The Price Tag!

That day I was watching “The Flintstones”, a very cute but highly creative portrayal of modern day concerns during Stone Age, where Wilma and Betty have money to buy food, clothing, shelter and leisure. But then I was wondering, what a peaceful life it must have been for our Stone Age ancestors. No money hence no need to ‘buy’ their necessities. Moreover the term ‘buy’ wouldn’t have existed. Their needs were small and basic, and to fulfil them they started a ‘give-n-take’ system – The Barter System. What a pleasant way of living! A farmer giving food (grains) to a hunter and getting clothing (animal skin) in return. You give things and you get things. Suddenly, metals were discovered and the barter system slowly gave way to money; initially as coins and later paper currency, as we know it today.

With the advancement in technology, man’s needs started increasing and apart from food, clothing and shelter, money became an inseparable part of man’s life. And today, a man’s social status merely depends on his bank balance. Only few rise above to service the society selflessly. The barter system still goes on, and now everything is exchanged with money. It’s said there are somethings, money can’t buy. But today almost everything comes with a price tag. It so happens that now if we want to gift a friend on his birthday or wedding, we somewhere look down to our pockets. We pay money for all our needs. It’s human nature to work for money, so that he can at least satisfy his family’s needs. But, there are certain aspects or needs which can’t be priced in monetary terms; most important being Emotions. Emotions – happiness, success, love. The price of such emotions, I think is related to sacrifice. And as the barter system goes along, to get something, a sacrifice should be made. Sacrifice – in terms of money of course but the hidden ones are distance, time and life.

With increasing awareness about importance of education and job opportunities, people are ready to migrate away from their native place. It has almost become a necessity, if one wants to improve his standard of living. The person migrating surely expands his horizon, increases his potential and attains a sound financial position. The bonding between his family and him get stronger. But at the end he stays physically disconnected from his family. That’s the price he has to pay in return to his achievements. One example is of a hostel student. The student gains a lot of knowledge and becomes near to perfect in his area of expertise. But he truly misses his home; the love, comfort and warmth showered by his family. The knowledge and expertise are definitely of importance to the student and at some point to his family also, but he has to sacrifice his home and family, though only for a short period.

It is said time is money. Indeed time is very precious; once gone never returns. Again if we take our student lives, we all have worked hard to score a good rank in respective competitive exams. Soon after our XII standard, we dreamt of engineering or medical or commerce entrance exams and studied to the best of our capabilities. Some succeeded; some didn’t. Again, during graduation we dreamt of post-graduation, studied and again some succeeded, some didn’t. And if we don’t succeed, some of us decide to give it another shot. We take a year’s drop, consoling ourselves that there’s always another opportunity. But forget that the same opportunity never knocks twice. While taking a drop, we sacrifice one full year at a crucial point in our lives. The point where we should be supporting our families, standing on our feet or pursuing higher education; we end up doing nothing but studying for the second attempt. Now, this price can only be paid back by scoring good ranks, achieving success and silencing critics. Again some make their sacrifice worth, some take more time. And we start thinking of another years drop, studying and aiming for a better result. One option here is to accept whatever is coming our way and move forward. Now if we move forward by accepting our ways, then what was wrong in the first attempt? Hence, the only way to bear the cost of time lost is to make fruitful and judicious use of time in hand.

I was reading an article on ‘Death’ written by one of my friends, where he rightly says that death is the ultimate end for a person. Slowly and steadily, we progress towards the dead end. In addition, I also feel that everyone is born for a purpose. The average life expectancy of a person is around 67 years. But what if a person dies before this average, say at the age of 24? Soldiers lay their lives without thinking a bit, so that their mother country stands tall. Hats off to them! We call their death as a sacrifice for the nation. But what if a common man dies; we say it’s his fate, or an untimely death. Isn’t it a sacrifice for his family? Isn’t the family losing someone very dear? Can this sacrifice be ever paid back? The answer is NO. The only way to honour this sacrifice is to understand the purpose of the sacrifice and if not fulfilled proceed towards fulfilling it.

One of the 7 Wonders of the World, The Taj Mahal, a beautiful masterpiece and a symbol of true love, also has a price tag associated with it; the price being the life of Begum Mumtaz, wife of Emperor Shah Jahan. Shah Jahan ordered the creation of Taj Mahal only when his wife died. Had he done it while she was alive, it would have surely been a wonderful structure depicting love to be cherished by Mumtaz throughout her lifetime. What’s the use of building such a fine monument when the very person for whom it was built was not alive? But then the purpose of Mumtaz’s sacrifice was to establish the purity of true love in the world. And so the purpose was fulfilled by creating Taj Mahal.

I read a similar story, happens to be a true story, where the sacrifice of the mother happens to be a positive turning point for her family. It goes as follows: There was a widow living happily with her family. The lady had a son, married and with kids. The son was a business man; with a small business just enough to support his family. The mother, due to old age, developed heart problems. With whatever he had, the son took great care of his mother; taking her for regular check-up, getting her medicines and keeping her as happy as possible. His wife and kids too took great care of the lady. The kids were more emotionally attached to the lady and vice-versa. Seeing the family circumstances, the lady used to get upset. One day she had a heart-attack, so severe that she failed. The son and his family deeply grieved her loss. They worshipped her as though she was alive and was somewhere around them. Soon after, the family business blossomed, the indoor scene of the family changed, the kids excelled in all their endeavours. They all believed that it was their mother who was supporting them from behind. Her life gave them a new motivation to work harder and harder.

I believe that one way to achieve greater heights is to keep our heart as judge of our acts and try to be truthful to the heart. If the heart finds an act of ours guilty, it’s price needs to be paid; if not to someone else then to ourselves. A true sacrifice never goes in vain. So what if we take a drop and lose time? So what if we lose someone very dear to us? Or we ourselves sacrifice our lives for someone? It always gets re-paid by some good thing happening to us or our family. But, we should be careful enough. The time in hand should be fruitfully utilised so that the price of a drop for further studies is paid back with interest by getting excellent grades. The price of our dear one’s sacrifice can only be fulfilled if the purpose of their existence and sacrifice is identified and fulfilled. Otherwise, it’s just a waste. Their sacrifice is a waste.

By:
My Name is Khan

C/o Rang De Basanti,
Lakshya Marg,
Mother India