An Ode to Life

This Thursday, Kaun Banega Crorepati had two ‘special’ guests – Rukhsana Kausar (from Rajouri, Kashmir) and Stanzin Youtso (from Leh, Ladakh). There was something so heart-whelming about both these ladies that I was forced to think, and write, about them. Two individuals cannot be more dissimilar, as far as appearances are concerned – Rukhsana was sort of lost, shy, and not sure of the happenings around her; while Stanzin was pretty, suave and confident. But once one looks beneath the outer appearance, a strange, but basic, similarity emerges.

Rukhsana had been a news-maker two years ago, when she single-handedly killed one terrorist and wounded another after three terrorists attacked her house at Rajouri. On the other hand, Stanzin had lost all her family in the Leh cloudburst. It is their reaction to the calamity befallen on them which strikes one’s heart, and also rekindles hope about life and mankind.

What really impressed me about both these ladies was the character they have displayed after the incidents which changed their lives forever. In Rukhsana, one could clearly see the pain of a part of life lost in the shadows of terrorism, and also apprehension about future (there is an award of ` 6 lacs on her head announced by terrorists) – but there was no regret about her actions on that fateful night. That petite girl seemed lost in the glare and glamour of a television show, but the only thing about which she seemed sure was that her actions had been right, irrespective of the consequences, and she is going to re-build her life along with her family.

Stanzin presented a different picture. She, unlike Rukhsana, was awed neither by the glare of cameras nor by the presence of Mr Bachchan. She was confident, even playful, and discussed about her favourite songs and actors. But nowhere did it appear that she had forgotten the tragedy of Leh, in which she had lost her parents and siblings. Her eyes reflected the pain she had suffered (and is still suffering). But she was continuing with life – not by ignoring those painful memories, but to give all the due respect to them.

Those two have shown us that life can be difficult, but one has to take those difficulties in one’s stride and continue on. And that it does not take a hero to fight the vagaries of life; even the common man has the ability to do it. And that bad phases in life are neither to be wished away nor forgotten; one has to treat them as integral part of life, and try to build the future on the memories of such phases.

Both of them had reminded me of the true meaning of life. I salute both of you, as I salute life…