Quarantine makes you
do funny things. Lately, I have been feeling nostalgic , more than usual. I think it is a collective phenomenon,
I have been seen more posts on Twitter and facebook about others also on a
nostalgic memory trip. It is clear now that we live in a much more complicated world
today, and we all yearn to live in a little more simpler times.
There is no denying
it, the 90s was the best decade to live in India. Especially late 90s, and
early 2000s, the transition to the new century and new millennium. We made such
a big hype and hoopla about it, the move into the new millennium. Year 2000 was
supposed to usher in the futuristic years, it had a certain ring to it, and it
promised changes, and a better life. As kids, we loved all of this, a phenomenon
that only occurs once in a thousand years. We are gen-x, and we would grow up
and shape the coming decades. There was so much optimism in the air back then.
Not that it did not happen,
it did. Changes did come, and life did get better, for most of us. But it also became
faster. Without realizing it, we ushered in a new decade of being late, of
getting busier. Despite all the technological advancements, people are always
in a hurry, to get to places, to get more work done in the same 24 hour period.
And that , for me is the big irony of the internet age.
Reminds me of that poem
, Leisure , by W H Davies.
What is this life if, full of care,
We have no time to stand and stare.
No time to stand beneath the boughs
And stare as long as sheep or cows.
No time to see, when woods we pass,
Where squirrels hide their nuts in grass.
No time to see, in broad daylight,
Streams full of stars like skies at night.
No time to turn at Beauty’s glance,
And watch her feet, how they can dance.
No time to wait till her mouth can
Enrich that smile her eyes began.
A poor life this if, full of care,
We have no time to stand and stare.
And these are precisely
the kind of things I used to do as a child. Walk and run in wide open spaces,
looking at sheep and cows, climb trees, smell the flowers. Enjoying the stars
at night, listening to sounds of owls, crickets and frogs. I had a cycle, literally
grew up on one, which I used to pedal everywhere. And had a bunch of friends to
meet and hangout with almost everyday. By mid 90s, new channels started
appearing on the TVs, and internet arrived by the late 90s. But these were all so
expensive, and out of the budget of kids like ourselves. So we would go out to
a café and send and email, but also meet the recipient later in the day, and
tell them we had emailed them. So the next day, they would visit the café and read
that email.
Waste of time ? Sure.
Waste of money ? 100 %!! But it was fun. And we did all this knowing we needn’t
worry too much about the future. A bright, and optimistic future where there
would be no problems, and everyone was happy, and had time for each other. Something
told us we could still enjoy the outdoors, and each other’s company well into
our thirties. In fact, we all wanted to grow up so fast. Thirties was the age
to be in !!
Nothing could be
farther from the truth. The thirties suck. Unless you have a few good things to
look forward to. Small pockets of joy to nurture yourself on, and small
challenges to overcome. Watching movies about contagions is one thing, living
through that hell is something far worse. The only thing one can have in these difficult
time is hope.
If you can’t hope to
go back, you can always hope for a better future.
