Reflecting on August 26: Connecting Our Roots to the Future
On August 26, I had the privilege of connecting with young people in Pakistan through a meaningful event that brought together education, technology, heritage, and the voices of a new generation.
I would like to express my sincere gratitude to SAJUWA and Anwar Hussain, whose commitment to supporting and empowering young people made this event possible. My appreciation also goes to Shaan Shaany and the Aga Khan University (AKU) for their contribution and support, and to Digicell International for providing the technical connection that allowed us to come together across distance and borders.
As an educator, this experience meant much more to me than simply speaking at an online event.
The conversation left me thinking about several questions that go far beyond one evening or one historical figure.
What can previous generations teach us? How do we remain grounded in a rapidly changing world? And how do we become the masters of our own destiny?
These are the questions I want to explore in the coming weeks.
What Will We Leave Behind?
One day, every generation becomes the generation that came before.
We spend much of our lives thinking about what we want to achieve, what we want to own and where we want to go. But there is another question that deserves our attention: What will we leave behind?
When I think about legacy, I do not think only about wealth or possessions. I think about words, stories, values,
music, ideas, art and most important are acts of kindness.
The things we teach others without even realizing that we are teaching them.
I think about my grandfather, Hafeez Jalandhari. His greatest legacy is not simply that he was a poet or that his words became part of the history of Pakistan. His legacy lives because his words continued to travel across generations. That is the extraordinary thing about ideas. A life may end, but an idea can continue, a story can continue, a song can continue, a book can continue and so can the values we pass to another person.
As his granddaughter, I have often felt a responsibility to preserve that connection to the past. Writing about his life and bringing his story to new audiences is one way of doing that. But legacy is not only about preserving what came before. It is also about creating what comes next. That is why my work with young people matters so much to me.
When we connect with a young person, we may never know exactly what impact that conversation will have.
A few words of encouragement may stay with someone for years. A story about perseverance may give someone courage or a reminder of their roots may help someone understand who they are.
This is how one generation speaks to another, so we do not have to be famous to leave something behind.
Just as a teacher leaves something behind in a student, a parent leaves something behind in a child.
A grandparent leaves stories and memories., an artist leaves songs, a writer leaves words.
And every one of us leaves an impression on the people whose lives we touch.
The question is not whether we will leave a legacy.
We will.
The question is: What kind of legacy will it be?
Will we leave behind fear or courage? Division or understanding? Indifference or compassion?
Will we pass on only our possessions—or will we pass on our values?
I
believe every generation has a responsibility to leave the next generation something worth carrying.
That is the meaning of legacy to me. It is not about living forever. It is about leaving something meaningful behind that can continue after we are gone.
Perhaps the greatest gift we can give the future is not to tell young people exactly what their lives should become. It is to give them roots, values, courage and the freedom to create something of their own. Then they can carry the story forward. Then perhaps, one day, they will look back and ask the same question:
What will we leave behind?