- When I was a small kid of two years old, I fell into a big water tank which was used by the women folk in my family for bathing. My mum was washing clothes nearby. I was playing around and somehow, my research around the tank led me into the tank. My mum didn’t know this at all, but our servant maid who saw unusual bubbles on the surface of water through the kitchen windows ran all the way from kitchen and salvaged me from the tank. Till her death which happened a decade ago, this old maid whenever she met me, lovingly claimed that I owed my life to her and it was true!
- During my graduate school days, I had the privilege of owning a bicycle which was a matter of great pride in my rural scenario. I was so proud as if I owned a Mercedes! One evening, as usual I was returning from college along the highway bridge. As soon as I reached
the beginning of the bridge I saw a bus coming from the other end and a truck coming from my behind. The bridge was not so wide enough to accommodate two buses and pedestrians or bicycles in one row. So I stopped, but didn’t climb down the cycle, instead halted by keeping my legs on the railings of the bridge. Unfortunately, the dynamics of the process worked in some other unexpected way that I fell onto the road where the truck from my behind was expected to pass through within seconds. The few seconds that passed by were marvellous, I was lying down immobile, could hear the roaring noise of the truck and was expecting the cracking sound of my skull when the tyre got past my head. Nothing happened, I heard a screeching sound of halting truck, I was spared again. - Thirty two years ago, I was walking through Lodhi gardens in New Delhi, suddenly I felt a kind of buckling in both my knees. Next day, I went to All India Institute of Medical Sciences for a casual checkup, the doctors told me I had a serious motor neuron disease called perennial muscular dystrophy and I won’t live for more than five years! Three decades have passed by since then, nothing happened!
I was spared three times from terminal situations, you know what is the reason for my escape? I was destined for another goal — River Valley and a wonderful life with you all!
Dear Mr CVR
Once I came across this page, but I just ignored as I was hurried through web pages, I’ve not even tried to read the words written by you.
Today, I’ve read an article in Malayala Manorama, I was stunned. It was my bad luck not to find those words few days back. I was wrecked in some problems, after reading the article in MM daily, I’ve got some positive thoughts towards life and succes. Thank you, dear friend.
Regards
Rennish George
Many thanks for the nice response, Rennish.
you r great
Dear Sir,
Feel Very happy to read your story on the Malayal Manorama Daily on 28/03/2010. I was working with a well known firm. But due to misunderstanding he kicked me out. I am at great despire with two small kids. I will read whatever material I come across as medicine for the sorrow. It is very happy to hearthat there are people who will take care the welfare of the staff also.
There is a small “adukala thottam” and preparing the vegetables for our need. Sir’s story reminded me that I have many things to do in life.
Wishing all best wishes in your endeavors.
Sir,
I read your story in the MM Sunday supplement. People like you are inspiring us. You will make big differences in the society in future. Tomorrow ‘ s yours.
Many thanks for the nice compliments.
Hello Mr Radhakrishnan, I was going though your interview in the following website http://river-valley.com/interview-kaveh-cvr/
Sorry to know that you are suffering from MND. My mother is also suffering from MND, its almost 4 years now, she is completely immobile now. We have taken her to almost all treatments but no luck. Is there any treatment which you could suggest? Any help is deeply appreciated.
No effective treatment is known for MND’s like mine since it is caused by an aberration in the genes. Looking back, I feel that I could effectively fight against the disease and survive this long might be due to the early onset of disease. I was afflicted when I was 25 and the young adulthood provided me enough inertia and vigor to fight back the malady. Had it been now, I am skeptical about any positive mental attitude since the mind and body are at cross roads and each of them has started already losing control over the other.
Dear Sir,
I read article about you in Malayala Manorama. My father is also suffering from Motor Neuron Disease for the last two years and feel very difficulty now. Sir, can you help us by explaining the methods you have opted to fight against it and the medical treatments you have taken and where we have to go for the treatment. The whole family is begging for your reply.
Ani
I’d undergone treatment at Sree Chitra and Medical College, Trivandrum for three years in the beginning. Not much medicines were administered except massive doses of vitamin B, but different physiotherapeutic procedures were applied. After three years, they advised me that they had no further treatment and I could opt for alternate forms of medicine like Ayurveda. So, I had Ayurvedic treatment for three more years. I didn’t go to Kottakkal Aryavaidyasala as I was not resourceful enough, but consumed a lot of decoctions and applied medicinal oil onto my body. Nothing happened, the disease was slowly progressing, but the pace seemed to diminish considerably. It could be due to a composite effect of the medicines I took until then, my own mental attitudes and total disregard for the disease. I stopped all sorts of treatment at the end of six year, never again, I did any sort of treatment afterwards.
