The Twenty Third Year

Behold ! A poem which a lot of us will relate to at this point of time in life!

On His Being Arrived to the Age of Twenty-Three
by John Milton


(1631)




HOW soon hath Time, the subtle thief of youth,
Stolen on his wing my three and twentieth year!
My hasting days fly on with full career,
But my late spring no bud or blossom shew’th.
Perhaps my semblance might deceive the truth,
That I to manhood am arrived so near,
And inward ripeness doth much less appear,
That some more timely-happy spirits indu’th.
Yet be it less or more, or soon or slow,
It shall be still in strictest measure even
To that same lot, however mean or high,
Toward which Time leads me, and the will of Heaven,
All is, if I have grace to use it so,
As ever in my great Task-master’s eye

Roots

Closing in with yet another year of madness, growth, progress and thankfully measurable results for a change, I look back at my roots and see the distance growing. The distance between my roots and I has created a great magnetism between the two, as distance always does.

I see spiritualism, happiness and fulfillment in my roots. I remember my paternal grandparents and the values they imparted to me from when I was very young. I miss them.

What sounded like just another Sindhi song to me a few years back, now seems like a binding force of so many Sindhi families to believe in themselves, their culture and each other in adversity.

Every Sindhi person proclaims, "Jhulelal Bedapaar" but how many of us know the legend of Jhulelal? How many of us know that Jhulelal was only his nickname? His true name was Udaichand.

Whatever it is, I have realised that there comes a calling which takes you to your roots, whether you believe in it right now or not. There is no running away. So heavy is the influence of culture and upbringing that it tags along wherever you are and whatever you wish to be.

I never thought I would say this because I never experienced the belongingness. But now that I do, I am proud to be a Sindhi.

Cheers!