Fleeting moments turn lessons for a lifetime
Ifell down, got up and dusted my knees for the third time, and smiled back at my father. That was precisely when he took the photo. Holding it in my hand after all these years brings that smile back again. I was trying to learn to ride the bicycle. In fact, I was learning the biggest lesson of life: Learning to balance and getting back after a fall.
It’s wonderful how photos capture emotions and feelings, freezing them for life.
As I flipped through the album, my fingers lingered along another picture that has made me stop every single time. A little girl, that’s me, is sitting on a chair with a big pink turban on the head. It was my grandfather’s turban and I was posing like a queen. It makes me laugh hard when I see it as a grown-up. But did that little girl understand the symbolism? I bet not. There was a powerful lesson that I was taught gradually as a kid. Grandfather was indeed a progressive man and would say: “It doesn’t matter what your gender is, what matters is how you honour your turban.”
Years rolled by, and there came my wedding album. I’m smiling through all the pictures. Even during my ‘madhania’ moment. How is it you didn’t cry during your ‘vidaai’? Some friends and family were pleasantly surprised. I would answer, “Why? Nobody was dead!”
It depends how you look at it. I was embarking on a new phase in life, and starting it with tears wouldn’t be the last thing I would’ve done. Those moments captured in the photos have left a happy impression on my mind and a lesson reassured. Whenever you begin a journey, career or life, begin it with all your heart; let fate take care of the rest.
Yet, years later when I became a mother and now when my daughter scrolls my phone gallery, full of her pictures, she hugs and cuddles me on seeing them. There are pictures of her dancing, posing, celebrating, and playing pranks. I find the whole joy of the world captured in the photos. They too remind me of a lesson, that pure love transcends you to your happy place – to your best version.
Before I close the album, there are many more blank pages to be filled with love, laughter and happiness. As I look ahead, I’m amazed at how these pictures turn a fleeting moment into a memory for a lifetime that not only provides an immediate connect but also serves as pearls of wisdom gathered as life rolls on.
GRANDFATHER WAS INDEED A PROGRESSIVE MAN AND WOULD SAY: “IT DOESN’T MATTER WHAT YOUR GENDER IS, WHAT MATTERS IS HOW YOU HONOUR YOUR TURBAN.”