Life’s Options

The Mumbai Carnage has brought us to cross roads, where one road leads to a life we have been living so far, content in our own happiness, our family and friends, but on the other side now, is a road that leads to freedom. The road long neglected, the road not even seen earlier by many of us.
But there are always people who have seen that road and chosen to traverse that road. A flashback to history and we see young blood like Bismil, Bhagat Singh, Azad who all could have lived the life that everyone did- earn for yourself, have family and die. They did die but not the on the path well travelled. They created their own road and their own methods of working. They did not have any support but still their passion and unity was what kept them going.
As Ram Prasad Bismil puts it,
“ham bhii aaraam uthaa sakte the ghar par rah kar
ham bhii maa.n baap ke paale the, bade duhkh sah kar
vaqt-e-rukhsat unhe.n itnaa bhii na aaye kah kar
god me.n aa.nsoo jo Tapke kabhii ruKh se bah kar
tifl unko hii samajh lenaa ji bahlaane ko”

Now let us come back to present and we see India reeling under the pressure of terror. Every day so many soldiers die in the terror strikes in Kashmir and North East. Why does it always need a Mumbai or a Delhi to wake us up? Why those who sacrifice their lives in Kashmir are never remembered? Why they do not get any mention, let alone a state honour?
It is all too easy for us to say that it is their duty and they know they are going to die when they join the armed forces. Of course they know about it only too well. But still they choose that path as they have the passion to serve the nation, to neglect their own families in order to save ours. They are content with the fact that instead of living and dying a un meaningful life, their sacrifice will help to expel their enemies from the country.
The common man always accepts the problems and continues to live their life. But then there are people like our soldiers who ‘Do not accept it and do not continue with their lives’
The choice is yours as the life is yours, one is to live for you and another is to just let yourself flow in the service of nation. It is not necessary to be a soldier, but it is important to dedicate your life to the country. It is not an easy choice as it most certainly makes you different from the society. You may be called a lunatic or a fanatic. You might lose your friends but what you gain surpasses everything; the joy, the satisfaction and the passion of serving your motherland is a dream which only few can even dream of.
The choice is yours as the life is yours...................

Submitted by Devdeep Ahuja