I AM A JAMMUITE: The Journey of Life
Har manzil ka apna ek ehsaas raha,
Har safar apne saath kuch vishesh raha.
Aakhir ruk kar dekha to samajh aaya,
Ki zindagi bhar insaan hi insaan ke kaam aaya.
Anil Kumar Kumar
A little pain, a little pleasure,
A little heaping up of treasure.
Then no more gazing upon the sun
All things must end that have begun.
— John Payne
Life is exactly this, a journey of phases stitched together by time. From the first cry of birth to the quiet sigh of old age, every stage carries its own meaning, its own beauty, and its own price.
Life begins with the birth of a pure and positive soul, a fresh breath of hope. The perseverance and patience of the mother nurture this tiny life, while the caring hands of the father and the joy of family and friends welcome a new phase of existence. A phase that has to grow with time, learn, evolve, and discover itself.
Childhood arrives quietly, like sunshine through a window. From crawling to walking, from murmuring sounds to the language of the world, the child begins to observe, absorb and question. Curiosity becomes the engine of life. Dreams start forming, dreams of a world that is gentle and fair, where caste, creed and religion remain in the background and humanity stays in the foreground.
Adolescence then blooms suddenly, with its spark of ambition and the desire for identity. The young soul tries to understand its surroundings, where it belongs, and how it must grow. The definitions of society, caste, creed, religion, nationality, begin to shape our understanding of the world, sometimes gently, sometimes harshly, yet inevitably.
Adulthood teaches us to live in the present. Dreams are no longer distant, they become a responsibility of today. With the companionship of a life partner, choices become shared. It feels like a doubles match on a tennis court, when one moves to smash, the other rushes to the net; when one struggles, the other holds the ground. Pulls, pressures, compromises and sacrifices quietly pave the path toward success, not of one, but of both.
Slowly, without even noticing, we enter middle age. Life becomes a mirror. Whatever we have achieved becomes a celebration, and what we have ignored stands before us as a quiet regret. Middle age teaches that success is not only what we gain, but also what we protect, relationships, values, health, ethics, inner peace. And it reminds us that what we overlooked often costs more than what we lost.
Then life enters its later years, softly, without fanfare. The rush of achievement fades, and in its place rises a gentle longing for the moments that built us. Memories become companions, some warming the heart, some bringing a mist to the eyes. The laughter of children, the support of a partner, the warmth of friendships, the victories, the mistakes, the apologies we offered and the ones we never could, everything returns as a soft echo of time.
This is when we realize that love mattered more than success, presence more than promises, and moments more than milestones. We look at the faces around us and silently pray that they never feel the loneliness we once felt and always feel the love we once received. We hold the hands of the next generation and whisper, preserve relationships, for they are the only true wealth you will carry till the end. Tears and smiles together become our language, and gratitude becomes our final faith.
Birth and death are destined by the Almighty, programmed perfectly in His software. But everything in between is what we attempt to script. The life we live becomes a reflection of the thoughts we carry. Joy and suffering are not just events, but interpretations, the way we choose to understand life. It is unfair to measure our journey only by material or financial achievements. At the end, acceptance, peace, gratitude and reflection are the true themes of life.
God is great, and we must receive whatever He gives us with folded hands and deep gratitude, without trying to interfere with His design. Nature also signals when it is time to detach. Teeth begin to decay, reminding us not to chew too much of the world. Vision becomes farsighted, perhaps so that we no longer examine life too closely, for the actions of the new generation may disturb our peace. Hearing weakens, not as punishment, but as protection from noise, propaganda and unnecessary disturbances.
These are not losses. They are gentle divine signals, preparing the body to withdraw and gracefully liberating the soul from the grip of nature.
Har manzil ka apna ek ehsaas raha,
Har safar apne saath kuch vishesh raha.
Aakhir ruk kar dekha to samajh aaya,
Ki zindagi bhar insaan hi insaan ke kaam aaya.
(Every destination carried its own feeling,
Every journey held something special within it.
And when I finally paused to look back, I realised
Through all of life, it is only humans who truly serve one another.)
(STRAIGHT TALK COMMUNICATIONS EXCLUSIVE)
