Brothers and sisters are each other's superheroes with super-healing powers. Fifteen-year-old Anamta Ahmed from Mumbai and Shivam Mistry were not even distantly related until last year, when they gave strength to one another and healed wounds. And on Saturday, the two families witnessed a Raksha Bandhan unlike any other.
"I do not have a brother and Shivam lost his only sister. From now on, Shivam is my brother and I am his sister. I shall tie him a rakhi every year. I do not feel like I am meeting his family for the first time. Everyone gave me so much love," Anamta, who was dressed in a pink salwar-suit, said.
Anamta and Shivam's "sibling" relationship dates back to last year, when a hand belonging to Riya, the latter's late sister, was transplanted on Anamta.
On October 30, 2022, Anamta's right arm had to be amputated after she came in contact with a 11,000 kilowatt high-tension cable at a relative's house in Uttar Pradesh's Aligarh. A resident of Goregaon in Mumbai, she managed to save her left arm through surgery but suffered immense mental and physical distress after the accident.
Two years later on September 14, around 200 kilometres away, Riya, a class 4 student from Gujarat's Valsad, fell sick when she suddenly began vomiting and complained of an intolerable headache. After visiting several hospitals, she was admitted to Kiran Hospital in Surat on September 15 and later died of a haemorrhage. The incident left everybody stunned.
But Riya's organs were capable of giving a new lease of life. And her family and renowned gynecologist in Valsad, Dr Usha Mashri, understood this.
"When Anamta tied a rakhi on Shivam's wrist, we felt that Riya came back to life and it was her who was tying the rakhi to her brother. I made gulab jamun, Riya's favourite sweet. We celebrated Raksha Bandhan this year, like every year," an emotional Trishna Mistry, Shivam and Riya's mother, said.
"We are not able to get over our daughter's death but seeing Anamta brings us joy. After losing one daughter, we got another. It gives us solace to see how happy she is and how good a life she is leading," she added.
Dr Mashri inspired Trishna and her husband, Bobby, to consider organ donation. Her two kidneys, liver, hands, lungs, intestines and corneas were harvested. The couple came across a non-governmental organisation that deals with donation of organs and were counselled on the matter.
Days later, Riya's right arm was amputated and sent to Mumbai. It was subsequently transplanted on Anamta at Global Hospital, making her the youngest in the world to undergo the procedure at shoulder-level, according to Nilesh Mandlewala, the president of Donate Life NGO.
On Saturday, Anamta and Shivam's families were overcome by emotions when they met on Tithal Beach road in Valsad. Anamta travelled all the way to Valsad to greet her "brother" and tie a sacred thread on his wrist.
When the teenager reached the spot, she received a tight embrace from Shivam's mother.
"I felt as though I was getting the Rakhi tied by my beloved sister Riya," Shivam said.
"From now on, I am Anamta as well as Riya," Anamta added.
(With inputs from Mahendra Prasad)
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