My elder sister is a dedicated social worker. She enjoys helping people-in-need (although it’s getting harder to find out poor people in some particular areas of Dhaka). She was quite happy in doing such aiding activities so far.

Just recently she discovered a flaw to her contented and stable life style that- ‘she is growing old’. Every morning she wakes up, she goes to the wash room straight to see her face on mirror and realize that situation is worsening day by day.

From then we are experiencing some unlikely situations at home. My sister has postponed her societal undertakings for time being. She is now concentrating to some anti-aging movements such as spa, herbal, meditations etc. Yesterday I was peeling an orange off while watching TV news. She suddenly came, snatched the orange off my hand, peeled it and then took the scraps away (I guess she heard somewhere that orange scraps are good for skin).

The next morning I wake up hearing my father’s excited voice. There was something eager in his voice that I didn’t wait for anything anymore, rushed straight to the drawing room. There I found my father was actually excited to see a report on newspaper- Scientist of a particular country has claimed that they have discovered the treatment of cancer.

I have seen many old people waking up early in the morning dying and running hard so that they can live longer. I also have seen a Discovery channel production in which hunters have drifted to audacious Kalimantan of Indonesia just to find the blood orchid so that they can produce the fountain of youth.

Later I found myself bothered to see all these incidents. I could sense that there is common background of all these incidents. So I talked to my grandfather who is seventy years old and a freedom fighter. Hearing all these, grandfather smiled and gave me the common scenario-it was actually the ‘Eternal youth’ that everyone is looking for.

–       It is a common urge of human being that they all want to live longer and ‘fountain of youth’ has been a phenomenon since the beginning of the mankind. In the meantime, some clever business people are manufacturing the anti-aging or fairness cream and making some good money.

–       Is it? Then why don’t you go for a morning walk? You are a diabetic. Don’t you want to live long? Don’t you want dream of being immortal?

My grandfather is currently suffering from some elderly bone diseases and finds it very difficult to bend his neck. I don’t know what was so amusing in my question, he took some time to look at me and smile mysteriously.

–       You know what; you don’t need orange scraps, cancer treatment… neither the fountain of youth to get immortal. You can do it in a very straight and simple way.

–          Really! How?

–       You truly don’t need to live long or become immortal physically; in fact it makes no sense. You can achieve immortality trough your task… through your achievement. That’s what we have done in ’71. My land, my sovereignty, my language… my letters have given me the taste of immortality that day. I don’t want to live unnecessarily like a scarecrow; neither have I had any fascination for your fountain of youth…

The trailing edge of the sun is about to disappear below the horizon. In the wonderful ray of the setting sun I looked at my grandfather’s eyes carefully. Line of time has even reached to his eyeballs, but could not conceal the fire and the glory of 1971. Seeing this I suddenly realized that my sister is actually wasting her time on orange scraps… those hunter groups in Kalimantan are actually investing their time and effort just for nothing.

Greetings of ‘Independence Day’ to you all. Let’s contain the spirit of ‘71’ to our heart… let’s make the sacrifice of martyrs more meaningful.

Written by Roneel.