Life, was never meant to be easy. The maker did not deign it to be so. But every once in a while, we humans device ways to outsmart life. To find our niche, our corner, the familiar place which we know all about, where we, are king. We iron out all the chinks, account for each variable, plan in advance for it and Voila!! all of a sudden life seems so easy, so predictable, so secure. Wouldn't we all like to live a life like this?
Or would we?
We've been growing all our lives. But when was it that we grew up? We have all switched schools, had our first day in college, moved out of our beloved homes, and along with these major milestones, major changes were thrust into our lives. It took great courage to face the first morning after incorporating these changes, but we took it in our stride, sometimes with a tremendous amount of effort. If we look back, we will inevitably realise that most of our growth took place during these periods of transition. Up to this point in our lives, these choice to effect change had to be made out of compulsion, and not out of our own will to grow. Most of us chose a well charted route, one where all the potential pit falls were highlighted and the shortest distance already determined.
Establishing a routine can be a very tricky thing. By tricky i don't refer to the process of its establishment but rather to the ramifications. While a routine brings peace and tranquility, it usually blunts the edge we spent out entire lives sharpening. When things start to get easy, maybe its time to pinch ourselves and ask why it is so. This is especially relevant when unlike finishing education and starting work, which is inevitable, the choice to affect the change has to be consciously made by the individual.
Adaptation is central to evolution. As Newton said, acceleration or change requires work and energy. Although affecting this change will undoubtedly require great effort and determination, it will unquestionably save us from the "boiling frog" phenomenon. If life seems very easy, maybe its time to leave the well charted and take the road less travelled.
I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I —
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.
-Robert Frost
Wednesday, September 26, 2007
Saturday, September 15, 2007
Lump in your throat
For the batch of 06,
Have you ever come across a vague sound, or a song, or a note book and suddenly experienced a lump in your throat, a moment where time freezes and you begin to wonder. It could be "The Rembrandts" singing “I’ll be there for you”, or maybe an old college text book that you found while cleaning your room. The memory of that one moment or a phase in your life which was deeply etched in your mind but lost in the flurry of events since, is suddenly thrust into the foreground by that small something, suddenly you are drowned in a deluge of emotions. And this freshly resurfaced memory begs one question- what changed? Why did things change? Was it inevitable? These questions are usually followed by the “sigh” and the brief stare, the stare into nothingness. You wonder, what happened to all those people who meant the world to you, to the places you knew everything about. And all this while, you still have that lump in your throat.
Most of us go through a phase in life, where things seem to have settled down, settled down into monotony or settled down into chaos. It is during these periods that bonds are formed; bonds, with people, or even with places. That room mate who we knew everything about, the guy who took the same bus as you, the college canteen, the hostel mess (usually remembered for the wrong reasons), the hostel room (usually the place where you almost killed yourself laughing) and the starting music for your favorite multiplayer video game. They become a big part of out lives and as a result of this, we make room in our lives and minds for these people, places and events. We share innumerable experiences with them, we grow up together, to the extent that we know as much about that person as he himself. Then comes the inevitable day when its time to bid adieu. Suddenly all we are left with are memories. The lump returns to your throat.
Well, I may not know much about life; I have experienced it for only a short duration. But I have concluded that when a particular “phase” concludes, and the next one begins, those bonds, even though pushed into some corner of our minds and forgotten, remain. The place which these people occupied in our lives might have been taken by someone else, but in our minds, their place lies vacant. I sincerely hope that this is true, that someday when circumstance permits, these rooms be occupied by their rightful owners once again.
Have you ever come across a vague sound, or a song, or a note book and suddenly experienced a lump in your throat, a moment where time freezes and you begin to wonder. It could be "The Rembrandts" singing “I’ll be there for you”, or maybe an old college text book that you found while cleaning your room. The memory of that one moment or a phase in your life which was deeply etched in your mind but lost in the flurry of events since, is suddenly thrust into the foreground by that small something, suddenly you are drowned in a deluge of emotions. And this freshly resurfaced memory begs one question- what changed? Why did things change? Was it inevitable? These questions are usually followed by the “sigh” and the brief stare, the stare into nothingness. You wonder, what happened to all those people who meant the world to you, to the places you knew everything about. And all this while, you still have that lump in your throat.
Most of us go through a phase in life, where things seem to have settled down, settled down into monotony or settled down into chaos. It is during these periods that bonds are formed; bonds, with people, or even with places. That room mate who we knew everything about, the guy who took the same bus as you, the college canteen, the hostel mess (usually remembered for the wrong reasons), the hostel room (usually the place where you almost killed yourself laughing) and the starting music for your favorite multiplayer video game. They become a big part of out lives and as a result of this, we make room in our lives and minds for these people, places and events. We share innumerable experiences with them, we grow up together, to the extent that we know as much about that person as he himself. Then comes the inevitable day when its time to bid adieu. Suddenly all we are left with are memories. The lump returns to your throat.
Well, I may not know much about life; I have experienced it for only a short duration. But I have concluded that when a particular “phase” concludes, and the next one begins, those bonds, even though pushed into some corner of our minds and forgotten, remain. The place which these people occupied in our lives might have been taken by someone else, but in our minds, their place lies vacant. I sincerely hope that this is true, that someday when circumstance permits, these rooms be occupied by their rightful owners once again.
