There is word in Sanskrit – Jijeevisha, jeene ki utkat icchha, desire to live life to the fullest. There’s so much to know, learn and acquire that one lifetime isn’t enough. Therefore, everyone laments that Ars longa, vita brevis, Art is long, life is short. We need to remain alert all the time to learn whatever we can learn and acquire in a limited span of time.
To quote Urdu poet Niyaaz Rashid, ‘Zindagi mukhtasar sahi/ Itni bhi mukhtasar nahin,’ Though life’s short/ It’s not that short either. Look at the Renaissance polymath, Leonardo da Vinci, who in his lifespan of 67 years, was active as a painter, draughtsman, engineer, scientist, theorist, sculptor and architect. The famous creator of Mona Lisa is also known for his notebooks, in which he made drawings and notes on a variety of subjects, including anatomy, astronomy, botany, cartography, painting and paleontology. Live life to a T and utilise every moment of it. Life is nature’s blessing to us. We’re not going to get it again.
