Until the High Tide Comes

I am listening to music, sitting under the cool shade of the umbrella, gazing as the sun makes futile attempts to give me a sunburn.

Mainu rabb mileya, mainu sab mileya...I found God, I found everything Mainu jab mileya ae tu...As soon as I found you Mainu hakk mileya rooh tak mileya...I found my right, even found my soul Mainu jab mileya hai tu...As soon as I came across you

She is there. Closer to the shore, building a sand castle. I dig my feet deeper into the sand; the small particles start getting into my toenails. But I don't care. I am thinking.

Success. What is it? How do you measure it? Is it getting 98% in boards? I know that somewhere, someone is celebrating getting 99%. Somewhere, someone is celebrating getting a 100%. Somewhere someone has also got a 94, an 87 and a 65 too. What about them? Is being selected as the captain of the state cricket team at the age of 17 successful? Sachin debuted for India at the age of 16. Ishan Kishan was 17 when he led India U19 to the runners-up title in the World Cup. They lost to the Windies in the final. Perhaps they could have won? Would that have been more successful?

All of us, however diverse, are somewhere united by this common notion of success. We all strive to be successful in life. But how do we know if we have become successful or not?

She has just completed building her sand castle and is coming towards me. Perhaps she is coming to get her phone to click a picture of the beautifully and intricately arranged pile of sand. A huge wave is coming. There you go. Poof, the sand castle is gone. She is turning back. Cursing. Running back to the place which now looks so clean that nobody would ever believe a beautiful sandcastle stood there just moments ago.

She has started work on building a new castle. She is collecting more sand than before.

I am intrigued as I look around. Billions of sandcastles built on millions of beaches across the world throughout history. Not one of them is still standing. But it doesn't matter. People still build them.

I think success is like infinity. We can count as much as we want. One million billion trillion one. One million billion trillion two. We can never quite reach infinity. But does it mean that in life, we just stop counting? I think no. Infinity might not be attainable, but in each effort to reach it, we become a better version of ourselves. Like sandcastles rebuilt after every wave, each attempt matters more than the destination. 109 is always better than 108 and 110 is always better than 109.

Oh no, just as she is laying the foundation, another wave has come crashing! More curses follow.

"Try building here, where the waves can't attack it," I shout out to her.

She comes running this way, muttering more curses. Now she is planning to build an even bigger sand castle here. She hands me one of the buckets. I start building it with her.

More than reaching infinity, it is the process of counting which is the real treasure. And I think that's why people have always built transient sandcastles on beaches throughout history. It's not the built sandcastle which matters. Today she is building one, but tomorrow she is going to be back in school studying physics.

She has started collecting sea shells. She is using them to decorate the towers! How clever! Let me look for some small pebbles. I think I can fancy a majestic looking road with them, leading up to the castle.

I think it is the fun we have in building the sandcastle which really matters.

And that's how we should treat success too. It is not the end result, but rather how much we enjoy the journey we undertake to reach there. Millions of sandcastles are built every year, just to be washed out shortly. Millions of students excel in exams across the world. For every cricket match played, there is going to be one team who will win and one who will lose. And the team which lost today might win the next game, and the team who won today might lose tomorrow.

But in the end, it is spending time with your best friends while building sand castles. Having that one confused friend who sends everyone into panic mode the night before the exam regarding what is and what isn't part of the syllabus. The training and practice with teammates and the celebration for every six hit and every wicket taken. I think this journey is sweeter and more fun than the actual result. Because even if one does reach their goal somehow, by overlooking this crucial journey, that person would soon realize that success too can get lonely at the top if the journey isn't savored.

We have completed our sand castle and oh my, what a beauty! (The sand castle... not her... actually both! Yeah, both.) We are clicking pictures and selfies by the dozen. Even some nearby people have come up to us. She is talking to them. They are appreciating and marveling at our work.

Fifteen minutes and a couple of ice creams later, we are leaving.

"Today was a great day!" I say.

"Yess. It wass."

"Good we built this castle all the way here. Away from the water! It should be safe from the waves at least!"

"Yess. Until the high tide comess."

Until the high tide comes.

Raat da hannera main...I am the darkness of night Tu hi chann mera hai...You’re my shinning moon Dekh kitna sohna rabb ne...See, how the almighty God Sath likh diya hai...Has written you in my fate