Seat No. 28 on NH 48
9:30 PM Indiranagar
National Highway 48 is the route connecting Mangalore to Bangalore through the scenic Western ghats. As always for me, the journey home began with getting the last ticket and thereby ending up on the last row of the bus to Mangalore, but this would be a journey like no other I’ve been on before.
10:00PM Gandinagar
I knew this the moment we tried to get going from Gandinagar. The bus wouldn’t start. On a road that can hardly accommodate 2 buses, ours was stuck bang in the center resulting in total pandemonium(please try to imagine any road in B’lore at peak hours with a bus blocking it). Before long there was boisterous crowd gathered at the front with the intention of pushing our stranded bus backwards so as to free at east one lane. As soon as the driver gave the signal, there was a huge war cry and the bus started moving backwards. Unfortunately our driver who should have been looking backwards, was busy encouraging the crowd at the front. With a loud crack, the bus came to an abrupt halt. We had hit a sign board, but at least we weren’t blocking the road anymore.
12:00PM Gandhinagar
After 2 long hours, a few impromptu mechanics had replaced the battery and we were finally on our way.
4:00 AM- Shiradi Ghat(somewhere in the Western ghats)
Shiradi Ghat is a very wide easily maneuverable ghat, with wide roads and a very reasonable angle of descent. Or at least it was. Now, there was no road, only a path. I remember as a kid, I had once gone on a ferry ride. The water was extremely rough and our vessel swayed violently, threatening to capsize at any moment. I was frightened to death. This is exactly how I felt as my bus swayed, with me oscillating like a pendulum inside it. Kudos to TATA Motors for designing a vehicle which could move with no two wheels being at the same elevation at any point in time. As the chassis creaked loudly under the strain of the three tons of the bus trying to contort it, it felt inevitable that eventually, it would give up and the bus would break into two. At around the same time, the gentleman on seat No.24 decided to readjust the angle at which his seat was reclining, and Voila!! he managed to break the locking mechanism on his recliner and the seat fell with a thud on to my already aching knees. From then on, each time we hit a pothole, this seat flapped up and down , ramming into my knee.
8:00AM Panemangalore Bridge
I woke up next at the toll gate for the bridge across river Nethravathi. As I put my head out of the window to look at the road ahead, all i saw was muck, and no tarmac. It was truly ironic that we had to pay an extra Rs50 at the toll booth, maybe it was entertainment tax, because the next 2KM sure felt like a roller coaster ride.
9:00 AM Home at last!!!! :-D
South Canara Dist. in September is a sight for sore eyes. The entire district turns green soon after the rains ... Sigh... and then i thought...maybe coming home is worth risking knee replacement surgery :)
National Highway 48 is the route connecting Mangalore to Bangalore through the scenic Western ghats. As always for me, the journey home began with getting the last ticket and thereby ending up on the last row of the bus to Mangalore, but this would be a journey like no other I’ve been on before.
10:00PM Gandinagar
I knew this the moment we tried to get going from Gandinagar. The bus wouldn’t start. On a road that can hardly accommodate 2 buses, ours was stuck bang in the center resulting in total pandemonium(please try to imagine any road in B’lore at peak hours with a bus blocking it). Before long there was boisterous crowd gathered at the front with the intention of pushing our stranded bus backwards so as to free at east one lane. As soon as the driver gave the signal, there was a huge war cry and the bus started moving backwards. Unfortunately our driver who should have been looking backwards, was busy encouraging the crowd at the front. With a loud crack, the bus came to an abrupt halt. We had hit a sign board, but at least we weren’t blocking the road anymore.
12:00PM Gandhinagar
After 2 long hours, a few impromptu mechanics had replaced the battery and we were finally on our way.
4:00 AM- Shiradi Ghat(somewhere in the Western ghats)
Shiradi Ghat is a very wide easily maneuverable ghat, with wide roads and a very reasonable angle of descent. Or at least it was. Now, there was no road, only a path. I remember as a kid, I had once gone on a ferry ride. The water was extremely rough and our vessel swayed violently, threatening to capsize at any moment. I was frightened to death. This is exactly how I felt as my bus swayed, with me oscillating like a pendulum inside it. Kudos to TATA Motors for designing a vehicle which could move with no two wheels being at the same elevation at any point in time. As the chassis creaked loudly under the strain of the three tons of the bus trying to contort it, it felt inevitable that eventually, it would give up and the bus would break into two. At around the same time, the gentleman on seat No.24 decided to readjust the angle at which his seat was reclining, and Voila!! he managed to break the locking mechanism on his recliner and the seat fell with a thud on to my already aching knees. From then on, each time we hit a pothole, this seat flapped up and down , ramming into my knee.
8:00AM Panemangalore Bridge
I woke up next at the toll gate for the bridge across river Nethravathi. As I put my head out of the window to look at the road ahead, all i saw was muck, and no tarmac. It was truly ironic that we had to pay an extra Rs50 at the toll booth, maybe it was entertainment tax, because the next 2KM sure felt like a roller coaster ride.
9:00 AM Home at last!!!! :-D
South Canara Dist. in September is a sight for sore eyes. The entire district turns green soon after the rains ... Sigh... and then i thought...maybe coming home is worth risking knee replacement surgery :)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
