So many mornings, I wake up to find myself not wanting to wake up. It’s the same Sun, the same morning to noon, noon to eve, eve to blackness…
The same action replay, which goes on and on…In a never ending loop.
Even the words spoken, to the people spoken to, appear to be the same. Eating, walking, smiling, working, sleeping…The same mundane pattern everyday, all days…
The monotony is too much to bear. There seems to be nothing exciting enough, interesting enough…. nothing to look forward to, nothing new or original…
In a sense, everything is a repeat telecast of the day gone by and the day before and the day before…
So why wake up at all?
Then I slightly swivel my head and my eyes catch sight of a colourful butterfly, perching atop a blossoming rose;
A toddler, gurgling and clapping his hands gleefully over that sight;
A sweeper on the streets, who passes a smile as I walk by;
A newspaper vendor whistling some lastest movie song while cycling by;
A puppy rolling in sand happily;
A cow munching away at her food contentedly…
The world seems happy in the small joys and apprehensions available around every nook and corner…
Then some slight voice inside me pipes up…”You are not who you were yesterday, it’s a new day, you are a new person, it’s a changed perspective, it’s a POSSIBILITY”!!!
This possibility of reaping something new, harvesting some peace, sowing some silence in the chaos of the soul…isn’t it this which keeps us ploughing on?
Well, it does to me and that makes waking up a joy, something to look forward to, an adventure, a treasure hunt. Only this time, this hunt is to find some sense In the basic nonsense of life…
Prices of items are sky rocketing everywhere. Wherever you go, it’s the same old cribbing….
Be it housewives complaining about the rising prices of vegetables in general and onions in particular (becomes so difficult to make even the “Gajjar ka halwa” (a sweetmeats made with carrots )…as just how can someone buy carrots at 15 rs per kg!!!! It’s preposterous!!! If the price is this high, imagine how high the price of the prepared halwa be, counting the 1000 rs kilo ghee and the 1500 rs kg dry fruits!!! So the price of carrots shouldn’t be more than 7/8 rs per kg to make that perfect and feasible”halwa”!!)
Then there are the elders, who inadvertently complain about the rising prices of petrol in India, though the prices all over the world have dropped!!!
The fathers complain about the annual, half yearly and in many cases the quarterly hike in school fees of their kids, which certainly creates a huge dent in the pockets…
The maids and drivers complain about their stagnant salaries, when even the “pados vaali Didi” (the neighbour) has hiked it for her maid and driver respectively and with due respect….
Patients crib about doctor’s fee… Doctors crib about their less salaries in comparison to the corporate world… Corporates crib about inhumane work timings…
And the list goes on and on and onnnnnnnnn…..
This got my feather brain fluttering mercilessly, pondering as to, is everything in this world becoming expensive?? Is there nothing that is cheap or better FREE!!!
The answer came in the form of, again, the “messiah” of societies (saviour)… The “pados vaali auntyji”!!!! (Neighbour, AGAIN)….
I was having a minor stomach ache. This “breaking news” reached auntyji’s ears in no time. She came, loaded and armed with all the knowledge of a multispecialist doctor….one that can’t be found even in the best medical institutes in the world…
She told me “Beta, aapne zaroor bhutta khaaya hoga ya phir khaane ke baad vajrasan nahi kiya hoga. Paani to nahi piya na fauran?? Usey na pet ki aantdiyon me(WHAT??) gas bhar jaati hai, to usi se pet dard hua hoga”(Did you do the yogic exercise for digestion, the “Vajrasan”? Hope you didn’t eat corn or drink water just after your meal. As that forms gas in the intestines of the stomach(again….WHAT???)
On informing her that it’s a cramp caused due to faulty workout posture; without batting an eyelid she went on, in detail, to explain these…
The benefits of Yoga and the dangers of lifting weights…
The numerous ways to lose weight without working out…
The benefits of aloe, “jeera”, aesofitida, basil, ginger water in stomach ache/weight loss…
The numerous brands of green, brown, black, blue and other primary coloured teas…
On asking her as to the source of her information, she proudly proclaimed, “beta, saare fitness channels dekhti hun..din me 3/4 ghante.. thak jaati hun sab dekhkar!!!” ( I see fitness channels for 3/4 hours everyday)
Giving “gyaan”, aka advice is the easiest, cheapest and the most available commodity in this world, isn’t it? Doesn’t take a dime to pile up all our “knowledge”; acquired through watching TV, reading newspapers, listening to people who know and these days the latest supersonic one, received through WhatsApp; onto the listener.
The purpose is multifaceted….
To show that we care,
To show how intelligent and up to date we are,
To just simply do time pass, as we have nothing better to do,
To maybe, drink the evening tea at the neighbour’s place…
Reasons are many and so are the range of advices…
From how to procreate(seriously!!!) to who to befriend in the society,
From how to buy fresh “dhania” (coriander) to which colour to put on the walls of our bedrooms,
From how to raise kids to how to haggle in the clothes market,
From how to talk to how to walk,
From which shade of hair dye to use( in my case the advice is mostly to dye my hair, else “pati” ( husband) would look younger and someday might think of leaving me…..I ACTUALLY got this advice from a neighbour!!!!!) to which types of leggings and kurtas are in vogue…
And in most cases, the people so nonchalantly “gifting” us with their valuable advice, do not have an inkling as to whatever it is that they are spouting from the trenches of their “holy” mouths!!!
I would never want to “advise” such people to mind their own horses… No, no, no…not at all…as that again would be an uncalled for “gyaan”, wouldn’t it ???
Musings of a Feather Brain 