A Life Less Famous…

Sorry.

The delay can almost fully be attributed to a persistent disease called ‘lethargy’ which (if you know me well) has been a congenital condition with me.

A few days back as I went to the railway station to drop off one of my friends, I noticed a couple on the platform. Both were low income, both not very good to look at (considering the normally acceptable but highly variable tastes). The wife sat in a cross legged position which might be more familiar to Indians and the husband  was lying in her lap, with a towel beneath him so that his clothes wouldn’t be soiled. Amongst all the bustle at the station, this sight gave me a feeling of tranquility, of calm. The wife slowly caressing the husband’s hair and the husband apparently in a deep sleep. I didn’t know them and I think no one else at the station did. But it was like a sweet melody sung in a very low voice amidst this cacophony.

Cut to last Saturday, when I was at Ahmedabad and returning by the 5.30 pm bus. I had this beautiful scenery to look at of the village side. There was nothing but greenery around. Fields where everything from paddy to wheat to potatoes was sown. The village was just like any other. A pan shop at the corner, a bus stop where the state government buses came carrying and dropping off people from different parts of the world and the same filth which is characteristic of any Indian bus station (or a railway station for that matter). I was day (or was it evening?) dreaming instantly (without the help of the hyper electronic device now made famous by ‘Inception’) of my days at my granddad’s (mother’s side).

How people would live simple lives. Wake up early morning at go into the nearby forest to get wood for the house chulha, the train from Goa used to come at 8 am carrying fish which was sold at dirt cheap rates, how a small 4 feet x 4 feet screen sufficed as a movie theater for the entire village.

We living in cities, have become monsters in comparison to this. How desperately we try and crave attention when we go out- either by wearing flashy clothes or laughing out loud at the stupidest of jokes just because a hot chick is standing nearby looking elsewhere. How people as young as 10 participate in reality shows and mouth dialogues I could not even dream of when I was their age just to grab attention. How could talented people judge the voices of these little halflings. How we always want the most cozy, air conditioned and high leg room seat when we get tickets to a movie theatre and even if that’s not enough, people like James Cameron have made the biggest blockbusters by selling ridiculously expensive 3D experiences.

But then, I am reminded of a session which we had when we had freshly joined. The guy said “It is these complications that make life worth living. It is these desires that keep you going for more. It is these wants that you will go any lengths to satisfy. It is this confusion that you should revel in”

Inspite of this, every once in a while, however brief a time, whether it was a passing glance from a moving train or a view from the balcony on a day when there is a light drizzle, I dream of a hand which caresses my hair when I’m asleep, I dream of a day where I could afford a stroll through the forest and the field without worries, I dream of a life less famous.

PS- yeah I know..too many brackets... and also that this might just be another ranting of mine....