Have We Lost It?

Have we Lost it?

I distinctly remember reading an article written by a British officer of the Raj era wherein he had recorded his observations of the Indian people , their habits, traditions and their idiosyncrasies . Most of it was the regular stuff but what remained imprinted on my mind was this sentence- “The Indians have perfected the art of doing nothing.” It was definitely not said in a sarcastic or mocking vein, but was meant to be taken seriously.

Over a period of time, I mulled over this and started seeing things from his perspective. I got a chance to travel to a lot of places in the interiors of India, small towns, Kasbahs and a few villages too. In Sikkim, in the far flung Yum thang valley, I observed a father with his tiny tot tied to his back in a sling, standing at the edge of one of the many hairpin curves dotting that landscape. He was just standing there, enjoying the gentle evening breeze, watching the sunset and skimming his eyes lovingly over his beloved land. There was such an expression of peace and serenity on his face. I waited impatiently for him to do something, say something or at least move. He did nothing of that sort. He continued being in this Zen like pose for a long time, while I mumbled something about the sheer wastage of time.

On another trip to Himachal, I watched a young teenaged girl sitting on the stone steps leading to her humble abode, observing two young school girls playing a version of hopscotch. She kept looking at them, with a benevolent look and that serene smile once more. I too stopped at observed them. I saw the kids play and was tempted to correct them in their game, tell them about better balancing techniques and offer unsolicited advice on their hopscotch game. However, language created a thankful barrier and I went away disappointed that I could not save the day and polish the skills of two of India’s future stars.

I realized that I was the only one fretting and fuming over the time being wasted and precious seconds being lost forever. This set me thinking that why do we city folks cling onto every moment and try to exploit it to its maximum. We want to use each day, each minute most efficiently so that we become better students, competitive professional and live the maximum life. Why do we do all this? So that we can be HAPPY! So that we may find our peace and be content with life. But we don’t realize that we are on a constantly turning treadmill on which we are running, panting and gasping and finding our destination escaping from our clutches like a mirage vanishing in the desert.

I remembered the words of “Leisure” by William Henry Davies, etched forever in my mind.

What is this life if, full of care,
We have no time to stand and stare.

If the poor soul were alive today, he would never have even imagined how rushed our life has become. “Staring”… I think sometimes we even forget to breathe! We are constantly on the lookout for new ways to torture our already beaten and injured bodies and minds. Multitasking is the mantra for us. If you are not juggling your home, office, family, hobby classes, parties, yoga classes and PTA meetings, you are not even worth being mentioned. The busier you are, the better for you. And then, these serene expressions haunt us.. make us wonder.. why are we doing all this? And then realizations dawns… so that we too may reach that state of nirvana, experience the bliss and calmness.

What was a way of life for us, seems to have been lost somewhere. No offence meant, but the true “ART OF LIVING” runs in our veins. It’s just that we diluted it with protein shakes, too much adrenalin and cocktails. Let us all understand LEISURE in its truest sense.