#HTCityCheers23 | Raveena Tandon: Wish I could tell my 23-year-old self that time heals all

Joining HT City’s 23rd birthday celebrations, actor Raveena Tandon pens a heartfelt letter to her 23-year-old self.

First, a very happy 23rd birthday HT City. Well, it was 23 year ago, and it was a glorious time for me in my career. I was peaking with every film release, in fact Mohra was also released around the same time. I was 23 then I guess. Mohra had released and it was big for me.

Raveena Tandon reveals she was impulsive when she was 23

For me, till I was 23, I had learnt that there would be highs and lows in my life. And that was something that I was learning to deal with at that time. The 1990s was not a very great time for the media as well. We had a lot of yellow journalism. That was another thing that we all used to deal with. The note to myself at that time would be that there’s nothing like work and no other remedy for anything in life than throwing yourself into work.

Time heals all, at that time, one would look at an emotional loss and wonder, ‘okay, is this all the end of it?’ But then I always knew that there was a light at the end of the tunnel, and there somewhere I kept telling myself that I would be laughing about this six months later, and kept reminding myself along the way.

For me at 23, there was huge exposure. Mohra and other films I did were global phenomenon. In fact, we were doing concerts all over the world and the kind of love that we got was great. I absorbed it well. I used to think maturely. I was a grounded person, but super sensitive and a bit impulsive.

What I would like to tell myself for sure is that sit back, absorb what’s happening. Think about it, literally that cliche line of thinking before you leap.

The huge takeaway, which I learnt later on in life, I wish I could tell myself then that work in time heals everything and tell myself not to be impulsive... Think about the steps that you are going to take, what you are going to do, think about the pros and cons.

Honestly, I think there’s can’t be a better lesson than life itself. Every day is a new learning, every experience is a new chapter, and you learn from that. But to be grounded, to be calm around the worst situations is an art that you have to develop and learn. I think I have kind of reached there. Besides the lesson that work heals everything, I have learnt that it is very important for people to take time off for themselves.

That’s what I do, I follow my passion, and then my time with my family is very precious. It always has been. I have always been family oriented. So that is one thing that I would say, I’m proud of, that I was family oriented at 23, and have maintained it till now. Because there’s no other stabilising factor in your life than your own family. So, that for me is very, very important. It was then, it is now and will always be.

Also, besides my work, there is also my passion for the environment, wildlife and forest, where I am trying to do my bit for the world before I leave, so I have something to leave behind for the future generations. This is my zen time where I come and observed life and lived it to the fullest. That is something that one must learn to do.