LIFE AND LIES #88 | Bundle Of Joy

"Who's the baby?"

"She's my niece. I have loads of cousins and by extension, a lot of nephews and nieces."

"It's a nice picture."

"Thanks. You cannot imagine what was going through my mind while I was holding her."

"Can I guess?"

"Sure, why not."

"She’s so cute you could eat her."

"Haha... obvious guess, but, no. I was thinking about the theory of Twin Paradox."

"Interesting. Care to explain."

"In Twin Paradox, one of the twins goes on a space voyage and the other stays put on Earth. When he returns, he discovers that his Earth-bound counterpart has aged considerably compared to him. I do not have a twin. Nor do I have a vehicle capable of space voyages. But I do live away from my hometown and normally return after long intervals. This time, on my return, I found out that one of my nieces I once used to rock to sleep and carry around in my arms has now become a teenager, taking selfies and applying eye shadow for makeup. Although both of us have aged at the same pace, a second at a time, the passage of time feels different. I must have grown old given the fact that she has grown up. Still, I felt stuck in time. And now I was holding another niece of mine, a few hours before my departure. That bundle of joy was only six months old and was cackling for some reason. I was going away again and wondered what stage of life she would be at when I saw her the next time, crawling, standing, walking, running, going to school, participating in dance competitions... why are you laughing?"

"I was laughing at the way you have conditioned your mind."

"I don't understand."

"You had a genuine human moment. Your heart was telling you about things you were missing out in life. But that comes with a lot of additional work and responsibility. So, your mind avoids going there and instead attempts to correlate a normal emotional moment with a scientific theory that has no practical implications for your personal life. It involves no work and still leaves your heart with a feeling of contentment. You feel connected to science that holds the world together instead of experiencing the mundane life of a common man. For instance, if you don't want to miss the moments of a child growing up, go and get married. Become a father. Experience that firsthand. "

"Why does everything become about my marriage these days?"

***

Liked what you read? Leave a comment.

Comments

LIFE AND LIES #17 | Fancy a Haircut

Snip-snip, clip-clip Despite its monotonicity, the sound has a certain ring to it. If I concentrate a bit harder, it almost sounds like a well-placed tune. Or maybe I have been listening to it for too long. Nevertheless, the sound has a sense of power because it remains upbeat in spite of the consistent murmur. Then it pauses. A brief silence follows. The boy at the start of the line scuttles to the most demanded chair in the room, to fill the momentous vacancy. A sense of relief is evident on his face. Following this, a wave ripples throughout the line. Everyone takes a few steps ahead and then comes to a stop. Another down, three more to go , I count. The snapping of scissors resumes. The murmur follows suit. My legs ache. I had jogged all the way to the barbershop, after taking a hasty lunch. There, to my dismay, a long queue was already in place. Patiently, I stood at the end. Awaiting my turn, I had spent the past hours shifting my weight from one leg to other, taking se...

LIFE AND LIES #67 | The Shortest Story

Dedicated to a friend of mine who is no longer in this world. ********************************* A friend had died. Still, the world Hadn't come to a stop. Perhaps, it should have. Because I gave my presentation Smiling from ear to ear. And later at night, I drank to my fill To honour him. Because life is too fricking short, But at times, Feels too bloody long. If you google 'Shortest Short Story' You'll get the following result: "For sale: Baby shoes, never worn." Popularly attributed to Ernest Hemingway. Ernest, I'm sorry But I ended up writing Something similar myself. "Hang in there, my friend. He did." I'm not proud of what I wrote. It is what it is. "Who is this about," my friend asked after reading my poem. "He was my batchmate in school," I replied. "He committed suicide yesterday by hanging." "Why? What happened?" "Nobody knows. He had cut himself off from everyone." "Was he i...

LIFE AND LIES #77 | The English Teacher

When we are young, the world is full of possibilities. We can do anything, and become anything. We antagonise anyone who even hints at thinking otherwise about us. It's probably why most of us have a story to tell where the villain was a school teacher. Even I do. I don’t remember exactly how I ended up in the Headmaster’s cabin that day. All I remember is that back then I blamed my House Master for it. It wasn’t just me who had bunked the STD XII Pre-Board exams. There were many. But he made a scapegoat out of me. And the moment, I set foot inside the cabin, I received a big slap from the Headmaster. My ears rang. But that wasn’t the worst thing that happened that day. The Headmaster instructed him to call my father. Tell him to come or his son would be rusticated. I wasn’t a notorious student. I was good in my studies and had no disciplinary complaints against me. Had this incident not occurred, I would have completed my schooling in a few months with a clean record. My fat...

Life and Lies of M R Maiti

Search This Blog