Kelini Daskar
Doctor Kelini Nethra Daskar, M.D. (a.k.a. Kelly Daskar, The Mother of Daskar, Yat Preetyelrim)
Kelini Daskar is the wife of Elahe Daskar. Along with him, she survived the crash of Landing Ship 7 into what is now known as Daskar Lok at the city of Daskar at the time of The Fall from the Stars.
Mental characteristics
Personal history
Kelini Nethra Daskar was born Kelini Nethra Iyer, the second and youngest daughter of a prominent and wealthy Brahmin family of Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India in 2431 AD. From an early age, she excelled in her studies. She was also considered quite beautiful and a natural leader.
During her high school years, Kelini and some of her girl friends founded a charitable organization they called "Sisters of Chennai," dedicated to helping the sick and poor of her vast city. Kelini was elected to be the organization's first president by her classmates. Working on the streets of the poorer neighborhoods of the city, she noticed that many of the poor and sick were immensely helped just by having someone that cared for them, regardless of whether or not they received any kind of medical treatment or improvements in their nutrition. It seemed that just having a listening ear and a human presence, or even a pet dog or cat, often helped them get better. She often wondered how it was possible, when nothing else about their lives had changed.
After graduating from high school, Kelini applied to and was accepted to attend Harvard University, where she double majored in psychology and biology. After her experiences with the Sisters of Chennai, she was interested in the biological origins of empathic connections and how empathy and connectedness seemed to improve physical and emotional healing. Numerous studies and her own observations had documented the phenomenon, but it still was not understood scientifically. She wanted to figure out how that process worked. Perhaps if it was understood, it could be applied more consistently and effectively to help people. As an undergraduate, though, she had little opportunity to pursue any kind of independent research, so she was determined to continue her studies after graduating.
Early in her senior year, she began looking into doctoral programs in neuroscience. Her very traditional Brahmin parents in Chennai had other ideas, though. They insisted that she was at the age she must marry, and if she wanted to continue her education, she must attend medical school. What was she going to do? She had never considered medical school, but her parents controlled her money. They had leverage over her decisions, and she had always been obedient to them. Maybe she could specialize in psychiatry after getting through medical school? That was close enough to her interests that it seemed viable. So she applied to Harvard Medical School and was accepted. That made her mother happy enough for the time being, but it didn't stop the comparisons with her older sister, who had already given her "two beautiful, perfect grandsons, while you're ruining your eyes by reading useless books!"
But marrying was out of the question! She had plenty of male friends at school, a few she was close to and liked, and a couple she dated a little bit seriously. But marriage was just completely off the table. She had too many other things she wanted to do. And medical school and marriage just weren't compatible.
So when her mother arranged a blind date with "a wonderful young man from a good Chennai family who is also studying in your Boston, America" and insisted that she go, Kelini was determined to make the meeting as brief as possible and let the guy know that she had other plans now, it was her mother's idea, not her's, good luck, have a nice life, etc., etc.
That is, until she saw Elahe Daskar. He was literally tall, dark, and handsome. When their eyes met, there was a thing that happened between them. She felt it, like a shiver, and she could see that he felt it, too. It wasn't something so mundane as love at first sight. It was a connection, an understanding. They left the coffee shop together and stayed up all night talking. He was the most interesting person she had ever met. Four months later, they were married. Less than a year after that, their daughter, Ishanvi Daskar, was born.
Though it was a struggle for a few years, Kelini Nethra Daskar completed medical school and her residency in family medicine, emphasizing women's health, obstetrics, and psychiatrics. Some twenty years later, she boarded a shuttle up to the generation ship Terra Nova with Elahe and Ishanvi.
We were one of the first families chosen to colonize a new world for humanity. It is an incredible honor. Ishanvi's colleague, Kelvin Daniels, is the principle researcher that developed the AI's that will operate the ship during our long cryosleep, and she will work with him to ensure they continue to function correctly. Elahe will be the chief engineer on our landing ship. I am the chief medical officer.
