By Pradeep A. Shah, Chartered Accountant
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Dharampur is one of the largest districts of Gujarat. It lies east of Vapi and Balsar. It is one of the most backward regions of Gujarat, and is basically inhabited by the adivasis. Most of it is hilly area and once upon a time ,it was thickly forested. However, now a good amount of forest cover has disappeared by indiscriminate tree felling. There are a number of NGOS run by devoted people, which are doing excellent work for the upliftment of the advasis. We visit Dharampur a few times a year, to do our bit and give a helping hand in this work.
On our last visit, two young articled students from my office expressed their desire to come with us. I cautioned them that it was not a pleasure trip or a picnic. The visit would be hot and tiring. Yet they insisted and I am glad that they came. To my utter surprise and delight, both these young men, though not Gujarati speaking, were completely at ease with the adivasi children. They played and sang with the children, even carried them, and had great fun with them. They were happy with the kids, and the kids were happy with them. My faith in the younger generation got reaffirmed.
I also learned something valuable. One of my articled students made an interesting comment. He said that he would like to commence serving the poor when he was 40. The elder person asked “What if you do not reach 40?” Our young friend decided there and then, that good work cannot wait for tomorrow. What if tomorrow never comes? He has started contributing 50% of his stipend to assist the deserving and needy poor.
This incident took me several years back in time. I remembered a quotation in Gujarati by Father Vallace who, though Spanish by birth, a Roman Catholic and (then) a mathematics professor at St. Xavier’s College, Ahmedabad had mastered the Gujarati language and was also a renowned Gujarat author. He said:
“Tomorrow is the grave of many a heart’s noblest dreams”.
According to him ‘I will do it tomorrow ‘ is a polite way of saying “I will not do it”.
There are two things that can happen when we plan to do something tomorrow. Either tomorrow gets postponed and never comes, or we ourselves may not be there tomorrow! In either case, the work remains undone.
I was speaking at a Rotary club meeting on “Giving”. A gentleman sitting in the very front row expressed his desire to donate Rs. 1 crore. I was elated. Two days later, I was shocked to see his photograph in the obituary column. His “tomorrow” never came! I learned my lesson. The Message is: ’Do not procrastinate’. Tomorrow, like income tax, refund may never come. “tomorrow” never came! I learnt my lesson.
Friends, the worst regret we have in life is not for the wrong things we did, but for the right things we did not do.
The message I am attempting to convey by saying ‘tomorrow never comes’ is not only about ‘giving’ but also about a hundred and one things , which we go on postponing. For example, it may be reading a book, phoning a friend, calling on a sick relative, visiting our aged parents, learning something new, taking a vacation, playing with our children, or sitting by the sea shore watching the waves, admiring a sunrise, gazing at the stars and even, sometimes doing nothing. Let us live like a samurai as if each day is our last one. I conclude by quoting from a Hemant Kumar song:
It was Mark Twain who said,
So friends, let us learn to live today; for tomorrow may never come.
“Life is not about waiting for the storm to pass.
It is about learning to dance in the rain”.
