Abbreviated Lives profiles the life stories of artists, scientists & writers whose creative odysseys have been cut short by circumstances: penury, lack of recognition, mental breakdown, dictatorship and war etc. It also portrays the Matilda effect: how some women’s contributions have been ‘stolen’ by male colleagues, supervisors or husbands. However tragic the conditions in which they might have worked, all the characters in this book took passionate creative journeys till the final exit. From them, we may reaffirm that the journey matters more than the destination; one can rise to great heights in life given grit, commitment and hard work. These tragic stories also teach us that the efflorescence of artistic and scientific creativity needs democracy and freedom of thought; it may be cruelly stifled, if not completely destroyed, by unscrupulous dictators and authoritarian rulers. These tales not only can inspire the readers to carry forward their own journeys; moreover, they may ignite us to promote institutional, cultural and social factors that would help nurture the full blossoming of creative lives so that the society may fully ‘harvest’ their artistic, literary and scientific contributions. Sincere creative journeys, the lonely expeditions of pioneers would never go in vain; someday, kindred spirits would retrace the paths blazed by the forerunners.

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