I AM A JAMMUITE: Zindagi Ka Safar
Mai chalta hoon , chalata hoon aur chala jata hoon,, khan se aya hoon aur khan chalta, chalata ,chala jata hoon, Anil
Anil Kumar Sharma
Life is a journey that begins quietly and moves forward without asking for our permission. Most of us do not remember the day we started this journey. What we remember instead are faint impressions values absorbed at home, habits picked up unknowingly, and lessons learned not through words, but through observation.
I began my journey like many others, surrounded by a family that believed in ethics, discipline, and dignity. Success was never described only in terms of money or position. It was defined by conduct. The legacy of my family did not come in the form of property or privilege, but in the form of values that stayed with me as I grew.
As a young person, I dreamed of becoming successful. But that dream was always tied to ethics. I wanted to move ahead without losing myself. I wanted my work and my life to reflect the upbringing I had received. Those early years shaped the direction of my journey even before I fully realized it.
With time came maturity. There arrived a phase when I had to take my own decisions. I was no longer just following instructions. I was choosing paths. In that phase, I was influenced by many things my seniors at work, my surroundings, and what I had learned from books. Textbooks gave knowledge, but life gave understanding. Both played their role.
What I learned in my personal and professional life, I practiced with sincerity. Slowly, I began sharing those lessons with others. Sometimes it was advice. Sometimes it was guidance. At times, it may even have felt like imposition. But that is how generations move forward. One generation walks, another learns to walk by watching.
As I moved ahead, I realized that life does not move in a straight line. It places challenges before us without warning. There are moments when we feel stuck, when progress seems impossible. At such times, life presents us with what can be called rushing rivers.
When faced with such rivers, we do what we must to survive. We build boats. These boats can be skills, habits, beliefs, positions, relationships, or ways of thinking. At that moment, the boat is necessary. It helps us cross. It protects us. Sometimes, it even saves us.
But the real test comes after the crossing.
Once the river is behind us, fear often takes over. We worry about the future. We fear another river. We doubt our ability to build again. So we hold on to the old boat. We drag it along even when the road ahead no longer needs it.
At first, it feels safe. Later, it becomes tiring. The weight slows us down. The journey becomes difficult. And then, if we are honest with ourselves, we realize that what once helped us is now holding us back.
Life taught me this lesson slowly.
Walking and guiding others, moving forward and leading from the front, I began to sense deeper realities. Nothing in life is permanent. No position, no authority, no identity lasts forever. Everything that is born must one day fade.
This realization is not discouraging. In fact, it is freeing. It teaches us when to hold on and when to let go. It reminds us that progress does not come from carrying everything forward, but from choosing wisely.
We are born with a purpose. That purpose is not only personal success. It is also service. It is about living with a clear way of life and influencing society through conduct rather than words. People may forget what we said, but they remember how we lived.
Our actions become our story. That story becomes the measure by which we are judged. And when our journey reaches its final phase, what matters most is not what we accumulated, but what we passed on.
Legacy is not built by holding on too tightly. It is built by preparing others to walk confidently after us. It lies in values, clarity, and courage handed over to the next generation.
As I look back, I see myself walking, guiding, learning, unlearning, and letting go. Life has been a teacher, sometimes gentle, sometimes firm. And the journey continues with acceptance and humility.
In the end, we all walk the same path. Some walk silently. Some guide others along the way. And one day, without noise or announcement, we move on.
And so, the journey finds its quiet expression in these lines:
मैं चलता हूँ, चलाता हूँ और चला जाता हूँ,
कहाँ से आया हूँ और कहाँ चलता, चलाता, चला जाता हूँ।
I walk, I make others walk, and I move on,
from where I came and where, walking and guiding, I finally go.
About the author:
Anil Kumar Sharma is a retired banker and a reflective writer. He writes on life, values, and lived experience, drawing from personal and professional journeys.
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