WHAT LIFE IS!

Jinks’ 10 is gone. But, reminiscences are still floating in air. They are now integral parts of our lives. One of the most interesting things that happened to me during JINKS’ 10 was participation in Mr. JINKS’. Initially, I thought about it ten times. Should I participate, shouldn’t I? At last, I decided to try. In order to qualify in the main round of Mr. Jinks, participants had to fill a form which asked to define what life is. When I saw that question, I thought, "May be the space provided is not enough for such a big question". But, when I started writing, I felt as if I had no words to define life. Anyhow, I managed to write something. But, my definition of life didn’t see the dawn as the judges were not convinced by my answer. And so, I was not selected for the main round. But, this experience gave me a very beautiful topic to write about.

Well, It is almost impossible to define life in words. Still, as a writer, I can take such liberty and when I define life, I see it as a flow. Life is a journey and it goes on. We rejoice we grieve. But, life never stops. It just flows. Life has no destination. It can never be a destination. Those who define life by aims either underestimate themselves or life. I remember when I was small, I used to think about too many things. I thought of becoming engineer. Now, when I‘m on the verge of being an engineer, I think to be anything but engineer. Such is life and such is life’s mystery. Life is an exploration. We do not know what it holds. Only when we unearth it, we find the true face of it. The real joy of life lies in its uncertainty. Hope, Tim Robbins in The Shawshank Redemption says, “ Hope is a good thing, may be the best of things and no good thing ever dies” has its genesis in life's dubiety and no one can deny there is ever a thing as merciful as hope. Many people spend their entire lives in anticipation of something, may be on some kind of hope. Those who are alone live life in search of friends, those who are poor do so in hope of prosperity. Life is also about memoirs we have of our past. People, come & go. joys, sorrows too pass. But their memories always remain with us. They blend with our soul and remain alive until we are.

But,friends, Life can never be about making money or fulfilling some dreams. Life is not an end too my friend. Life is all about living. If you could live it well, you will be worthy of it. In a nut shell, life is what life is! So, stop worrying and enjoy it because life is a beautiful dream and we are fortunate to have it.

Let’s Speak Out

Words have always been like the ice in scorching heat solacing the weakening soul burdened through the ages. If we could have said a few things we wanted, we would have been happier than what we are at present. We all feel this but do not express. But, when someone starts preaching this, we call him saint. All of us are humans made of flesh and blood which manifests in itself some feelings we want to share with others but few have the courage to do so. The beauty of life lies in its uncertainties. How would it be when we know all the future things? Life would lose its charm and so the living.

We all have moved so fast in our lives we do not have time to sit and look back. We do not want to cherish whatever little we have done in our lives. We always run for something more and when we realize this was not what we aimed for It has always been too late. Why don’t we accept the life as it is and enjoy whatever happiness comes in. Do we need someone to teach us what we must do when someone shows love to us? This is so natural but still we go to some priests and Pujaris to teach us how to live which the whole life of us has tirelessly tried to tell.

Long story Cut Short

“Mom, Where is Saumya?”, I asked as I entered into the house. “She is in her room son but why do you seem to be in haste”, she replied. Nothing Mom. It’s just I have got a surprise for her. I went inside the room. She was reading something.

“Saumya, come here I have something to show you”. I said.
“Hey Bro when did you come?” , she said and ran towards me. she was elated. I gave her a box decorated with coloured plastic.

“What is it?”, she asked. She was beaming with joy like a small child. I opened the box. It was a small aquarium having four coloured fishes. It was my sister’s 12th birthday and I knew how much she was interested in fishes. Every day she used to ask me about fishes. Sometimes it was too difficult to answer her questions. I had to search on Internet to answer his questions. Nevertheless, It was so much pleasure replying to her questions. My sister was the best thing I could have in my life. “We were to celebrate her birthday at night” and I had to make arrangements for that. Suddenly I heard a scream. It was my sister’s voice. I Ran towards her room. She was lying on floor unconscious. I and my mother took her to the nearest nursing home. After a few hours she was normal again. I asked doctor about her condition and he told me not to worry. We took her home. Days passed as usual but there was a marked change in her behaviour. She was less cheerful now. She had started confining herself into her rooms. She remained silent most of the times and It was me who always tried to cheer her. Most of the times she was irritated. She also started bunking classes. It seemed she was not interested in anything.

I was unable to understand what had happened to her. I Was perplexed in fact. I thought of helping her. But how? Finally we took her to a psychiatrist who told us that Saumya was suffering from Schizophrenia. It was a big shock for me and the family. We all loved her so much. How would she cope with it. This was the first question that came to my mind.

Her condition was deteriorating day by day and one day that happened which changed my life. She committed suicide! I don’t know What forced her to do so? . It was so painful. Perhaps, she couldn’t bear the stress and how could she! She was only fifteen when she did this. Ever one was weeping in the house. But, I was silent. My soul had been taken away and I was now just flesh. I was shattered from inside. I took refuge in alcohols and drugs. My mother carried herself somehow but I knew she was dying everyday. My father tried to convince me. But I know he had no more interest in life. We all had lost hope in life. One day when I was away, I don’t know where I was because I was drunk, my father shoot my mother and then himself. When I reached home, I saw a suicide letter again. It was jointly signed by my mother and father. Every reason for my existence was finished.

Today is 26th Jan 2010, Our 60th Republic day. I have decided I would drink less today. I don’t know how many more days I have in my life. But, I won’t suicide. I won’t let circumstances rule over me. I’m a strong man, very strong.
There was a loud noise. Neighbour rushed to my room to see what happened. I was lying on floor with a revolver in my hand and blood flowing everywhere. I was dead.
Perhaps, I was not as strong as I thought.

!Perplexed!

I do not understand bullying others to gain,
I do not understand helping friends to cheat
I do not understand taking treat for this,
I do not understand the need for majority
When even one can be right.

I understand the need to protest
When our elders are wrong
I understand the need to help
The downtrodden and the weak
I understand why we do not understand
It’s we who can change
The society, the country and the world.