Hi friends ,

I do not have an agenda today. It’s not about any go getter nor does the post talk about any motivational aspect. It’s not about fiction or poem .Today it is just me speaking my heart out and may be in the process I will feel a bit lighter , given the fact that till the moment I do not put out my thoughts, I feel restless and unsettled.

Today was a mundane day with it’s not so great happenings. But it did feel heavy at many points. Well, I have been experiencing since yesterday night! Reason? Nothing specific ! But as far as I can remember, I started feeling a little chaotic after knowing about the sad demise of this brave soul, who lost his battle to the dreaded disease , Cancer! Yes, I am talking about Mr. Gaurav Provir Pramanik. The one who trended on twitter (Suo motto) after he left this place where we experience life ! No , I am not connected by blood . There isn’t any patient at home ( by God’s grace ) as of now that I can connect with his ailment as well. But still , I felt an emotion , a feeling of loss , a sense of emptiness when I suddenly discovered about this tragic news. This post is neither to introduce Mr. Pramanik nor to sympathize the loss . Because I do not think I am the right person to talk about him. As simple as that.The point is, a complete stranger and his life affected me to a certain extent and it was quite deep . And the outpour of love, kindness, the grief that flooded the social media did affect me as well, like many of us . I kept turning and tossing in my bed trying to push off many thoughts that kept coming back in my head.

So here I am penning down my emotions and may be trying to understand life a little better. This young gentleman and I must confess what a handsome personality he was with his unique and witty sense of humor, his immense strength to call a spade a spade, his courage to look into the eyes of adversity , his eagerness for designer clothes while undergoing chemotherapy sessions , his charm while donning those painted nails , his unique swag, his beautiful smile , his advocacy for the LGBT community, his sarcasm or even his interest in culinary varieties. Many, many other aspects made him a known face among the social media. If you know him , you know him or you can always find out. I won’t be highlighting those aspects here. My only point is the unknown bond that made us all come together and grieve this loss is something to ponder upon. What was it that made us react in the manner that we did? Was it because , we saw the real fight one put up to live his life through the ailment that kept testing his indomitable spirit every single moment, or was it because he , without any inhibition narrated to us his pain, pleasure, faith, happiness, little moments of joy that he experienced or even the complaints about something that might seem very trivial like leg space unavailability in the flights ? Was it because we could see someone’s life unfold in front of us, that made us feel for him? There is no specific answer, as many must have different reasons for that matter. An absence of any specific reason can also be a possibility.

However, the only feeling that kept bothering me was how easily we take things for granted! We always think we have time, when the reality is something else!We don’t love our loved ones enough, we don’t see the blessings that we have already in life, we don’t confess our feelings as we often should, we don’t think twice before hurting someone either in family or in professional space for that split second feeling of feeding our false ego! How wonderful would it be to live life to the fullest, be grateful for what we have, to empathize with others even if we can not always see what they go through, to express love and gratitude ( as much as we can)to our own family, friends or any important relationship that we forge along the way ( most importantly when we have them with us ) , to wish each other well, and may be strive a little harder towards that idealistic world of “Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam “, even if it feels a like a distant dream !

I offer my condolences to the brave soul and wish his family the strength to cope with this irreparable loss . Rest in Peace and in Pride, Gaurav !

PS : I have not used any pictures of Gaurav , because I don’t have the permission for the same and there is no possibility now !

Regards,

Chinmayee