A 16-year old Tamjid Sultan Mahi has become a symbol of grief. He is the son of the deceased pilot of the ill-fated US-Bangla airliner that crashed at Tribhuvan International airport in Kathmandu. At his age the loss of his father was already too much. Now his mother who, overcome by the tragic death of her husband, was sent on to life support in hospital is no more. The death of both his parents within days has stupefied the young man. The soul in his small frame only knows what a struggle he is in now.
All who perished in the plane crash, there were entire families, Nepalese students who were returning on completion of their final MBBS examination in a private Bangladesh medical college, a woman with flight phobia, who could be persuaded to travel by air for the first time, a Bangladeshi medical student with brilliant academic records on a tour to Nepal and others. It is a massive tragedy no doubt.
The grief of the near and dear ones left behind by the dead in the crash mounts so heavy, no doubt. But in case of Tamjid, it is particularly poignant. That his father, an experienced pilot, met his destiny like others in the crash was not uncommon in any way. But it was his mother who shows how the relations between two souls stand unbreakable either in life or at death. It is a special human bond that stands out beyond all other considerations.
It is the moment she was not prepared for but with the sad news reaching her, Afsana Khanom, his mother, found her world blown up all at once. The shock was too much for her to absorb and she was paralysed by a brain stroke. Frustrating her doctors, she followed her husband in the other world. This dealt Tamjid a double blow of tragedy. It is because of this, the boy mourns the death of his parents in an indescribable frame of mind. He presents the ultimate picture of grief. The icy hands of death come mostly without a warning to pick up its victims but for the mortals this is unavoidable. Tamjid is too young to know this.
Death, thus, remains a mystery and a feared but absolute fact of life. It is because sages have philosophised to the effect that all mortals know that they will have to die but still they would crave for a long life. This, however, does not make life meaningless. The uncertainty associated with life has not left the world unchanged. Man still finds in love the spirit of survival. Irrefutably, some even die for love. Love of Tamjid's mother was too overpowering to keep her alive. Let's hope and pray for the young boy to get over his grief and find love in people around him. This will help him sustain for a meaningful life.
Death can claim life but it cannot conquer life -- a life well lived and dedicated to the cause of humanity. Let the young boy find such a greater meaning for living. If he can overcome his personal grief and find a far expansive sphere for fulfilling his life's mission, life will be worth living.
