With reference to Firdaus’s latest post searching for “life” and its meaning, I think more than ever in the history of mankind, today, we are hard pressed to find ourselves answers to certain questions.

At this juncture when human values, affections, sentiments are being relegated to the backburners of daily attention, people don’t get enough time to sit down and spare a moment pondering their actions and their outcomes.

 Their purpose in life.

Their charted path to something popularly known as ‘Success’.

 Their ultimate goal.

I accept that the pursuit and attainment of Nirvana, liberating one’s mind from the clutches of Vaibhav and cultivating a sense of consolidated contentment seem too very floatingly philosophical to the urbane, ambition-driven youth. They give in hours of daily work; bear the daily drudgery with an inspired zeal and gusto to attain the comfort of luxury money can buy. I do accept their point that living in a consumerist economy where money promises to buy anything and everything the urge to earn more is but natural and competent. But in their single-minded motivation to acquire more they lose sight of what they miss. And that makes for quite a list.

For starters:

Yes, the mobile helps in keeping you in touch with the wide world. But does that empower it to make you loose contact with your inner selves. When have you last given yourself a moment of thoughtful retrospect (almost impossible when most of the times you are alarmed to reality by the new Filmi ring-tone doing the rounds)??

Yes, a trendy car means immense comfort in the sweltering heat and humidity, but, doesn’t it take the contentment of ‘sweating it out’ in a day’s labour and finally coming back in the evening to the warm comfort of family and familiarity.

Yes, e-mails are fast and convenient. But, doesn’t it rob you of the sheer thrill of knowing somebody took some of his/her time off to actually sit down and pen a letter to you. Just for you. And while he/she was carelessly chewing the pen-end, thinking of some teasing jabs or some old account to stir your sagging memory he/she was thinking only about you and ‘you’ alone. On the other hand, the e-mail might have been typed-off as a formality while the sender was busy browsing the net for his recent project.

Times have changed.

And so have we.

Perhaps, it’s the other way round.

Times have changed because we have changed.

Change is the only permanent entity in this universe and inevitable.

But the change within us could be more calibrated.

More gradual.

And most importantly more transitional.

 A life which combines all its sensitive perceptions along with the methodical acceptance of this ravenous revolution that is fast eating into our private space of peace is worth calling a LIFE.

All others are worth calling ‘also-rans’ even if they win the race they are running.