Mujh ko yaqeen hai…sach kehti theen…
Jab mere bachpan ke din the…chaand main pariyan rehti theen….
How true isn’t it? Today in a meeting we were discussing work life balance issues and I was thinking about how our life was a few years back. Careless, carefree and so much fun.
Last night while grocery shopping I came across a shop selling Crax. Remember the circular rings with a minty flavor. While devouring on the chips, I was thinking when this product used to be available in abundance but we were not allowed to eat it. Now we don’t have the restriction but most times we don’t have the time to even look at the shop which sells it. I can’t describe in words how much I enjoyed eating that packet of unhealthy rice puffs. Coz it reminded me of my childhood, the good old days when life was simple. When life was life and not analysis.
Just about a decade ago we would happily go out for an ice cream in the middle of the afternoon in my grandfather’s Fiat, windows rolled down; the heat and dust never affected us then. But now you need an air con in your car, office and house, you can’t spend an afternoon without it.
Now I step out and I come back home with all sorts of allergic reactions.
Yes a lot is to be blamed on our life styles now, but have we forgotten the simple life in the mad rush of technology.
There’s this advertisement on television these days, it’s for a mobile internet service and it talks about the concept of “Speed Living”. And as per the creators of the ad, it means, living all at ones. Doing everything you want to do at ones and NOW.
Ok, agreed we talk about the Power of Now. And Living and Appreciating the moment you live in and all that. But what’s this about. Speed Living….???? Gimme a break…!!!
Are we not living a life fast enough already that I would require a mobile phone to listen to a college lecture while I take my grandmother for a walk? How busy are we that we do not have the time to take her for a walk before or after the class. Or do we need to have mobile television when we are out with friends? Can we not wait for to go home and watch the program…? How important are these programs anyways?
Remember the good old Doordarshan days, where we had to wait the entire week to watch an episode of your favorite program. And how we looked forward to even the lousiest movie aired on a Saturday. And how we waited to listen to the latest songs on Chitrahaar every Wednesday, remember.
Now, what you see all weekend are runs and re-runs of all the ridiculous episodes of the saas-bahu sagas, and the super idiotic reality shows. And with the programs being repeated a thousand times already we’re buying DTH services which enables us to record programs. Aaaaaaaghhhhhhhhhhhhhh………….
I keep cribbing about my husband that spending way too much time playing golf in the sun. But I guess he is one of those few people in the world who actually get out of the house and do something other than going to a mall.
What has life become?
We have quarter-life, mid-life, mid-mid-life and I don’t know how many kinds of crises’ these days. I hear people at the age of 25 dying of heart attacks. People in their 20s requiring psychological help to deal with work life balance issues, relationship issues, marital issues and crap like that. We spend so much time reading and listening to people who give us gyan about life and we don’t live it. For living life or our relationships we need a coach. If you still have grandparents, ask them if they needed a Life Coach to actually tell them how to live their life.
We are scared of making mistakes; we want to be right always. We want to know answers for everything. Why….?
Why at 28 should I be worried about the things that would happen at 48? Or, why do I need to find meanings and hidden meanings in my relationships? What he said…what he meant and all the other crap that screws our brains!!!
I can bet that my grandparents never thought about their marriage in so much detail. And how long did their marriage last…? Well, sixty years. And these days you start having expectation issues and adjustment issues in as little as sixty days.
This quest of a bigger and better and more meaningful life has brought us to a place where we’re just analyzing it and not living it. We’ve complicated our work, our homes and our relationships because we wanted to add more meaning to them.
We’ve even complicated happiness and pleasure. I remember how much I used to enjoy watching the stars each night with my little sister. We would just lie on the terrace for hours, talk about all the weird, funny and even ridiculous stuff we wanted to do when we grew up. And now, I chat with her on Google Talk and half the time either of messages back “I’m Busy”.
Life isn’t a fairy tale agreed. But let’s just uncomplicated and live it.
Let’s not plan buying a house on the moon….vahan pariyan hi rehne do…!!!
This is an awesome write-up. I just would want to convey that just believe, think and visualize the idea of simplifying life and it will actually happen for you. We create our own Universe with our thoughts and feelings.
ReplyDeleteAnother Jagjit Singh ghazal that fits the bill perfectly in this context is "Woh kagaz ki kashti, wo baarish ka paani"
ReplyDeleteAnd I can mostly relate to what you say here. Thankfully, I see around me people who've complicated life much more for themselves, and I feel good about the simple things in my life. :)