By
Syed Ibrahim Rizvi
For weeks I had planned to watch the final of the IPL, however, a last-minute message from the boss made me cancel the much-awaited moment and instead take the evening flight to Delhi.
By the time the flight reached Delhi, the final was already over and when I opened my mobile, I got the news that Mumbai Indians had won a thrilling match against arch rival Kolkata Knight Riders.
I was in the cab driving to hotel from airport when Rahul phoned me, his voice still under the influence of adrenaline, and broke the news about Mumbai Indians victory.
Rahul told me that the match was extremely exciting and had stretched till the last ball.
It was the last ball six hit by the proverbial hitman Rohit Sharma which sealed the match in favour of the Mumbai Indians.
When I reached the hotel, I switched on the TV . The highlights of the just concluded match was playing.
Rather than going to the restaurant for dinner, I decided to watch the recorded match instead, hoping to catch the excitement of the last ball six.
The recorded match continued, but I felt no excitement.
The highlight reached the last over where Mumbai Indians needed fifteen runs, and Rohit Sharma was at the striking end.
I did watch the complete six balls and also witnessed the last ball six, but the thrill was somehow absent.
I recollected the animated voice of Rahul but somehow failed to experience any effect of adrenaline.
After dinner, I again thought about the match and reflected on the observation that while Rahul had felt so much pleasure in watching the live match on TV, I did not feel the same level of excitement. My mind explored the reasons, and then I understood.
While Rahul, as he was watched the live match, did not know what would happen on the last ball, I knew the final result and thus the last ball six was not that unexpected for me.
I realized, for something to be pleasurable and exciting in life, there needs to be an element of uncertainty.
From conception to death, life is full of uncertainties. The process of conception has a high element of unpredictability.
Every living human being on this earth is a result of a successful conception event but the act itself is mired in so many uncertain events.
The chance of a sperm finding an egg at the right time is just about 20% in normal circumstances.
The uncertainty of the gender of the newborn adds a romantic touch to the emotions of the expectant mother.
Although there are only two possibilities, the whole family waits with bated breath to know whether it is a boy or a girl.
Indeed, it is the joy associated with the unpredictability of the gender of the child that is so pleasurable.
Uncertainty also has been the driving force of the evolutionary process which has created so much diversity of life on this blue planet.
Evolution has depended on a process known as mutation, which in common terms is a random small change in the language of the DNA.
The most important thing is that these random mutations have always been spontaneous and have never been predictable.
The unpredictability of mutations has been the driving force of all the diversity of life.
As I delved deep into the pleasures of uncertainty, my mind mined new and wonderful examples. I realized that I had been born into a family of sportsmen.
As far as I can remember into my childhood, I find that everytime someone gifted me anything it was connected with either cricket gear or a football or a hockey stick.
However, it was the unpredictability of life that I started finding interest in novels and story books.
Thus, from a certain sportsman I grew to become an author. It is after forty years that I relish the fact that I am an author and not a sportsman.
That night, my mind continued to find more correlations between pleasures associated with the uncertainty of life’s journey.
Even the choicest food may become mundane if it is made available every day.
And the unpredictability of the colour of the dress of the beloved on a romantic rendezvous is far more pleasurable than having a pre-conceived idea of the colour beforehand.
Indeed the glorious uncertainties of life have programmed our brain in such a way that humans find joy when something unexpected happens.
All our jokes are creations of situations where the outcome of the narrative goes against the normal thinking path of the brain.
The unexpected nature of our lifespan adds a touch of romance to our life’s journey.
A mere thought of the possibility of someone knowing the time of one’s death is such a frightful possibility.
Although all of us know that everyone has to die but the uncertainty of this dreaded moment makes us enjoy life till its last.
A certain lifespan with an ordained end will make our life a painful journey.
The human lexicon is replete with phrases that extoll the uncertain nature of life and its events.
The phrase that there is light at the end of the tunnel emphasizes that nothing is permanent. Bad times may unexpectedly change into good times.
Indeed, if life and all the events connected with life become certain, then life will become drab, a long path to death.
The famous Urdu poet Asghar Gondwi had remarked
Chala jata hoon hasta khelta mauje hawadis se
Agar aasaniyan hon, Zindagi dushwar ho jaye
In essence, it means that life is beautiful only when there are unseen difficulties.
( Syed Ibrahim Rizvi is Professor of Bio Chemistry University of Allahabad)