Skip to main content

Emotional Atyachaar

This is the title of a very popular song from the recent Hindi movie Dev.D. While I am not sure of the rest of the lyrics (which can be found here), the title could definitely personify the angst that one feels today against society large.

Jayeeta, a friend of mine at college, had once shared some thoughts with me, which went something like this-  when we are kids, we want to be first in class / sports / talent shows etc... when we are slightly older, we start hankering for attention from the opposite sex... we grow up, get into college, and then start looking out for a plum job... once that is in place, its time to get married... and then have children, who must also be trained to become first in class / sports / talent shows etc... Its a vicious cycle...

On umpteen occasions, I have wanted to break free... but as the 'common man' played by Naseeruddin Shah in A Wednesday says "We all have families to run". If I were to follow my heart on those umpteen number of occasions, I would quit my job and back-pack across India on a cycle... 

But I can't... not just because I have a family to run... not just because I love my wife, my parents and that they would be shocked at such a decision... but because the social conditioning I have received since birth would revolt against such an idea... no sooner would I set out then I would start pining for the comforts of a homely life... the solitude that I now look forward to would become a burden... the daily chores that I now take for granted would be appear in my day dreams as the sweetest of tasks... 

Comments

Post a Comment

No Spam Please :)

Popular posts from this blog

Seth & Karkaria

Why do people write in with their personal problems to the myriad agony aunt columns in newspapers? If I have a problem, wouldn't it be simpler to go to some one I trust, some one who would know more about my past - my case history so to say - and thus be better qualified to give me advice? I have tremendous respect for Mr Suhel Seth... but if he thinks he is answering queries put in by actual people on his column Survival Strategies in the Graphiti (the Sunday Magazine supplement of Kolkata's leading English language newspaper,  The Telegraph ) I think he is mistaken... Read some of the questions and answers that appeared in last Sunday's (29th March 2009) edition. (see them on The Telegraph site here ). You'll find Name and address have been withheld in all cases Nearly in all cases, the questions asked are leading ones The answers attributed to Mr Seth hardly seem like solutions... the nameless and homeless persons asking the questions would be liable to be...
1 comment
Read more

The Secret

Roni was in a rush. His chemistry tutor had taken an extra half an hour of class today to explain about metals and non-metals. As if he needed the explanation. He had been raiding his elder sister Tanni's table for over 3 years now, studying the notes and solving the problems she would give to her engineering students while they struggled. Roni was in class 10, but he felt like he was ready for college. But that's not why he was in a rush today. He was late for his daily fix. Every day of the week he used to visit a different tutor straight after school. Staying in a small town filled with educators meant that nothing, especially teachers, was too far away. But every place, and everyone, has secrets, and he had discovered many nooks and crannies where, on his way home, he could indulge in the cigarette procured from the school peon in exchange for a part of his tiffin - usually a snack like an apple or some mithai, or the joint received from the school bully as reward fo...
Post a Comment
Read more

Released

Anirban woke up with a terrible headache. Drinking that much cheap beer last night had been a terrible mistake. He couldn't believe that he had let his two friends-flatmates-colleagues cajole him into that escapade. But how could he have refused. They had finally got an early release from that damning client project they had been slogging on for months on end - something that called for celebration. All three of them had already been assigned to other more interesting projects - their new assignments starting from next Monday. Anirban had hoped that their celebrations would be planned over the coming weekend, but with Riddhiman and Sourashis deciding to use up some of their pending leave balances to pay a quick home town visit before the new assignment, the party had to be yesterday night. Anirban had decided against following in his friends' footsteps; he had planned a long break of three weeks for his elder brothers's wedding later in the year. It was a tough call - th...
Post a Comment
Read more