Saturday, December 5, 2015

An old man and chicken soup

Taking a walk on Shankar Road, famous for its tandoori chicken outlets, serving food inside customer's cars, I decided to try the newest joint, the Sardar M* Shop. Waiting for my serving I was joined in by an old, well dressed gentleman, who asked for chicken soup. For some five minutes, busy eating, I did not notice him in any detail. As I finished, he collected his package. Both of us took out our wallet and paid at the same time. The counter guy went inside the shop to get some change and at that moment I noticed him. He wore a winter cap, plaited trousers, a blazer and matching shoes. He looked frail and quite old. It was past evening so it was hard to discern how old he was (Well, isn't it becoming hard to notice old people in any detail these days? Arent we getting increasingly occupied with ourselves and some selected things around us?). 
I thought of saying hello to him. But what could I ask? What could one ask an old man(who knows all at once)? What if he was a pure punjabi, who did not care to reply in english? (sometimes initiating a conversation in english is a bad idea, as who knows if the intimacy gets lost?) I thought it better to ask him directly what came to my mind and I said, "Uncle, at this age, how can you like Chicken soup?" (By the looks he was to be in seventies, when people eat bare and plain stuff, just to keep them going, and here he was ready with his packet of chicken soup). He said, to my astonishment, "I am 86 and I am doing just fine!"
I have never really talked to a man of that age, specially at a fast food outlet, alone by himself. I said, "Whats your view on these outlets, serving just about anything, anyhow. How was it back then, when you were you young?" He replied, "Ah it doesnt matter! Eat anything, which looks good and tastes good. You see I am single and I have worked in the foreign office, lived abroad and eaten everything that came in my way. I am 86, you see!" For a minute I felt relieved from the bashing anyone receives from within because of eating out. "Why did you stay single? Sometimes, Uncle, I have a similar urge, a deep thought of staying single too!", I remarked. "Ah no! Never stay single!" By this time we started walking, "No one comes to a lone tree, people prefer them in groups," which showed that he had felt loneliness and perhaps suffered from it too. I had to smile and asked him about his routine. "Nothing, I do nothing now, the cook comes and she make my meals, I call my friends, and go for long chats in the park. Thats about it." Walking, we had arrived at his by lane and we had to part, but I was glad I said hello to him!  

Friday, July 31, 2015

Interests and Collections

This article is about a coming-of-age-Indian and attempts to take a look at the changes that sweeps through our society in recent times, (changes) in the things we like, about and for ourselves. The article tries not to stick to one thought and weaves a interplay between different times and ideas. 

A man can be best defined by his 'interests' and his 'collections', given off-course his will and ability to make room for them in his life. Collections, not just in terms of money but of the things he like.  

As average Indian kids of past decades, what did we use to collect? Newspaper cuttings(sometimes pasted in scrap-books), calendars(tabled and walled), books and various other stationery items like diaries, stickers, colours(crayons, wax, sketch-pens), pencil boxes(which later got replaced by pouches), book marks(I remember it used to cost Re 1, and was a cheap way to build collection, you see), puzzle books. There were very many of them, as choices, but at the same time one could count these things on his fingers. Sometimes we used to collect wrappers of packaged items we used to eat, like that of Ruffles Lays(and the freebies that came inside it), Amul's chocolate boxes, Alpenlibe(that was the best toffee/candy of our times) and even KismiBar(again a cheaper way to build a collection). We were also keen to collect accessories like wrist bands, laser beams, bracelets and wrist watches. Sometimes we were keen to better equip our bicycles and bikes by adding gears, lights, sirens. 'Music' was the biggest rent we used to pay(remember buying a blank cassette?). Sometimes buying musical records, cassettes and CDs of the movies we liked and could afford. Learning Music(and instruments) was only for the privileged few but nevertheless it was common. Our interests depended a lot on our collections and what we could get within our cities, or some of the bigger nearby cities. They were not toys. They were collections of our life, something which not only gave us pleasure but defined us as individuals. Each one of us had a particular combination of interests and collections.  

Fast forward to now. Where are those things that defined us? Is growing up an explanation to their disappearance ? We can grow up(and old) but we cannot forgo our interests. Nowadays, many of those have got moulded in forms of 'folders' and 'bookmarks' and sometimes reduced to mere likes. We now define our interests in a vast sea of information. We stand at the shore of this vast sea and can enter anytime and reach any of its corner, as we please. It is impossible to start a day without coming across a new thing, either through phones, discussions or on our computers. The density of activities around us just keeps on increasing and the flux just doesn't seems to end. All this makes sticking to few items not a great idea. 

Let us see a case of 'staying fit'The idea of staying fit was inherently attached to having fun. We maintained and attained fitness by playing cricket and not watching it. Going to parks in the morning, taking a longer route on the cycle for exploring things around generated thrill, fun and kept us fit. These days, Gym is our idea of a staying fit. A small room with elephant sized instruments, which eat our calories and give a sense of workout. Lest we forget that burning calories is also only a wastage of our bodily calories. Have we completely forgotten our right to spend our own calories in a sensible way? Isn't it similar to throwing away some cash just because we have piled up way too extra. The question is, couldn't it be spent in a better way? 
               
We are humans, who can and should feel, as opposed to machines which work based on fixed calculations between their components. It can be channelized with a sense of purpose and fun.

It is in this context that it becomes imperative for us to remember the importance of cultivating interests. It pays to build a collection and above all that we did all this within our own lifetime, once. I am not just finding faults with the internet but the entire ecosystem it has generated. What  is left of our attention span? How long can we dig-in to pursue an issue? How long can we actually pursue an issue? Take the case of news these days, something big is waiting to happen every other day, which also eats the previous dust and cleans the slate of our memory. Importantly(and sadly), the biggest of the biggest news is only left to us as an information

The world is in an increasing state of flux but as individuals the most important thing we can do is to cultivate interests and guard them, because only our interests have the power to define us, lest we be reduced to mere numbers or information. 

Wednesday, April 29, 2015

Flowers


Few months ago, I went to one of my friend's house. An old buddy from the school, with whom I had shared countless events, days and nights. It was evening time and we were to go to some place. Waiting in around his garden I saw a few flowers. Coloured, soft skinned, wallowing with the mild breeze that was flowing, they really caught my attention. When he came out, ready to rush in to the newly opened multiplex in our town I asked, Man, when was the last time we saw some flowers around? I mean, looked at them and felt something?
The grass was greener.

I remember during the summer-breaks of our School days, we used to go to a nearby park in the mornings and kick start our days with sports and jogging. In the carved out lanes within the park, there were hundreds of flowers. The park even had a mini nursery inside. One of our favourites used to be something called a Dog Flower. It had a dog shaped mouth on its top and upon pushing it with the fingers around its bud it used to emulate a dog's barking action. My friends and I used to carefully tip toe our way to its lanes and pluck some. Almost always, being caught by a distant gardener and fleeing away in the process. I don't know what exact feelings we had at that time but I am sure it was a mix of curiosity, fun and deprivation. The last one because we too had gardens at home but there were only roses and marigolds. 
Now almost fifteen years have passed and not just us but our entire nation has changed. There has been development all around and development comes at a cost. Costs that are not just physical but psychological too. Standing in his garden, that evening I was actually paying the price for seeing them while they gave me a chance to relive the days we use to play with them.