Squadron Leader Anil Sehgal
Tum khauf-o-khatar se dar-guzro
Jo hona hai so hona hai
Gar hansna hai to hansna hai
Gar Rona hai to Rona hai
Tum apni karni kar guzro
Jo hoga dekha jayega
( You better set aside all your fears
Worry not about the dangers you may face
Whatever has to happen, shall happen
If fated to laugh, you will laugh
If fated to cry, you will cry
Just perform the tasks allotted to you
You shall cross the river as you arrive )
These lines are from renowned Urdu poet Faiz Ahmed Faiz. They charge you to act. What is inherent in them is this : deliberate well before you arrive at a decision to act.
But, once you have come to a well thought of decision, don’t become a victim of procrastination, don’t waste time in rethinking or over thinking. Just act with all your might, and do act fast. Remember, time is of great essence in all our actions. Haven’t we heard that a “stitch in time saves nine” !
Jammu Jottings
Many thoughts are crossing my mind as I write these lines. I am an avid thinker by nature. I keep thinking all the time. I think of environment around me, the people I know, the political and social scenarios around us. I think about those who came into my life and sought my help and guidance, which they received in abundance. Then, they left, never to return.
Some entered my personal sphere uninvited. They even harmed me for no valid reason I could think of. They left as slyly as they came, after inflicting the harm. Somehow, I had to accept the resultant suffering and loss.
Most importantly, I think of those who came into my life, and, without my asking, helped me out of their own volition and vanished into the thin air, even before I could utter a simple ‘thank you’ !
This habit of constant thinking many times leads us to delayed action, and, unwillingly, we become victims of procrastination, which means delaying or postponing. The only time procrastination helps is when we are angry and greatly upset. In such a situations, we must not rust to retaliate That is the time, we need to think ten times before we act.
Let me illustrate with a few real life incidents where procrastination has made the matters worse.
A few years ago, a young girl sent a WhatsApp message to our daughter, a well known actor. She said she is the daughter of Wing Commander Vinod Kumar Dutt who has worked with me in the Indian Air Force. She said her father would like to re-connect with me.
Way back in the seventies, this officer served with me for about four years, when we both were stationed at Air Force Station, Hindon, located between Delhi and Ghaziabad. We had great mutual affection for each other. After retirement, he had settled in Delhi. When I was posted at Delhi after a few years we had reconnected, once again
As luck would have it, I was to visit Delhi after a very short time and thought of giving him a surprise visit then, in place of a mere phone call now. This, I knew, would please him immensely.
This visit to Delhi, somehow, got postponed. Thereafter, I got busy with my corporate responsibilities of being the legal head of a public limited company, the largest conglomerate of film production in Asia. I eventually forgot to get in touch with him.
Sometime later I visited Delhi and called him up. The call was picked up by his wife who said Vinod had died of a cardiac arrest three months ago……
This event shocked me to no ends and I invariably curse myself for not connecting with him immediately after I got his phone number. I had thought I will surprise Vinod Sir, but life had other plans ; it surprised me instead.
A similar experience came my way when I learnt from a Facebook post that spouse of a college mate was struggling for life in a hospital in my home town Jammu. She was on a life support system, admitted in the intensive care unit.
I felt I should call him up and speak to him. I should enquire about her condition, and offer a few words of solace, telling him to have faith in miracles….
It was thick of winter and almost past mid- night as I read the post and deliberated whether to call him at this late hour or not. I had not been in touch with this batch mate for years. I was aware he never had much goodwill and affection for me that we usually expect from college mates, during our student life.
Putting all these aside, I had a fervent desire to call him in this hour of great personal strife and stress, although I had never met the lady.
But, expecting an eventual cold response from him, I thought I should wait till the morning and then call him.
I waited for the morning; but the morning did not wait for me. Next morning I learnt she had peacefully moved to the world beyond during that night.
Here is yet another incident I would like to share with you. It brings out how regret may haunt us for the actions we intended to perform but never did.
Noted Urdu poet Maikash Kashmiri had many blessings for Seema Anil Sehgal and I. Like a family elder. He was a Jammuite who loved the city dearly. His only son was a Colonel in the Indian Army. After retirement, Colonel Sanjeev settled at Navi Mumbai.
Sometime in December 2005, Maikash sahib visited his son. He called us up and said he wanted to look us up. I offered to fetch him. I requested him to stay with us for a few days. He told me he would manage to come on his own. He never did.
Time is cruel, they say. It spares no one. Many times, it plays a spoilsport, in our cherished plans. Maikash sahib was indisposed for a short time, and before you could say Jack Robinson, he departed to the next world.
Later, it transpired that Maikash sahib had reminded his son many times to take him to us. Sanjeev kept postponing his plans to bring his father to us. The hapless poet was crestfallen, disheartened and disappointed.
Sanjeev must have had his own compulsions to keep postponing fulfilment of the most simple wish of his father, which, in any case, was nothing big to realise. At the least, he could have easily arranged a taxi for his father. But, no, this soldier suffered a serious attack of procrastination, which he failed to surmount.
After the sudden illness and demise of Maikash, his son was full of remorse. He suffered guilt pangs. An intense feeling of guilt troubled him that he could not fulfill the last wish of his father, which was to visit us.
Sanjeev Kaul came home and sought our help that could give him freedom from his guilty conscience. He wanted to publish the poetry of his late father as an act of atonement.
Seema accepted the request and agreed to work out a music album for the late poet who had so much affection for her.
Lesson learnt from these real life happenings is that procrastination is a double-edged weapon. Undue delay can be very damaging. But, time taken for unbiased deliberations can save us from many ugly situations and regrets in life. Procrastination is of immense value when you are angry and worked-up.
If you have something worth saying, just say it in the best possible manner. If you have something good to do, please do it without wasting time. Life is too short. But, if you have something harsh to say or anything bad to do, by all means, wait and think before you act.
“Vivek” is a very meaningful word in Sanskrit. It means discrimination in English. Discrimination means the “quality or power of finely distinguishing” between right and wrong, between good and not so good. This should be our guiding factor. Discrimination brings to us a crystal clear thinking and judicious assessment of the situations that unfold before us.
Now, each day, I deliberate on the life in real terms and try not to procrastinate unduly. I do ask for discrimination in all my prayers.
Follow our WhatsApp channel