Rohit Shishodia
'Warriors in White', a book authored by Prof Sujata Sharma, Professor in the Department of Biophysics, Delhi-AIIMS, is an autobiographical account of Prof Sharma’s voyage in a make believe galaxy during Covid times.

Speaking to DTMT, Dr Sharma said that each story of the book touches an aspect of corona warriors. Stories deal with thel fear of being infected with Covid and how to overcome that, she added.

“Another story tells how a hearing disabled wears PPE kits with hearing aid during treatment of Covid patients. Many times this hearing aid stops working. How this is overcome. Other stories tell how a resident doctor was infected with the deadly disease, how to deal with it and how he donated plasma. It is all about the corona warrior,” added Dr Sharma.

Beginning from March 2020 and ending with December 2020, the book spans many cities, hospitals and meetings with corona warriors. Dr Sharma finds a connection between various planets of the ‘Navagraha’ with each of the corona warriors that she encounters.

Using the example of current tumultuous times, the book presents an insight into the strength of human nature, which can transform any adversity into an opportunity to learn, grow and uplift each other.

As per the synopsis of the book, it was during the winter of year 2019 when Covid struck. In a matter of days, the virus stealthily spread at an alarming, breakneck speed all over the world, leading to devastating loss of lives and crippling of economies.

Like all biological entities, the book had to have a purpose. To search for that purpose, Dr Sharma undertakes a memorable expedition on her imaginary spaceship into the solar system.

She encounters all the nine heavenly bodies of 'Navagraha' and their corresponding corona warriors in AIIMS and other leading hospitals of India. Using a heady combination of molecular medicine, astronomy and Vedic astrology, she understands the nuances and eccentricities of the virus.

At a celestial level, the expedition begins from the Sun, AIIMS Director Prof Randeep Guleria, land progresses to other planets and warriors, eventually spanning the entire galaxy.

At a terrestrial level, the journey starts from New Delhi to Chandigarh via Bengaluru, zipping through Mumbai and Varanasi, onwards to Noida and finally ending back in Delhi. This exhilarating and inspiring voyage in the middle of the deadliest pandemic of the world helps her to finally discover the elusive "Covid's purpose".

Dr Sharma pois out that she has connected stories including that of Dr Guleria with the solar system to make it meaningful and interesting. "I have connected each character with a planet," she explains.

“I have made Dr Guleria as a Sun. Every planet in the 'Navagraha' has a certain basic element distinct from each other, and unique in itself. Astronomically, every planet has its own size, shape, temperature, protective atmosphere and differences in numbers of moons. Astrologically, every planet stands for an intrinsic quality of human nature,” she added.

“For instance, Saturn is the master of discipline, Jupiter is about expansion, Mercury rules the mind etc. Hence, each of the Corona warriors in my book are distinct, each one strongly representing a specific human quality. Just like the planets make the Navagraha, these Corona warriors complete the solar system in a historical battle against this deadly virus,” she explained.

Dr Sharma has been conferred the Kalpana Chawla Excellence award for her contribution to science and literature. The Department of Biotechnology of the Government of India awarded her the National Bioscience Award for Career Development, one of the highest Indian science awards, for her contributions to biosciences.