Suddenly it was breezy. A little chill had started calling my attention. The book was about to be finished. I think it was a tale of two cities by Charles Dickens. I realized it was quarter past three in after noon. During winters by this time Patna starts chilling. If not so at least afternoon sunshine recedes, the primary purposes of exposure during winters. Looking around there were people collecting clothes hung in sunshine for drying purposes, aunties wrapping up their chat, children wrapping their mats which spread around for study in sunshine.
Sitting at home during the lock down suddenly it flashed through my memory as if it was yesterday. Days passed, completed my degree, Job and now this chamber between cubicles. Wait I have been here before. This is Anirban Mukhopadhyay’s cabin, our program manager. A tall, handsome personality with intelligence,grace and dignity packaged together. One I look forward as my professional idol.”Hi how are you doing?””Fine. Whats the matter?”” Hey see the news from the client is not good. We will have to let you go””What? A mixed feeling spread around me. It was just couple of months back. Wait. It was last quarter. I was star performer of the project getting all the accolades in front of higher management, certificates, fancy words and what not? Even my request to be assigned to new project was rejected on the grounds of client not ready to let me go.”
Mind is an interesting study which keeps flashing between present, past, imagination etc. Having gone through these memories some thing or the other started which lead to the essence of what we are doing and its utility. I am sure things I or as a matter fact anyone else does has some utility in the complexity of social life we have created but thinking simply was this all necessary. One of friend and my room mate during Pune days taught me some very important lessons of life. An extremely successful man in software Industry one fine day decided to call it a day in order to give priority to his family.
These things force you to ask nuances of our daily life. If taken at a base value we earn to secure our and family future which essentially is nowhere when we start earning as daily demands of work ask for a sacrifice. The complexity that we have built over the year in order to ease our life has made it worse. Sleeping on you roof top watching stars doing nothing or sitting alone experiencing the scream of silence brought down by loo as dry summer wind is called or simply glaring at something has become rare. We don’t even remember when was the last time we looked up in sky without any reason or let our train of thoughts run as is without forcing it into a channel.
This lockdown has brought something which we all want to do. Relax. Courses and sessions are being organised on mindfulness. In the long world of our own created complexity we are having videos of monkeys eating bananas, having fun with their family doing nothing but we have complicated ourselves to a level that it becomes impossible to do something as simple as nothing. Sitting quietly letting the train of thoughts pass through as it is. Bore our self to hilt that we have never experienced before. It is difficult but without any complexity of work, no ambition coming the way, no skill training, just doing nothing is what I think we must give a try.
Sitting idle thinking on this perspective looks really exciting and brings a lot of happiness as if complete reset has happened. Wait….. my phone rings. Ohhhhh its an urgent deployment that needs to be taken care of. Good night guys.
