PG Days | ‘Giving the slip’
#memoriesfromdiaries 😍
[14 Aug 2000]
On this particular day, that dates back to more than two decades ago, a brief phone call to Appa, from the nearest STD Booth proved a pricey Rs.25/- for me! (as I’ve mentioned here!)
In contrast, today we are able to make unlimited calls for unlimited hours, almost for free, ain’t we?
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| My Personal Diary Entry, 14 August 2000 |
Ani, my good friend, handed over the money to me that was given by Appa!
Back then, as we all know, there were only two options for sending you money!
Either your parents passed on the money to you through your friends, or they made out a ‘Money Order’ from India Post on your name!
Today I cycled all the way to MG Gate, and indulged myself on a book buying spree!
Since I was doing my PGDCA (part-time), had to buy some books for that as well!
COBOL Programming by MK Roy – Rs.150/-
Programming in C by
Balagurusamy – Rs. 150/-
Let us C by Kanetkar –
Rs. 150/-
The Alchemist – Rs. 30/- by
Ben Jonson [not Paulo Coelho’s]
Phone Call to Appa – Rs.
25/-
Well, what fascinated me in particular about this day’s diary entry is this interesting sentence that I’d written back then –
‘I gave the slip to Eliot & Viv’
A line, that I personally feel, speaks volumes to my personal character traits!
You see,
Why on earth would I give the slip to two of my very good friends, who had offered to take me along with them to Erode, for those memorable train journeys and the subsequent exciting holiday time with them in lieu of the upcoming Independence Day holiday time?
It woulda real felt a gala time for me, obviously!
But somehow, don’t know how, (so please don’t ask me how) 😍there’s this internal me always in a candid conversation with the external me, asking me to escape!
Whispering to me quite gently as that, and prodding me earnestly, to spend some little added time on myself!
‘Do nothing! Be still! But still, cherish the sweet solace of your space!’, it says!
A principle that I’ve always loved practising in my life, as much as I possibly could!
My past HoD [in our lovely Department] Dr Felix Moses (when he was Head of the Department) used to comment on this little idiosyncrasy of mine, by quipping –
Ha ha… Rufus escaped ba… He won’t be accessible from now on ba! He’d sure have sent me a mail by now, saying, he’s in his sister’s house, and he woulda switched off his phone as well! 😋
This was his refrain for as long as could be! 😋
Dr. Ganesh, my kindred spirit, used to echo similar sentiments. He used to call me, ‘Mayavi’ for that self-same reason! 😋
Dr. SF my sweetest guide, also shares the same sentiments concerning me! 😋
One phone call to the best man at my wedding, Wes, and he will tell you lorry loads of my ‘disappearance’ from public connectivity for extended periods of time! 😋
Four lovely souls who have known me inside out, and with whom I’ve shared such good vibes al the time!
Even today, years after their retirement, [Dr. Felix and Dr. Ganesh I mean] whenever we catch up over a phone call, I’m sure our conversation would last a minimum of an hour’s duration, and sometimes even two!
Such was and is, the bonhomie we shared and we still share!
Well, yes!
That’s because they regarded or rather respected this little personal space of mine!
And thereby helped me be myself all the time!
I should also confess that, sometimes, I’ve preferred cherishing my sweet little space doing nothing, to being in company doing something!
I don’t know why! So don’t ask me ‘why-o-why’? 😋
One reason why Akiko’s How to Disappear is top on my reading stack for long!
You may also want to read my take on this lovely book on our past post HERE!
An incessant volley of calls, and the hundreds nay thousands of messages on Whatsapp and our message inbox that we wake up to, every morning.
Something akin to Nietzsche’s concept of ‘eternal recurrence!’
You are at a loss! On which one to choose! Which one to postpone reading for a later time!
Not wanting to hurt anyone, anytime in the process by your ‘unreplies!’
The same with our emails!
So yes! In this self-same context, I would love to share from a beautiful book by Sara Maitland, titled, How to be Alone!
This book, like Akiko’s, has had a great impact on me!
Says Sara,
I grew up in a big family, one of six children, very close together in age, and in lots of ways a bit like a litter of puppies.
It was not a household much given to reflection or introversion – we were emotional, argumentative, warm, interactive.
We did things together.
I am still deeply and affectionately involved with all my siblings. I became a student in 1968 and was fully involved in all the excitement and hectic optimism of those years.
Then I was married and had two children.
I became a writer. I have friends – friendship remains one of the core values of my life.
None of this looked like a life of solitude, nor a good preparation for living up a back road on a huge, austere Scottish moor.
What changed was that I got fascinated by silence; by what happens to the human spirit, to identity and personality when the talking stops, when you press the off button, when you venture out into that enormous emptiness.
I was interested in silence as a lost cultural phenomenon, as a thing of beauty and as a space that had been explored and used over and over again by different individuals, for different reasons and with wildly differing results.
I began to use my own life as a sort of laboratory to test some ideas and to find out what it felt like. Almost to my surprise, I found I loved silence. It suited me. I got greedy for more. In my hunt for more silence, I found this valley and built a house here, on the ruins of an old shepherd’s cottage. I moved into it in 2007.
In 2008 I published a book about silence…
Fascinating isn’t it?
Well, speaks volumes to the importance of cultivating your lovely personal space, and celebrating your individuality in such sweet and sacred ways, ain’t it?
Yes! Take some time off your busy schedules, whatever they may be!
Doesn’t matter if you don’t attend calls! Doesn’t matter if you don’t respond to those messages!
Doesn’t matter if they misunderstand you!
If they are of your ilk - of one accord and like-minded - then I’m sure they’ll not only understand you, but also gladly allow you to cherish and to celebrate your space!
Because what matters is YOU!
So yup!
Now for the three little steps to celebrating silence -
The first step is, get fascinated by silence!
Then, fall thobakadi into that silence!
Finally, get into the ‘wowww’ mode, and relish that silence, for as long as could be, pampering your creative spirit for as much as possible, in that process!
That’s being you!
Or rather,
That’s celebrating you!
Because,
If YOU don’t celebrate yourself, who else do you think, will?
PS: You may want to read a past post of mine, on cultivating your personal space, HERE!
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