"When the going gets tough, the tough get going"
Akash Dhanurkar from Pimpri-Chinchwad, a student of mass communication & journalism and a news reporter at present is an author of a book named “Kanya- A Green Ocean of Regression”. The book follows a real-life story based in Pune. Akash never considered himself to be a writer before. In 2012, he was among those who wouldn’t befriend a grammar Nazi. But only, because his sister was the one who knew he is a writer way before the masses started considering his writings to be phrases.
Akash wrote this book as a measure to cope from her sister’s loss. Earlier, he approached several directors, all of whom refused to even consider his story as a short film. He then decided to vent out the emotions on paper. It was difficult for him to relive the most bitter experiences of his life on paper, but it wasn’t impossible. Especially, if it meant to save another brother or sister of the nation from the same black hole Akash lost his sister to. Akash thinks that everyone is a writer. The person who has a story, can be a writer. And no one here comes to live without a story. The book revolves around three worlds- depression, drug addiction and a deadly skin disease. “Kanya” pictures a girl named Tanvi who was the topper of the college and at the same time had body image issues. Due to this, she disrupts her relation with her only friend in college as she is jealous of her. She knows that her friend can open up to her boyfriend whereas she only has her family for the same. Gradually, her inability to manage her temper and open up to others added up to her depression. She resorts to smoking, followed by weed which finally led to a downhill to substance abuse. Family takes up preventive measures but Tanvi no longer has the will to live and then she develops a deadly rare skin disease Stevens-Johnson-Syndrome (SJS), which occurs in one out of lakh giving excruciating pain to the bearer and leads to intensified peeling off of skin within hours. This skin disease later on became the reason for Tanvi’s death.
The name has a deeper meaning and delusional perspective. Akash along with his friend Aditya almost puzzled for a night on the name of the book and tagline and finally came up with “Kanya- A Green Ocean of Regression”. The name itself is poetic with a hint of melancholy. The green ocean here signifies marijuana. When a person consumes marijuana for the first time, he/she steps into a puddle and gradually the regression and downfall start. It takes no time for that puddle to become an ocean which is endless to escape. It is the first book in India to unfold depression, drug addiction and deadly skin disease all together in one frame.
He has seen the journey of “from rags to riches”. His father was a driver and mother a peon. They used to live in slums. One thing Akash observed was that for a middle-class family like his, concepts like depression, drug abuse and SJS were aliens.
They have never known of its existence or even if they did, their sect wasn’t the one to experience the same. He says that till date 90% of the population don’t know they are suffering from depression at the very first place. We often take these initial symptoms to be normal or a bit of inclined towards behavioral aspect and that is where we go wrong. We often tend to assume depression to be normal, drug abuse to be an escape and anxiety to be an excuse. One can never know the feeling until and unless you have gone through it. There’s a lot to educate the masses on the same. Even in our country millions of youngsters and even adults are going through depression, anxiety and suffering it all alone and sequestered. Depression and substance abuse start as a journey which is transient, but the consequences it beholds stays stand still and permanent. It takes courage to pledge to create awareness for such critical topics that too based on personal experiences. Akash wrote this book after 2 years of his sister’s death as to overcome the loss but now today he stands there to spread it among us all. One’s own will power is the key to win the competition of “survival of the fittest”. This is a war to make each and every one out there aware that no one is alone, they stand with their own will power which can conquer all the battles. Akash has made no profits through Kanya, and even making profits out of the book was never his intention. According to him, the story is a reflection of every person out there and no can charge any one to see their own reflection. At present, he is a successful co-author and a news reporter and living with his family in a luxurious flat. He has seen his parents working really hard to come where they all stand today. His elder sister being a nuclear scientist, Akash Dhanurkar along with his family and friends was able to withstand the most strenuous and unfortunate phase of their life. He is coming up with another book soon with a concept that the nation hasn’t witnessed yet. Kanya is in the hands of a very renowned Bollywood director at present. Kanya isn’t about just a girl, but all the individuals out there who can be saved. Just don’t lose HOPE!
- Team Satyavachan
Link to buy the book "Kanya - A Green Ocean of Regression" :
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