THE REASON TO WORK HARD AND LONG...

 
Pic.: Neerja Panchal

I was watching, a while ago, a video of one the Music-Awards functions. In this, after collecting her Life-time Achievements Award, the legendary singer, Lata Mangeshkarji spoke a few words. She ended appealing to all the luminaries present in that glittering function, that whoever got a Life-time Achievement award, should not stop achieving… that one should continue to work, perform and achieve till one could…

I loved what I had just heard from Lataji. Incidentally, last night, while watching KBC, the journalist and social-cause worker, Mr. Sumit Awasthi (who was assisting on the Hot Seat, 30-year-old Jonson Filem, an unfortunate victim of crossfire in Manipur insurgency, which had left Jonson paralyzed waist-down) had asked Mr. Bachchan this question: “Sir, I have heard that your eating habits are confined to just daal-roti… that you hardly sleep at night… I read your Blogs and Tweets which you post when everyone else is sleeping… You write in your Blogs, ‘It is 4 now and I will try to catch some sleep…’ At this age, you are busier than the youngest stars in the Industry… But, sir, tell me, why do you tax your body so much… If daal-roti is all you need, why slog so much and so long?”

I have rephrased, here, Mr. Awasthi’s question in my own words.

And, the answer given by the ever-humble Amitabh Bachchan left me, once again, inspired: “I think, we all should keep working, do some productive work, as long as our body allows us to. When we work productively, the body and mind both remain active and healthy.”

Once again, I have rephrased Mr. Bachchan’s answer in my own words…

Both the Legends – Lataji and Bachchanji – have believed in working, performing, contributing to the best of their capacities even at their prime ages. They haven’t allowed their body to become sluggish… mind to give up.

Just in the afternoon, yesterday, someone had asked me a similar question: “Are you not tired after almost thirty-five years of teaching the same thing? Why can’t you go slow, now?”

I am just 56, and the question was there right before me!

Yes, as they say, “How old is really old?”

Age is always in our minds… The day we say, 'We can’t'… we won’t.

I am happy I watched the KBC show, last night… and, this video, today morning.

GERALD D’CUNHA