However, when I was 52, I underwent panchakarma treatment at Kottakkal for three times for one month each at regular intervals spanning around two years. It didn’t bring any good at all, I can confidently vouch.
I do static cycling for 15 to 20 minutes a day in the morning, take a controlled low fat diet with a lot of raw vegetables, restrict my body weight to 50 Kg (for the last three decades that has been my body weight) and check all body parameters to be normal. Except for elevated lipid levels, I’ve normal body parameters! Of course, the MND is still haunting me, I can hardly walk without assistance, have lost balance, knees have turned powerless. With all these troubles, I believe, life is kind to me in some ways, maybe not in the ways I wanted.
Dear Sir,
Thank you for your kind reply. My father also is suffering from MND for the last two years. My father is in the hospital for the last two weeks, so I was able to see your mail today only. It is to attach a tube for feeding into the stomach since the swallowing capacity of my father has decreased. Sir, I hope you will be kind enough to explain one sentence in your reply: “consumed a lot of decoctions and applied medicinal oil onto my body.” Sir, can you please tell about that sentence what were the different oils and medicines that you have used and the doctor who advised to use these oils and medicines. We also have undergone ayurvedic treatment with Vaidyamadhom Cheriya Narayanan Namboothiri. We are from Kottayam. We are waiting for your kind reply. It is difficult for my father to walk and speak now.
If possible give a kind appointment to meet you according to your convenience.
Yours Lovingly
Ani
Dear Ani,
I don’t remember exactly the names of ‘kashayam’, ‘choornam’, ‘lehyam’ and ‘khrutham’ I had taken thirty years ago. It is immaterial to know, because it is the general Ayurvedic treatment which any physician would prescribe for my kind of disorder. I believe, the same drugs would have been administered by Vaidyamadhom on your father too. Unfortunately, the response pattern differs considerably between patient to patient since we all have different genetic make up and our disease is due to a genetic aberration.
By the way, you are welcome to visit our campus and meet me on any working day. We are closed on Sundays and second Saturdays only.
Dear Sir,
I have come to know about you and the river valley technologies. The article was so touching. Your story is so inspiring to all of us. I am working in Amrita School of Biotechnology, Vallickavu, Kollam. We pray for your good health and wishing to visit you if possible..
With prayers,
Maithily
Many thanks for the response. So glad to know that my life has inspired a few more souls. I must say, life has been kind to me in a different way.
Dear Sir,
Wishing to visit River Valley Technologies.
Plz reply if possible.
Yes, please. Your are welcome to our campus, but do visit during afternoon.
Very interesting…I never had thought of research publication industry as a career option before. I just wrote an email to Dr. Kaveh. Actually I am interested to visit your facility when I am visiting Kerala in the end of April…If you are interested in my proposal (which I have sent to Dr. Kaveh as I found that first timers should contact him) then may be that I can come and meet you there. My best wishes to River Valley.
You’re welcome to River Valley, please do visit.
Dear Sir,
I came to go through your interview in Malayala Manorama. One of my Sister 38 yrs old is also suffering from MND and doctorse told no medicine. Can u suggest how u came to overcome this disease and any treatment available or not. Kindly give a response.
Regards
Sunil Paul
Have provided a detailed account of my treatment in response to Ani’s query. Can you see that above?
Dear Sir,
Firstly let me salute your determination and focus in life, which gave birth to River Valley Technologies. My father is suffering from Anterior Horn Cell Disease, (another form of Motor Neuron Disease) for the last 1 and half years. Please advice us as to what kind of treatment are you pursuing. We have consulted NIMHANS, Bangalore, AIIMS, Kochi, and Sree Chitra Tirunal, TVM. We live in Palakkad. Expecting an early reply,
Regards,
Ajay.
Please see my response to Ani. My best wishes for a peaceful life.
Sir:
It was indeed an inspiration knowing about the extraordinary happenings in your life. I also read about you in Malayala Manorama. Wishing you all success with River Valley. All the very best.
sir i read ur story on manorama sunday suppliment. I read about tex. I feels to study now tex. Im a bca degree holder. can i visit ur company anyway…….. pls sir …..
