rangdebasanti

There once was a little boy who had a bad temper. His Father gave him a bag of nails and told him that every time he lost his temper, he must hammer a nail into the back of the fence. The first day the boy had driven 37 nails into the fence. The next day he drove 29 nails into the fence. Over the next few weeks, as he learned to control his anger, the number of nails hammered daily gradually dwindled down. He discovered it was easier to hold his temper than to drive those nails into the fence.

Finally the day came when the boy didn’t lose his temper at all. He told his  father about it and the father suggested that the boy should now pull out one nail for each day that he was able to hold his temper.The days passed and the young boy was finally able to tell his father that all the nails were gone.

The father took his son by the hand and led him to the fence. He said, “You have done well, my son, but look at the holes in the fence. The fence will never be the same. When you say things in anger, they leave a scar just like this one. You can put a knife in a man and draw it out. It won’t matter how many times you say I’m sorry, the wound is still there. “

I am a Chinkara. I am a small Indian male antelope and we have black back, white underbelly, and spiral horns. Antilope cervicapra: This is what the scientists call us and we are also known by the name Sasin. We grow to a maximum height of 55 cm and weigh only around 25 kg. We were once abundant in India but our species are among the rarest of its kind in India. The local Bishnoi community in Rajasthan regard us as religious and hold us in reverence. A decade before you could see our brethren roaming around in open grasslands at free will but due to various factors (both natural and unnatural) we were poached upon and our numbers have dwindled down.

My father was the head of our tribe. He was the most respected, strongest and wisest of all. We generally feed on lush green grass and spring water and we enjoy jumping round in the open lands. We all lead a happy life until the fateful night of 28th September’98. That night changed everything, my life, my mission in life and my outlook towards life.

It was a dark night of autumn with clouds flowing smoothly along the breeze. The herd of chinkaras was enthusiastic and estatic. We all were heading towards the spring near Ghoda farm. As we neared the farm we heard a screeching sound of a vehicle abruptly stopping to a halt behind us. We felt trapped but actually we were. The vehicle on one side and the spring on the other side came between us and the wilderness of the forest. There was no where to go.

Then a good looking guy with no shirts on came out of the vehicle with a hunter's gun. He was accompanied by his body-guard and his driver. I was frightened and I deared my life very much. I looked for my dad, mom and my brothers. My mom was standing near the edge of the spring with my siblings and was calling me back. My dad was no where near her. Then I glanced at the shirtless evil and I froze. My dad was ready to take on the near-bald devil and the next moment my dad jumped at him. We all turned back and ran at our own peril. My dad's bravery and sacrifice gave us enough time to gallop @ the speed of light and hide in a safer place. We would have never known what happened to my dad but for the Bishnois.

The Bishnois heard about my father's sacrifice and they told us how they skinned, roasted and feasted on my dad's body. These Bishnois led the revolution against the poachers and against the merciless killings of chinkaras now an endangered species. After almost 6 years of perseverance and persistance we finnaly succeeded in bringing that man under custody. He was sentenced to 5 years of rigorous imprisonment in jail. I was very much happy and thought 'at last we are safe now'. But my thoughts vanished into thin air when the devil was released on bail. There was a large hue and cry about this but it seems no one’s really bothered who killed my dad who died a heroic death.

It is really important to let certain things go the way it came. Let that pass silently with the stealth of winter breeze. Forget certain events that happened and assume that it never happened. Just do this to release the ghosts of the pasts and to cut loose.

People need to understand that no one is playing with marked cards; sometimes we win and sometimes we lose. Don't expect to get anything back, don't expect recognition for your efforts, and don’t expect your genius to be discovered or your love to be understood. Just give stress on completing the circle. Give as you receive. This should be the way you should look into our life.

Let those things go, not out of pride, inability or arrogance, but simply because whatever it is, it simply no longer fits in your life. Close the door, change the record, clean the house, and get rid of the dust. Stop being who you were and become who you are.

Life will always give you challenges you could have never dreamed of in your wildest imagination, learn to face them and live in the world of reality. There’s only a moments difference between life and death but still all our thoughts, philosophy and knowledge is submerged between these two vital points of time.

A positive approach to life is the only way to live life to the fullest. Erasing fear and creating love and harmony in our hearts should be our prime objective of our lives. This should be the motto of our life” If ever death knocks at your doors then just say it, I will be a little late.”

“YOU LIVE ONLY ONCE BUT IF YOU LIVE RIGHT  ONCE IS ENOUGH"