"You have exactly 90 days to live - you can either choose to mope about your world coming to an end or you can live your whole life thrice over in those" - Boman Irani to Abhishek Bachchan in Bluffmaster.
The context first - the protagonist has only 90 days to live (no not really but don't depend on me to spoil an otherwise eminently watchable film for you!:P) and of his 30 years of existence (we won't call it life), he can clearly count only 30 days as "memorable". Bam. Here's his ticket to 3 more lifetimes!!
Yet again, its bollywood to the rescue - how succinctly a simple dialogue or phrase can just sum up exactly what we had been wanting to, meaning to say..
Fast-forward to reality - it is also personal you see, this need to make the most of each day, experience, interaction, conversation, this need to live like there is no tomorrow..
Death is figurative - we don’t have to die literally to have things come to an end. Things, situations, relationships change and that is the "death" of the way the things are. Ain't it?
Something about my present is dying - I am moving on you see, but something about my future is going beyond the lens of possibilities to the reality of life - yes, I am moving, but towards something bigger, greater, higher than I could have ever imagined possible.
All men and women are born,
Live suffer and die;
What distinguishes us one from another is our dreams,
Whether they be dreams about worldly or unworldly things,
And what we do to make them come about…
We do not choose to be born.
We do not choose our parents.we do not choose our historical epoch,
The country of our birth,
Or the immediate circumstances of our upbringing.
We do not,
Most of us,
Choose to die;
Nor do we choose the time and conditions of our death.
But within this realm of choicelessness,
We do choose how we live.
-Joseph Epstein
Live suffer and die;
What distinguishes us one from another is our dreams,
Whether they be dreams about worldly or unworldly things,
And what we do to make them come about…
We do not choose to be born.
We do not choose our parents.we do not choose our historical epoch,
The country of our birth,
Or the immediate circumstances of our upbringing.
We do not,
Most of us,
Choose to die;
Nor do we choose the time and conditions of our death.
But within this realm of choicelessness,
We do choose how we live.
-Joseph Epstein
Three long years ago, I came to Bombay. Confused but inspired. Somewhere though I lost that awe-struck girl with stars in her eyes. People hung on but I somehow seemed to have lost her in whirlpool of good morning and good night by autowallahs and the building watchman. Beyond "I am fine (read alive) ma", beyond a Sunday grocery shopping list and maggi for dinner when the bai bunked (ok, this was also by choice!:P), beyond a mid-week trip to the mall feeling like a treat and beyond 'open' conversations that never ended, there seemed to be more to life than just the weekend..There seemed to be more to dreams than just being mere possibilities. And I choose to dream again..
This week, I move on, richer in experiences, warmer in friendships, inspired as ever and hopefully, a little less confused...
It is many things that shape who we are, but most importantly, it is the ones we allow to enter the realm of ourselves that shape us the most - the memories we choose to cherish, the people we choose to keep close to our hearts, the opportunities we choose to grab as also the goodbyes we choose to wish against coz they seem to be loaded with finality, and it is against my religious principles (a la Calvin ;P) to believe that anything is permanent, except diamonds maybe!:D
The past few days have been about good-byes, loads of them. The next few days will be about hellos, hopefully loads of them. And it is possible that there are some that may never happen - good-byes as well as hellos, for the circle of life is not a perfect circle - I have learnt that it seems to be more a loop that is moving around the centre but never fully comes back (akin to the parallel grooves depicted here).
Thank you Bombay. For in all the little talks, the fights that may have scarred, the movie marathons (that went beyond one movie just once!), the weekend trips, the gossip cum chai sessions, the late nighters and the many many meals and conversations, I have lived and it is these, the many parts, that sum up to make me what I am today.
You made the present pleasant, the past forgotten and the future worth living for! And this is a good-bye, I choose to wish against! :D
Meow!
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