“Every second is a chance to turn your life around”

Death is an eternal truth, that all of us dread, are well aware of, but seldom take seriously. Had we taken it seriously, we’d never postpone our dreams, passions and heart-felt wishes for an unseen tomorrow that may never come. Sad but true, we all are culprits of this cardinal sin.

A few years back when I stood face to face with death having suffered a massive cardiac arrest, I had secretly pledged to live each day of my life as if it was last. Though I can proudly say I have managed to stand by my pledge and ticked off a large number of items from my bucket list, there still are three major ones lying pending.

“There’s still lot to be done, let’s not lose sight.”

1. Write a cook book: As a child I always wanted to write a book. This dream slowly took a back seat when my love for cooking took over. The close contention of my love for writing and cooking recently gifted me a new dream of adding the best of both worlds in a cookbook. I am not looking for compiling any fancy recipes, but the ones whose simplicity steals hearts, whose heartwarming taste spins fond memories. Food and stories that stay etched in hearts and not be left in the leaves of a book.

2. Explore and capture the unseen: I want to travel with my family around the world. Exploring the unseen, untouched beauty of the meadows, beaches and mountain peaks, far from the hustle bustle of life. I don’t wish to visit the tourist hot-spots, but the distant, scenic locations where in the beautiful lap of nature, peace prevails. The terrains, gorges, the wildlife, the distant corners of the world where I could capture the untouched serenity of life in my lens. I want to tell a million stories through my photography, but not alone. With my family.

3. Conquer my fear of heights: I want to scale heights like I never have. Beat the fear to rise so high from where I can look at life with a renewed perspective. Climb to a height from where the world in its full glory lies before my eyes and in my heart I can be proud of having defeated the fear that has kept the adventurer in me grounded for so long. I want to feel the rare air make my lungs panic, my heart race like never before and my mind feel the swell of having conquered yet another fear.

I am a person with limited aspirations. I wish to achieve them all today because life isn’t always so gracious to gift us a second chance if we let this one slip by.

The song on my mind: Kal Ho Na Ho (Title track)