Jab kahi pahuchna ho to kahi say nikalna jaroori hota hai (“To reach somewhere, you have to leave somewhere behind.”)

To reach somewhere, you have to leave somewhere behind.

But leaving the place where you started is not always easy. You leave behind your people, your relationships, your memories, and a part of yourself. You take a step forward with the hope of reaching a better destination, believing that success will bring fulfilment.

And perhaps it does bring success. You achieve things you once dreamed of. You build a career, earn money, create a life, and reach places you never imagined.

But one day, when you are tired and have grown older, you may find yourself wanting to return to your roots—to your people, your land, your old memories, and the place that once felt like home.

And that is when you realise how difficult the journey back can be.

The friends may have moved on. Relatives may no longer be there. The places you remember may have changed. The people who once waited for you may have stopped waiting. And the life you left behind may no longer exist in the way you remember it.

You may have reached your destination, but somewhere along the way, you left behind the very things that gave you sukoon.

Life can be like having a magnificent meal—you may taste everything you ever wanted, achieve everything you worked for, and enjoy all the richness that life has to offer. But at the very end, when you are exhausted and all you need are two drops of water, you may realise that those two drops were more valuable than the entire feast.

Perhaps that is the irony of life: we spend our youth chasing destinations, only to spend our later years longing for the place we once called home.

And sometimes, by the time we understand what truly mattered, the road back has disappeared.