Shobhit showed me the way

Follow us:WhatsappFacebookTwitterTelegram.cls-1{fill:#4d4d4d;}.cls-2{fill:#fff;}Google NewsHe's was just another kid for me. Another person, another story. Seventeen going on eighteen, quiet, young but not naiive, intelligent with dreams in his eyes. I was supposed to shoot a music video with his kids from the 'Make a Wish' foundation, and Shobhit Kaushal, was one of the kids. He had suffered from Cancer, had overcome it. And he was the kid who had written the lyrics for the song..a song full of hope.

"A song for the nation
Hum sab ab iske naye pilot,new generation
Chad Jaana hain phir se right on the top
And let the world stand for salutation
Silken Thread of stars scattered round the head
And the resting couch dancing on the silver ocean bed,
So come on, come on, come on, come on, come on lets dance to the rhythm of Vande Mataram"

And now I feel Shobhit has become the very epitome of the hope that shines through the song he wrote. He had written this song for our 'India Rocks' segment for independence day last year. He kept in touch with me through emails. A good student, he paints like a dream, and writes beautifully. He didnt want to do the engineering/doctor thing, instead he wanted to do something creative, something where he could use his visual and artistic sense. And I remember advising him 'why hurry, you have plenty of time to ponder over what you want to do professionally'. And with a promise from a colleague of seeing an on location shoot of an ad-film the next time he was in Mumbai, he left for his hometown Kanpur. Only to be back in town once again.After undergoing a traumatic treatment for cancer, and after living without the disease for some two years, the disease is back in his body and he's back in Mumbai for the treatment once again.

Its not easy being a teenager and suffering from a disease. Its not easy having to reconcile with the fact that your body is not at its best. Its not easy to live with the threat that the disease could reoccur, there could be a relaspe. Its difficult going for regular check-ups, rather than football matches and missing the other regular things that teenagers do. But Shobhit's made of something different. Not once did he complain of why did this have to happen to him, again. He did not ask those any of those questions, the queries, we often pose to fate, providence, luck, god, whenever we are faced with some misfortune or some obstacle. Instead, Shobhit had this to say "You know god gives us challenges because he trusts us and knows that we have the strength to overcome any thing. But again that strength ends at a certain boundry, so he gives us some more challenges to prove ourselves and break those limits. And it continues till we become strong enough to lead the world. Its just another step in the enhancement of my personality. Its another chapter in my life and its my duty to make it beautiful,colourful,enjoyable."

I was absolutely stunned. I've always been the sort who complains, when things dont go the way I want them to. And lately I did that a lot, angering many, and Shobhit's attitude towards his life, the disease, made me realise and believe in something a close friend completely stands by that "we are bigger than this, we are bigger than our bodies, our situations". I never quite understood what he meant by it. But I have a living example of it now and I believe in it. And we truly are bigger. Shobhit's bigger than his disease, his desire to learn guitar and the sitar whilst undergoing the treatment, his willpower, his zest to live, is bigger and more powerful than the disease. And I am bigger than all the problems I face daily; personal or professional. Shobhit showed me the way. And I really hope he fights his battle successfully against the disease, because he is bigger than this.


first published:February 16, 2007, 02:01 ISTlast updated:February 16, 2007, 02:01 IST
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