Spice of Life : Scaling new heights without losing focus

The story is about four friends in old age, who take an arduous journey to the Everest base camp to fulfil the last wish of their friend who died recently, writes Naveen Singla.

The other day, I went to watch the movie Unchai with my wife and son. We were in for a surprise as the film was inspiring and filled us with intermittent doses of laughter. The story is about four friends in old age, who take an arduous journey to the Everest base camp to fulfil the last wish of their friend who died recently.

I was reminded of the epic feat of six boys of Lawrence School, Sanawar, aged between 15 and 17 years, who scaled Mount Everest a few years ago and became the youngest school team to do so, writes Naveen Singla. (AFP)

We all have our own personal highs and lows in life and are in an everlasting search for happiness and finding our own highs. This movie rang a bell. We have limited time and want to tick the things pending in our bucket list. Now is the time, before it is too late. In the words of Walt Disney, the way to get started is to quit talking and begin doing.

The movie also showed the indifferent attitude children show towards their parents in old age. As children, we fail to realise that our parents are not permanently here and a day will come when our phones will not ring displaying their names and the loss will be irreversible. It’s time we stop taking our parents for granted and give them much-needed love, attention and care.

As a father, I can tell how much I care for my son and raising him is the greatest joy of my life.

My son was quite excited with the trip in the movie and got a promise from me that we will go for an Everest base camp trek soon. He is fascinated with mountains and we often go for treks. Mountains imbibe leadership qualities while making you more aware. Talking to him, I was reminded of the epic feat of six boys of Lawrence School, Sanawar, aged between 15 and 17 years, who scaled Mount Everest a few years ago and became the youngest school team to do so. Children are capable of doing wonders and are internally motivated. I believe every child is born genius, only we need to give him/her direction.

Towards the final scenes in the movie, when ascent to the base camp became difficult, the friends used the technique of ik kadam ik saans (one step, one breath). How relevant it is today when we are all caught up in multi-tasking and have forgotten the art of focus and concentration. We need to imbibe this quality and set an example for our children. We are capable of victories in life, only if we remain focused.

On the drive back home, I had a flashback of memories from my training days in Mussoorie. We had a seven-day mountain trek during our foundation course that was full of adventure and fun. The friendships forged hold strong to this day.

By the time we reached home, everyone was sleepy but the movie rekindled many memories, made me introspect and see the larger canvas of life in all its hues.

The writer is a Punjab-cadre IPS officer in Chandigarh.