‘March on, you will conquer.,- These are the words on the cover page of my school autograph book. I don’t know why that motivates me now. But I know that the words of my favourite teacher from this book are the ones that I should carve in my soul. It goes like this:
“There will be joys and sorrows in life. May God bless you to face both equally and have a successful life!”
It was a fine morning as far as the Earth is concerned. But for me, I was busy packing up everything as part of shifting to my hometown after more than four years of suspenseful living in Trivandrum- under the blessings of Sree Padmanabhaswamy. My mother who is a police officer had been posted at the temple as part of temple security and now she has to return to her cadre due to a promotion transfer.
The four years as mentioned surely must have been life turning for each and every person around the world. That might be even more accurate to Keralites especially because of the recovery the state had been trying to make after the devastating floods of 2018 and the sudden breakout of COVID-19 in the years that followed.
Apart from the storms and the pandemic that wreaked havoc in everyone’s lives, I also had to endure several storms and pandemics that were equally devastating in my life as well.
As a literature student and voracious reader, I have a good collection of books and I value them more than any other material possessions I have. So, when I was sorting my books as part of packing up, I noticed this gem once again standing straight in the book shelf staring at me.
The last time I went through the autograph book was when I was sorting the book on the bookshelf while starting to live here. Back then, I never valued it like I do so now.
As a very private person, I have the habit of keeping things I once valued, with me with the same value as long as I could. I believe that one day they might turn out to be useful again just like the people who stay with us in tough times. Most of the time this belief has turned out to be true in my case and the autograph book is no exception.
As I read through each word my friends had written in this masterpiece, I realised how much they valued me as a friend and I felt grateful for that. Some pages made me laugh, while some made me shed a few drops of tears. Some took me back to those old days when I was a totally different person untouched by the harsh storms and pandemics in life.
As life was progressing, there were times when looking back meant staring into the eyes of Death. Everything has been changing ever since I ended up near my Lord’s feet and is still changing. But I believe it’s for the best. It’s not overconfidence. It is trust. The trust that the same force that brought me here has better plans and paths for me to follow. That force is the only One who ever had the wealth of having my trust.
Now, after reading the lines of my ‘great authors’ I feel that returning is not looking back at Death again. It’s looking forward and moving on with more courage and confidence.
Still, I can’t help but wonder whether the kids in today’s technical and mechanical world follow the tradition of writing autographs. If they don’t, I strongly recommend it. Past has its colours and every book has its ways!
Mega Meraki 