Please do visit, but make it in the afternoon.
hello sir
I read your story in the MM Sunday supplement.People like u r great inspiration for youngsters lik us. I think the fame n honour dat u r getting now is de reward from god for all difficulties u’ve suffered in ur life and ofcourse ur will power.I read abt de services offered by ur company n de tex lang ur using.also i am interested in working for ur company.i’m a final year b.tech student(cse)with great interest in pgmng side.wil u pls tell me abt de details….
wishin u all de success
Your mode of writing resists comprehension. Please write standard English.
If you’re interested in TeX programming, please write to me directly.
Good day Sir, Greetings from Dubai. Read your amazing story in the MM. I look forward to visiting your beautiful RV with my daughter during my next vaccation. All the best for you, RV and your family. Take Care. Byeeee. Vinod
Welcome, please do visit. Look forward to meeting you and your daughter in the near future in our campus.
Truly Inspirational !
Made me happy. Thanks.
Sir,
I read an article about you in Manorama paper. Amazing personality. Really inspiring not only for youngsters but for all. I would like to say a proverb matching your life “nothing is impossible in front of your courage”. You are really amazing than any personality that I know in this field. Its gives us a message talent speaks more than academics. Your life inspired me a lot. I am an engineering student. I would like to become a part of your company. Pls reply.
Best wishes
Thanks for the nice compliments.
Concerning job opportunities in our company, please be aware that we deal with academic journals with a lot of math content. If you are not averse to math notations, formulae and equations, we have several kinds of job for you:
1. document processing, creating electronic deliverables
2. copy editing
3. graphic processing
4. developer
The first one needs graduate level science background, standard keying skills, eye for typography, inclination to learn TeX language which is known to have a steep learning curve.
The second item needs masters level science background and English language skills. The job involves reading research articles and editing the text for better comprehension.
Third one, as it indicates, needs a flair for graphics.
The last item needs good programming skills in TeX, XSLT, and related areas.
We do impart training needed for all items of work (except the fourth one in which case, the candidate should have necessary skills), but the incumbents should convince us that they have enough potential for the job.
You might contact Shan if you find our job interesting.
I was very touched after reading about you in a website on the internet and googled your company to know more about you and your company. I am not very mathematical inclined, live in Canada with my family, originally from Kerala and would love to get involved in any way possible with your company.
I have several years experience in Sales/Marketing mainly in Dubai where we lived for over 20 years, but the last 7 years in Canada has not been very good for me personally as I am unable to get proper employment in my field.
So I look forward to hearing from you even if just to say hello and will be priveleged to have you as a friend.
Kind regards
PRAKASH JOSEPH
Many thanks for your kindness to write the above comments.
I am not sure, what I should tell you about the prospect of involving with our activities. I’m afraid, we have fundamental differences, your expertise do not match with our requirements nor do we need any marketing assistance as we do not have one such department. Sorry for not being able to help you.
Maybe you can actively consider coming back to Kerala, the situations have changed very much. Several people do exhibit entrepreneurship unlike in the previous decades and indeed many of them have succeeded. You might think about setting up a business of your own in Kerala with some linkages in Canada so that you might stand on your feet more firmly and comfortably.
I have just seen yr reply, sorry for the long delay but thanks for replying and your advice.
All the best
Dear brother,
I read the Tamil article about you. It is amazing. I casually surfed fast through the newspaper just reading the title at first and when happened to see your photo, I was stopped and it made me to read the whole article. Then I visited your site fully. Oh.. what to say.. I did’t know there is this much story behind you. Any way, time has showered you a meaningful life though little late. This will be an inspiration to many heartbroken lives to try forward in life. But truly saying this pleasant life you are enjoying is very very deserving. In my childhood days, you seemed to be a genius to us and we had a thought that you will come up like anything. Time has proved it. That’s what happened.
yours
R.Rajendren
I’m afraid, you meant the article appeared in the Malayala Manorama newspaper which was in Malayalam and not Tamil. Anyway, thanks for the comments.
Sir,
I am very very proud and very much jealous about you. Because “god never make living things without purpose”. But how many can understand this.
“You are the one, only one”. As I know so far.
Math equations may prove circle is a square, which we cannot see in our eyes (e.g. it may be in string, data or cipher). But, now you are making the Equations as “You must file the quote (i.e. CVR must file the quote)”. I am not a audience, just i’m a spectator.
