KAL HO NA HO

Bashir is in one of these moods these days, where everything and everyone has been cruel and unfair to him; a hindrance to his success where he can’t do shit about it. So he grieves and bitches incessantly about the sorry state of his existence.
The only reason more than half the humanity on this planet leads a miserable and ‘failed’ life is the extraordinary ability to pity themselves. Once in a while we make an effort to be grateful to God for all that he has bestowed upon us, but for the most part, whenever goes something wrong, we indulge eagerly into our favourite sport; lamenting on our misfortune. To us, we are the most unfortunate thing to ever walk this earth, while everyone around us is lucky as hell, especially those who have succeeded in getting out of this vicious circle and make something out of their life. We reserve special wrath for these ‘lucky’ bastards, and if God were to heed our advice, He would already have unleashed his fury on these sons-of-bitches. Not if that would change the state of our sorry existence.
I’m reminded of this fundamental trait of us ‘higher primates’ because of this memoir I read in US magazine and of course, Bashir. It baffles the mind how some people who have got everything to lose, including life myself, plough on; whereas the rest of us go on bickering on petty matters. Here it is:

IT’S TOO SOON

Life was full of excitement
and memorable moments
Till it took a sharp turn,
and changed everything.
It was hard for Ammi and Daddy to break the tragic news to me. It certainly took immense courage to let their only daughter know that her days with her loving family, in a wonderful world, were numbered.
The word ‘Cancer’ did not take me by surprise. After a zillion medical examinations and biopsies, I was sure that something terrible was coming up. I was declared a cancer patient, suffereing from a deadly disease, called Leukaemia.
The regular treatment began and the time to time moaning that resounded in our house became more regular. Our dreams were shattered and hope died. The gloomy future grew nearer and we had to bring down our living standard because of the extra amount spent on my treatment.Time has passed by in misery and the predicted future has come close to the distance of an inch. It is too soon for it all to end, but it seems that the sooner, the better; as more life would mean more painful therapies, more needles, more awful-tasting medicines, more tears and more false hopes for a miracle.
People look at me with pity and it embarrasses me. Death assures me of its arrival every second as I feel my body rotting away. My family watches me die each day, while they hide their faces and pray for the impossible.At times I feel very let down by the One up there. I live with the fact that my existence is of no worth. Everything has been taken away from me just too early. But who am I to judge the doings of nature. If my life has to end this way then it will, no matter what we do.
All those blessed with a promising future and life out there, thank God for the most precious gift He has given to you and make sure that you make good use of while you have it.
- Sameen Sultan

This appeared three years back, so either Sameen has miraculously survived the killer disease, or (very likely) she has passed away by now. In that case, may Allah rest her soul in peace. Amin.

Read it whenever you’re feeling down in the dumps, and pay heed to her advice, so that she can be satisfied(wherever she is) that her life was worth something.