Page 36 - Masala Lite Issue 168 December 2024

QUE SERA SERA

Dolly Koghar
and her generation confide which sense is

the most precious to them.

e are humans with millions of nerve-endings that send us trillions
of inputs daily, through which we experience a gamut of emotions
through our physical organs, like our eyes, nose, ears, mouth and
skin. However, the powerhouse behind how we feel and react to those stimuli is
our brain, which is nothing but a mass of grey matter, and not our thinking mind.
The brain could be processing the most sublime of sunsets, but if the mind is
elsewhere, we looked, but didn’t see the awe-inspiring beauty. In the early hours,
we may hear pots and pans clanging in the kitchen, but instead of recognising it
as the awakening of a new day, we’d rather drown it out with blaring news of wars
and elections. We walk and jog in delightful parks with birds twittering, children
playing, and flowering trees with squirrels scuttering between their branches; we

are there, but our mind is elsewhere; our eyes glued on the watch, clocking our
steps and calories burnt, and ears plugged into some podcast, which isn’t going
to get us any smarter, richer or even healthier. We’ve even forgotten the sweetest
of smells: that of a newborn; or the enticing, mouth-watering aroma of aloo
paranthas liberally ‘ghee-d’!
Unfortunately, we’ve nonchalantly sleep-walked through life, couped up either in
malls to pass time, or at home, immersed heart and soul in gadgets. We are there
in person, but unaware, living inside our heads, churning over the regrets of the
past, which are too far gone, or worrying about a future which we might never live
to see. Nevertheless, willy-nilly, we’ve reached the age we are at, and can neither
defy or deny our weakened and recessed senses, which we didn’t fully utilise nor
appreciate while we had them!
So I asked those of us on this far side of sixty, if Yumraj granted them a wish to
choose any one sense or organ they’d like to retain till the very last, which one
would they choose, and why?

• “My vocals, to continue to sing praises of Waheguru; to do kirtan till as long
as I can.”
• “Eyes; to retain awareness of my surroundings and with which I’ll be able to
communicate my emotions to my loved ones.”
• “I’m thankful for all the equally-important organs I have; but I wish my legs,
which have been taken for granted, will remain steady and enable me to walk
easily, without pain.”
• “After my cataract operation, I valued my eyes even more, because now I can
see near and far, even better than youngsters, although I’d wish my soul’s eyes
could see my Master inside.”
• “I am a foodie, so I’d keep taste.”
• “My mind.”
• “A very basic answer: my legs.”
• “My brain; with which to think positively, to help keep me motivated and
youthful.”
• “I want to keep hearing sounds; especially those that resonate with me, as it
reverses the gamma cells in the brain and helps heal you.”
• “Not one but all! I would hate to be deprived of any of my senses. Hearing?
Then I wouldn’t have to listen to all the crap that goes on around me – but then
I’d miss music. Smell? But then I’d lose taste too, and I really like my food! No.
I won’t choose. It’s too much to ask. If Yumraj asked me to choose one? I doubt
that I’ll be asked, but in that unlikely case, he can have his pick - I’ll just have
to deal with it.”
• “My eyes. They give me the greatest input; I can read and get lost in the words;
I observe of all the drama that unfolds around me and gives my grey cells food
for thought, which keeps me ever animated, and the beauty in nature gives me
peace and restoration.”
• “My heart, which feels gratitude for me feeling alive and young. But when
discussing blindness, I’d wondered what could be worse than losing one’s ability
to see, and that says it all.”