Yes it’s me again about governing dynamics.
Now a days printed paper is making the things. Poor people are thinking that money makes every thing, in my view money is also printed paper. But your company is making printed things, maybe both soft or hard copy. It is making the intelligence in this world.
I mentioned synonyms and antonyms in the preceding para. So you are making it by your noble job.
It is my wish, you must write a book or journal about LaTeX.
@CVR,
Your determination and positive outlook of life is shown in all the mishaps that you have encountered and endured througout. I believe everyone should emulate this and ensure beefing up their own self confidence levels too make life lovely.
Dear CVR Sir,
My great salute for your greatest efforts. I read through all of the comments and replies from you. I admire the way you answered.
My hearty wishes for your healthy long living life.
Note: I read about you in Dinamalar – A Tamil newspaper.
Thanks,
Arun.
Dear CVR,
You are really great! I am a B.Tech. student. I read the interview with you in Malayala Manorama when I was in a state of depression. You gave me the energy to face all the problems. Thanks a lot.
Reshma, J. R.
Vanakam,
while searching habitat took me to your home pic and then more cycling to here.
Hope one day we could meet.
Sms me +966503278654. in Riyadh sir.
Native of Vetturoad/Kazhakuttom.
Br
Althaf
Inspiring.
I am suffering segmental anterior horn cell disease (cervical segment+L-S). I am in 50. Pain in both hands and legs and muscles stimulation. Pain in muscles. Please help.
Do you have an email address where I can reach you at? It’s always inspiring to meet people who are active in the field of Free Software in India and specifically in Kerala.
Dear Radhakrishnan,
I have three deaths to remember. One was in my adolescence period. My Apphan (father’s brother) helped me from being into a well.
I acted in a tableau as a dead body. My son also acted in it standing beside the dead body.
By consuming a medicine called Deanxit for a long period of 7 years I was almost dead.
From July 6, 2013 I stopped it when it was banned by our Government. I got rebirth.
Vishnu K S
Mr. Radhakrishnan,
Yesterday I’ve read an article about you in Mathrubhoomi Malayalam. Yes, young adulthood provided you enough inertia and vigor to fight back the malady – as you said.
I am 56. My first symptom was chronic fatigue followed closely by balance problems and poor coordination. This has been a source of frustration for me and has motivated me to write you. When symptoms started to have an effect on my work, I decided to proceed on voluntary retirement from Parliament House.
The progression of my disorder is extremely variable and difficulty standing steadily and running progresses to the stage where walking is no longer possible in many instances. I can’t imagine anyone who has led a life uninhibited by a serious disability and suddenly finds themselves in that position not to think even if just for a moment, the possibility of ending their life. Thankfully for me it was but a passing phase. As the disease has progressed I have found life to be full of new challenges that are just begging to be overcome, and one must remember that there are always those much worse than us. I am very fortunate that the severity of the disease is reasonably mild in my case at present and that I do not have an able and dedicated family of my own who have time to support. The latter means that financially I have been able to survive well.
Looking back to my childhood and teenage years, I was reasonably very good at most things, not excelling scholastically and while I enjoyed participating in most things I would describe myself as being good at any of them. My earliest memories of any hint of this disorder are of clumsily clipping ankles in the action of running while going for morning walk and exercise. Although I was quite a good Physical activities while in New Delhi.
I sometimes get depressed with my life, especially when people ask me what I do with my time now if quit the job. To be perfectly honest, I do not have any trouble filling my days. As I no longer work my spare time allows me to pursue my hobbies of writing articles.
Thankfully those moments of madness are short lived and that on a whole I live by my motto “Accept and Adapt”. I have never worried about things that I have had absolutely no control over it. Yes, life is different now, but I accept that and find new ways to live and do things.
Sreedharan Nambiar, Kannur, 09744866841.
Proud Of you CVR !
You are great sir.
You are the role model for persons like me, I’ve already heard about the incidents what happened in your life through one of my seniors, but when I met you personally (TUG meeting 2011), I don’t have words to express my feelings… M. Saravanan
Kindly apprise your email; we wish to invite you to deliver keynote talk at a faculty training programme, being attended by more than 500+ faculty participants;
I received your reference from Prof. Yogananda, C.S. of Mysore.
Thanks and regards
Vineet
Prof. in ECE, MNIT Jaipur