The Fountain of Youth
Dear Friends,
On 12th September 2011, GLOBAL SINDHI COUNCIL held an Awards Function at Rang Sharda Auditorium, Mumbai, which was presided by two of the towering and leading lights of the community Shri L. K. Advani and Shri Ram Jethmalani. The former is 84 years old and the latter 88.
What immediately strikes one is their energy level, enthusiasm and zeal which puts even 60+ youngsters (by comparison of course) like me to shame. Their never-say -die spirit is truly amazing, and inspiring.
Shri Ram Jethmalani was present in Mumbai the earlier weekend on Saturday 10th September for his birthday celebrations hosted by Sahyog Foundation, which went on till the wee hours. He was back in Delhi to attend a case in the Supreme Court on Monday 12th September, and was back in Mumbai that same evening to attend the programme at Rang Sharda, arriving straight from the airport. The programme and dinner that followed kept him up till well past midnight but he was ready the next morning at 6 a.m. to catch an early morning flight on Tuesday 13th to Delhi. And this hectic schedule is not an exception but the rule – a weekly routine. And then there is the game of badminton every morning if he's not catching an early morning flight!
Shri L. K. Advani, always erect and alert, walking at a pace difficult for people decades younger to maintain, is all set to commence on yet another 'RATH YATRA' against corruption prevailing in the country.
What endurance – what energy – what enthusiasm! What makes them tick?
Shri L. K. Advani in his address at Rang Sharda shared his secret with all of us.
AND WHAT IS THE SECRET? - THE CONTINOUS YEARNING TO LEARN.
He related several instances from his life demonstrating how he has kept this yearning to learn alive. He confided that till the age of 20 he only knew 2 languages – Sindhi and English. His knowledge of HINDUSTANI was nil. But after partition, his migrating to India necessitated his picking up Hindustani to enable him in his RSS activities. He started from scratch and today in his own words his fluency in Hindustani is equal if not greater than Sindhi and English.
On another occasion in the late 80's he noticed someone operating a CASIO DIGITAL DIARY. He was promptly bitten by the technology bug to learn more about it and eventually master it.
Again during the time Narashima Rao was the Prime Minister Shri Advani found himself at a disadvantage when he observed youngsters operating and working on computers. He urged the Prime Minister to initiate classes for senior members of Parliament who were not familiar with the emerging Information Technology and was among the first to enroll; to overcome this lack of knowledge.
AS LONG AS YOU HAVE THE URGE TO LEARN SOMETHING NEW, your brain remains active and old age is kept at bay. THIS THEN IS THE SECRET OF REMAINING YOUNG AND EVERGREEN. I guess here is a lesson for all of us to imbibe and emulate.
With this issue we are commencing a new regular feature 'SINDHI SARMAYO', by Ram Jawhrani, which I am sure will be well appreciated by readers.
The festive season is here once again and here's wishing you dear readers – “A VERY HAPPY AND PROSPEROUS DIWALI & NEW YEAR” – from the Sindhishaan team.
Ranjit Butani