raw human feelings, the diary spoke volumes of the raw yet horrifying scenes of Nazi oppression in Netherlands. Despite it being the humble musings of a child, her writing became a monumental historic discovery, shedding light to the buried truth of ghastly tragedies that befell humanity during this era of human genocide. The events that took place imbibed valuable life lessons for countless civilisations to date and to come. It was all possible because of the journalistic scriptures of her heroically written diary. The loud resonation of her young thoughts through those humbling jots in her diary has told tales of depths of her strength & courage amidst adversities faced daily. Her words had the power to bring us back to the era of World War II, providing us with the experience of living life six decades ago. Her stories painted us the rawest picturesque of her life during her dreaded hideout in the Secret Annex. It was an agonizing, melancholic bird’s eye view through the lens of an innocent teenage girl. If that is not magic, I don’t know what is.
It is saddening to think that her work only emerged years after her heartbreaking demise, but its impact is still soul stirring despite its many decades and editions of republishing. Although it was posthumously published, the blaring loudness of her truth shattered the deafening silence of injustice that dominated. An extraordinary example of life, an unsung hero by nature, she was a rambunctious force of life, exuding hope and love even in the turbulent days of her withering young youth. She left us all with a written guide of how to find light in the darkest of tunnels. She taught us that it takes tremendous strength to battle through our inner demons of fear and despair, but there is always hope lingering around for the brave. Despite all the cruelty that surrounded her, Anne Frank was deterrent that there was abundant goodness in every human being. Her optimism outshined the very darkness that robbed her off life. If times were different and destiny written otherwise, I’m sure she would have brought pragmatic revolutions through her craftsmanship. The world incurred a terrible loss at the vanquishing of such a promising star. Nevertheless, im sure that little Anne Frank would be beaming with pride watching her writing send ripples of history through humanity. Her legacy was evidently the living proof of agility within fragility. Although fate had it rather short-lived mortal existence, she remains immortal through the pages of her diary, loved and living through the eyes and minds of her vivid readers. The effervescence of her chirpy eyes and sweet smile as she held her pen and diary in motion of writing will be an everlasting memory she sowed into every writer. As for me, without the slightest shadow of doubt, Anne Frank will always be my favorite Shero, an exemplary inspiration to all, in both the world of life and literature.
