Thursday, October 1, 2009

Joie de Vivre

Pushpa is in her mid-sixties. With her warm smile and trendy hairstyle, she does not look like a traditional grandmother. She has tried her hand at a lot of things – being a play school teacher, teaching spoken English to bored housewives, selling Tupperware. For the past few years, she has turned entrepreneur, selling home-made chocolates and block-printed sarees from home.

Sharada is fifty. Appearances can be deceptive, and Sharada’s traditional appearance hides the bubbling spontaneity of a child! Married to a creative artist, she is a very creative person herself. She is an accomplished singer and music teacher but that does not stop her from learning and doing new things. Recently she learnt archery (!) and also acted in a student film, just for a lark! She is a wonderful mimic and raconteur, and can keep you in splits with her tales!

What connects these two women is the fact that they both are cancer survivors.

What amazes me is their spirit and their spontaneous, joyous approach to life. Like so many others I know, they have been to the edge and have come back, not scarred, but filled with a love for life.

When I look at them, my own ennui and cynicism seem out of place. Is it necessary, I wonder, to face death in order to appreciate life?

8 comments:

sreekumar said...

nice post, meena.

Meena said...

Thanks, K :-)

fruitu said...

Nice post, It is very true, when we feel that the end is inevitable and close, we want to live life to the fullest, but the choice is with us, if we live a life filled with joy and love, accepting good and bad without any prejudice, life becomes beautiful moment to moment.

Meena said...

Exactly, fruitu!Why do we take everything so seriously and consider life such a burden until we are almost at the end?

Cynic in Wonderland said...

Very well said! I met this girl - a few years older than I am perhaps - must be about 34 or so now. A cancer survivor ( she got cancer when she was 28), she has started her own film company, has written a couple of books, blogs, treks, goes and holds camps on cancer survival, one of the most cheerful people i know. it makes you ashamed to see how small things can make you whine so much. seriously

Meena said...

Very true..."makes you ashamed..." I think they have learnt to live in the Now, while we are still struggling to understand the concept.

Cynic in Wonderland said...

all ok? both of you have disappeared!

Meena said...

Cynic,all is ok! Will be back soon:)Thanks for the concern!