The entire ship malfunctioned as we descended to the surface of our new world. All the AIs died. The fusion reactors, the gravitonic engines, the electronics, and finally even the lights quit working. Even now, Elahe says he can't explain it. Thank God, Elahe and the pilots had trained over and over for every kind of emergency situation. They were able to switch everything over to manual controls and land the ship in the water of a big lake about 100 yards off shore. The ship was mostly intact, but a lot of equipment, radio antennas and such, had been torn away. The landing ship was never meant to descend so fast, and we hit the water pretty hard. The hull split open in a couple of places, and water started flooding in. We got the doors open, which let more water in, and the ship started sinking pretty fast, but most of the people got out. We started swimming to the shore of a sandy beach, the closest dry land to where we came down. I was fine, but quite a few of the people either couldn't swim at all or were weak swimmers. Some drowned right away; their cries for help and gasps for air broke my heart, and I was weeping as I swam to shore. Elahe was a strong swimmer and got to shore before anyone else. He found some logs that had fallen and rolled them into the water and pushed them out for the weaker swimmers to hold onto. He helped a lot of people make it that wouldn't have otherwise. When I got to shore, I started helping the many of our shipmates that were injured. Many of them had swallowed a lot of water and were retching. There were a lot of sprains, damaged ligaments and tendons, and some broken bones. So many were in distress, crying, mourning for lost family members. Others were angry, feeling helpless, wondering how this disaster could have happened. It was all so confusing and unbelievable. I felt strange myself. I wondered what had happened to Ishanvi. None of the other landing ships had come down near where we were. Then one of the men ran over to me, yelling and in tears, "Doctor! My wife is in labor! Please help me!" I had to deliver her baby, but we were on a beach out in the open, and I had none of my equipment, not even a stethoscope. It's not what I'd usually do, but I prayed, "Oh God, please let this be an easy delivery." I talked with a few of the women that were in better shape, and we gathered around the poor girl in labor. She'd been pretty traumatized and wasn't very coherent. She was hyperventilating and looked like she might go into shock. I needed to get her calmed down first, so I took her hand, and talked with her softly, reassuring her that everything would be fine, even though I wasn't so sure of that myself. She started crying. It hurt. The baby was coming too fast. He was a big boy, and she wasn't ready. I could feel her pain as the contractions roiled her body, and she was tearing and bleeding. She was going to die. I can't let that happen. There's too much pain. There's too much blood. It has to stop. I look into her eyes. I can feel her fear and pain. I can feel her weakness, and I know her life is leaving her. It's overwhelming me, and my heart is racing. I have to slow it down. So I do. I calm my heart, and hers calms. I slow my breathing, and hers slows. I can feel her fear and tension. I give her my confidence, and she relaxes. She's ready now, and her baby is born. She needs to stop bleeding. I want her to stop bleeding, so she does. I want her to be whole and her baby to be perfect. They are. Her baby cries, and she turns her attention to it, as she should. I hear Elahe say my name. "Kelini! Kelini! Are you okay? Kelini!" Who? Oh, yes, I am fine. I'm more than fine. I just gave birth to a perfect baby boy, didn't I? Or was that someone else? For awhile, I am not sure.
We were one of the first families chosen to colonize a new world for humanity. It is an incredible honor. Ishanvi's colleague, Kelvin Daniels, is the principle researcher that developed the AI's that will operate the ship during our long cryosleep, and she will work with him to ensure they continue to function correctly. Elahe will be the chief engineer on our landing ship. I am the chief medical officer.
