8-YR-OLD DIES AFTER TRAILER RUNS OVER HER AT JNPT SIGNAL

THE GIRL WAS WAITING WITH HER FAMILY FOR THE TRAILER TO PASS BEFORE THEY CAN CROSS THE ROAD

- Rupsa Chakraborty

MUMBAI: Six months ago, 57-year-old Shirish Bengeri from Pune was at death's door. His heart had failed, his liver was shutting down, and doctors feared he wouldn't make it. Today, he is walking again, rediscovering music and rebuilding his life—thanks to Mumbai's first successful simultaneous heart-and-liver transplant performed at the Sir H N Reliance Foundation Hospital in Girgaon.

Bengeri is also likely the first person in India to survive a "supra-urgent" dual-organ transplant—a feat considered exceptional even by global standards. "When I left the hospital, I weighed just 46 or 47 kg. Now I am 59," says Bengeri, smiling. "This weight gain shows that my body is accepting my new heart and liver. It was difficult initially, but I feel much better now."

Now home, Bengeri walks twice a day—15 minutes each, in the morning and evening—under the supervision of a physiotherapist. "She says my stamina has improved," he says. Bengeri, a senior corporate executive, has taken early retirement and hopes to return to his lifelong passion: singing. "I've already recorded 240 songs. I have some voice issues now, but I'm doing vocal exercises, chanting, yoga... I hope to get back to singing soon."