In few days, I will be stepping into the dreaded forties…why is it dreaded…??? That’s what we have been made to believe by the society. Is it actually dreaded…? I don’t know, for I am entering that zone for the first time… :)
But, one thing is for sure that its
one landmark. Is it so…?? As any intellectual does, I also wanted to quench my
thirst for knowledge, and GOOGLEd it…oh my…I am not the only one who thought
so. An American has gone a step ahead and has written a book titled, Life
Begins at 40..!! That too it was written way back in 1932. And it seems to be a
self help book…thankfully, not a fiction. And Google, as usual, tries to enrich
our knowledge by displaying related questions. One such question was, “What is
the 40th birthday called?” and the answer is Ruby Jubilee.
Intriguingly, I searched if there are names for 39th and 41st
birthday…thankfully, no name was readily prompted by GOOGLE. Hence the proof
that 40th birthday is actually a landmark.
Have been thinking about the forty
years that one has been alive for. And comparison with others is but natural.
While comparison has been widely disgraced, I did think how lucky I have been,
in avoiding a number of pitfalls which few of my equals in life could not
surmount successfully. Listing the positive achievements is one way of thinking
about the life which may be materialistic and emotional in nature. Behind these
positive achievements, some have been due to acquiring some skills or taking
few steps. Interestingly, I realized that one important aspect to achieve few
good things have been the ‘lack’ of few other things in my life. To put it otherwise,
I can say that absence of few things have been the strength for the other
positive things. I would like to list these things, as some of these are no
brainers and some are easily achievable by everyone, provided that we are aware
of these aspects.
Before I start to list out, I
obviously mean not to undermine the efforts and impact of my family, friends,
teachers and others. There is a concept that is becoming widely acknowledged
nowadays, called as ‘Ovarian Lottery’. It is being popularized by Warren
Buffet. The moment you hear this word, you realize that a simple but a powerful
awakening dawn upon you. We could just have been anyone or anywhere. Just by
draw of that lottery we are here where ever we are and we are whatever we are.
So in no way I am taking away any of the importance of people in my life.
No particular order or precedence in
the list…. Again, one more disclaimer, few things which are figuring below may
be your favorite; I in no way mean to disregard your indulgence. And in fact
you may opine that I am missing something great, the pleasure of things you
find it here and you indulge in, but that’s ok; it suits me.
So,
here we go….
1. No mega serials. Sounds stupid, right…? I don’t remember watching any serials
in my life but for a few which were the fashion of the days in my early school
days. Generally our society has been associating the serials only with women,
but believe me, I know few men who will make the women envy with their
indulgences in the soap operas. Not only the viewing time, negativity that is
generally filled in each frame, effort involved in reviewing these negativities
with co-watchers and the energy needed to come out these negativities…ufffff…
2. No TV. Seriously. I do have a TV and a
DTH Box. The DTH is activated only when our family members come over to stay
with us, which is not very frequent, by the way. I realized that TV has a
special power for addiction not just because of the actual content you intend
to watch but because of the Advertisements. Strangely, watching TV programs interrupted
with Ad gives a feel that you are doing something ‘mainstream’ and you end up
doing more of it. You may also have realized that you would browse for some
time before settling to watch something. The invisible time lapse is
considerable.
3. No EMI. KV Kamath of ICICI is credited
to be the father of EMI in India for the consumer products. Successfully, I
have been able to disappoint him. I have resisted myself from the tentacles of
the EMI net. More than simple direct additional cost, I believe, it creates a
habit of expending the money that we don’t have, and as the saying goes, on the
items that we dint need. Actual addiction is not in signing up for an EMI but
when you close it. When you successfully complete the payment for an EMI
purchase, you develop a strange feeling of achievement. This ‘false achievement’
generates a greater impulse or urge to go for next EMI and there you get into
the vicious cycle.
4. No addiction to movie stars. One of the
absences, which I am very happy about, to this day. Where I come from,
worshipping a movie star is more common than anything else. It used to cut
across all the strata. Recently, to capitalize on the holidays of Pongal, two
movies starring actors with major fan following were released on the same day.
During the FDFS, numerous clashes had occurred. Even a life was lost. But the
world moves on like nothing happened. If you were watching the right channels,
you might have seen the ‘fans’ erecting 100 feet tall cut-outs for these
actors, climbing these cut-outs and washing the same with milk etc..,. One’s
liking is never the question here; just imagine the time, energy, money that
have been wasted. Think of the life that was lost. Some ‘may’ give some
financial aid, but is that a replacement..?? I have successfully evaded the
clutch of such fervor. I do like the performance of a particular actor, but I
don’t know his birthday, dog’s name etc..,. In fact, there are few movies of
that actor which I have not even seen. That doesn’t disturb my sleep.
5. No costly hobbies. This one is
‘not-so-clean’ absence, for the word costly is relative. What is an affordable
hobby or indulgence for you may be a costlier one for me. In same relative
terms, I have been able to indulge in the hobbies that don’t burn holes in my
pocket.
6. No Tea time. Believe me, I can understand your hatredness towards me. After my school days when I ventured out of home as hostler I dint develop the inclination for tea (may be that I prefer coffee over tea, that too homemade). By not having a specific time-bound requirement to sit down for a tea saves a lot of time. And lot of calories too…!! Lot of people has explained the tea time as dedicated family time. Depends.
Absence of few things alone will not propel us on to the path we desire, but will surely facilitate the same as it removes lot of baggage and the associated negativities.