The entire ship malfunctioned as we descended to the surface of our new world. All the AIs died. The fusion reactors, the gravitonic engines, the electronics, and finally even the lights quit working. Even now, Elahe says he can't explain it. Thank God, Elahe and the pilots had trained over and over for every kind of emergency situation. They were able to switch everything over to manual controls and land the ship in the water of a big lake about 100 yards off shore. The ship was mostly intact, but a lot of equipment, radio antennas and such, had been torn away. The landing ship was never meant to descend so fast, and we hit the water pretty hard. The hull split open in a couple of places, and water started flooding in. We got the doors open, which let more water in, and the ship started sinking pretty fast, but most of the people got out. We started swimming to the shore of a sandy beach, the closest dry land to where we came down. I was fine, but quite a few of the people either couldn't swim at all or were weak swimmers. Some drowned right away; their cries for help and gasps for air broke my heart, and I was weeping as I swam to shore. Elahe was a strong swimmer and got to shore before anyone else. He found some logs that had fallen and rolled them into the water and pushed them out for the weaker swimmers to hold onto. He helped a lot of people make it that wouldn't have otherwise. When I got to shore, I started helping the many of our shipmates that were injured. Many of them had swallowed a lot of water and were retching. There were a lot of sprains, damaged ligaments and tendons, and some broken bones. So many were in distress, crying, mourning for lost family members. Others were angry, feeling helpless, wondering how this disaster could have happened. It was all so confusing and unbelievable. I felt strange myself. I wondered what had happened to Ishanvi. None of the other landing ships had come down near where we were. Then one of the men ran over to me, yelling and in tears, "Doctor! My wife is in labor! Please help me!" I had to deliver her baby, but we were on a beach out in the open, and I had none of my equipment, not even a stethoscope. It's not what I'd usually do, but I prayed, "Oh God, please let this be an easy delivery." I talked with a few of the women that were in better shape, and we gathered around the poor girl in labor. She'd been pretty traumatized and wasn't very coherent. She was hyperventilating and looked like she might go into shock. I needed to get her calmed down first, so I took her hand, and talked with her softly, reassuring her that everything would be fine, even though I wasn't so sure of that myself. She started crying. It hurt. The baby was coming too fast. He was a big boy, and she wasn't ready. I could feel her pain as the contractions roiled her body, and she was tearing and bleeding. She was going to die. I can't let that happen. There's too much pain. There's too much blood. It has to stop. I look into her eyes. I can feel her fear and pain. I can feel her weakness, and I know her life is leaving her. It's overwhelming me, and my heart is racing. I have to slow it down. So I do. I calm my heart, and hers calms. I slow my breathing, and hers slows. I can feel her fear and tension. I give her my confidence, and she relaxes. She's ready now, and her baby is born. She needs to stop bleeding. I want her to stop bleeding, so she does. I want her to be whole and her baby to be perfect. They are. Her baby cries, and she turns her attention to it, as she should. I hear Elahe say my name. "Kelini! Kelini! Are you okay? Kelini!" Who? Oh, yes, I am fine. I'm more than fine. I just gave birth to a perfect baby boy, didn't I? Or was that someone else? For awhile, I am not sure.
Education
Kelini Daskar attended elementary and high school in Chennai, India, then did her undergraduate studies and attended medical school at Harvard University in Boston, Massachusetts.
Accomplishments & Achievements
Kelini Daskar is the first of the Human Agapyel Healers. Without her natural and supernatural healing abilities, it is likely that the Human survivors of the The Fall from the Stars at Daskar would have eventually all died. In Sudland, especially in Daskar, she is celebrated on Yatyat, the Derkomai New Year as the Yat Preetyelrim, the First Healer, a sort of demi-goddess.
Mental Trauma
Until she died, Kelini Daskar never knew the fate of her daughter, Ishanvi Daskar. That loss haunted her for her entire life, and only her deep bond with her husband, Elahe Daskar kept her from sinking into despair.
Intellectual Characteristics
Kelini Daskar is a brilliant physician and deeply empathic.
Morality & Philosophy
Kelini Daskar is compassionate and empathic, feeling the pain and emotions of others around her. She loves most everyone she meets, and she sees the value in every life, even those that are difficult. She wants to cure everyone of their physical and emotional damage. That desire is often overwhelming, and Elahe Daskar has learned when and how to protect her from that.
Date of Death
Year 51 of the Common Reckoning (3345 AD)
Circumstances of Birth
Kalini Daskar was born in the year 2431 AD in Chennai, India on Earth. She was 36 years old when she entered cryostasis on the Terra Nova.
Birthplace
Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India, Earth
Children
Sex
female
Gender
female
Presentation
female
Eyes
Large, dark brown
Hair
Long, black, with streaks of gray
Skin Tone/Pigmentation
Light brown, mostly unblemished
Height
5'7" (170 cm)
Weight
123 lbs (56 kg)
Quotes & Catchphrases
"Let's take a look at that."
"You'll be much better soon."
"You'll be much better soon."
Hindi
English
Founded Settlements
Comments