The other day, we had our dinner in Phoenix Mall food court. Vigyan found a playmate in a similarly sized kid named 'Pepsi' whose parents (of course Panjabis; who could name their kid so interestingly) sat on an adjacent table. What a joy it was to see the 2 kids play! Their comfort and intimacy was like they had known each other for ever. When the dinner got over, we smiled at the other couple and came back. But the kids never even said bye! Vigyan never mentioned Pepsi after that.
We contemplated afterwards if we could imitate these kids sometime. Next time we go for dinner to a food court, could we just join another family regardless of whether we know them or not? Or may be we could invite them over to our table? Could we just chit chat about things we all love, never bothering to really judge each other? Could we share our food, time and thoughts without asking them who they are, where they stay, where they work, what they do etc.? And then, after finishing the dinner, could we just get up and go? No exchange of phone numbers, no visiting cards, no email id, no promises to find them out on the web. Just get up and go. And forget about them!
How would it be? I wonder!
3 comments:
I tend to behave like the way Vigyan did. I do not ask contact-coordinates from my co-passengers at the end of journey. This is not a matter of principle. It is my natural tendency.
However, the opposite need not be bad (for example asking people their salary, whether they have kids or not, if not why not etc). R.K.Narayan has written a brilliant short essay in his book 'The Writer's Nightmare' on this.
Back in school days, we studied a subject called 'community living' for at least two years. With adulthood comes too much of self-awareness stopping us from acting humanly.
I meant too much of *self-consciousness.
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