(Image source from: The curious case of dying Ali Hussain!})

You all must have heard about the Ocscar winning Brad Pitt fantasy drama — “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” — a story about a boy born with the appearance and physical maladies of an elderly man. David Fincher's 2008 award winning movie is perhaps one of the few films to have highlighted progeria, an extremely unusual genetic disease that triggers rapid ageing. Back home, we had R Balakrishnan's “Pa” that treaded similar lines.

Fincher's and Balakrishnan's films might have been work of fantasies, but Ali Hussain Khan's story is a stark reality.

The 14-year-old teen from Bihar is a victim of this rare genetic disorder that is causing his body to age eight times faster than what is normal expected. He has lost five of his siblings to the same malady.

Ali’s parents Nabi Hussain Khan, 50, and Razia, 46, are first cousins and have begotten eight children so far. Of them, only two girls were born normal.

Progeria or Hutchinson-Gilford Progeria Syndrome is a rare condition where ageing sets in at a very early age. Although, the disease has very low incident rate, children afflicted with this survive only till their mid teens and early twenties.

With young Ali caught in this crossroad of life, we just hope and pray that his days are less of a bane for him.

AW: Suchorita Dutta