Things come back to bite 215

Many things in life have a way to turn around and bite. No one gets exempted. Playing the blame game for this is neither an option nor a solution. Choices made without due consideration of cause and effect, turns the hoped-for happy tidings ends up in living a bad dream.

The smart phone. This device makes an innocent entry, probably due to personal desire or as an answer to social pressure. Soon, two or more devices of different make sneak in. After some time, the children in the house lay claim over them as their own pets! Any time of the day, they surf, watch and play declaring time out for study. Rob Smith, whose intention would have been to make this device more "user friendly"- can he be blamed now?

The next in line will most probably be a notebook or an iPad. By the time the adults get the hang of it, the children have become master navigators, drawing upon their smartphone experience.

Parents scream and queue up, to plead for a once in a while chance for using the device! Steve Job and others might have thought that these devices would be helpful to the breadwinners. Are they to be made scapegoats and blamed?

The family, children included, line up enough justifications for the next gadget-a big screen smart TV. Multiplex cinema tickets+ popcorn buckets costing a king's ransom, and the aged TV needing overdue replacement swings the needle of judgement of parents. Not to miss out, the smart children weigh in saying," Now, the choice will be available to watch "any time, any program" comfortably at home" Crunchies costing less than popcorn buckets and zero travel expenses - can this recurring savings be ignored? Additional weight to the justification.

Parents fail to get their intel right-Children aggressively take over control of this supposed homegrown multiplex and turn it into a theater for battle of nerves. The big screen gets its audience and hears the background score of parents.

To suppress this noise, children play the home alone card - a psychological power ploy. Exploiting this situation, the children manage to get a Xbox!

Who gets the blame - John Baird for coming up with the idea for TV, Fast France and hp for smart TV? Microsoft for Xbox? If so, the choicest blame will have to be laid on the shoulders of the duo - Bob Kahn and Vint Cerf who made today's internet possible. Can the search engines, for bringing the world of knowledge at the drop of a hat, be left out?

An innocent visitor who has already established a firm hold in the house is junk food and fast food. Children badgered and parents relented. What appeared as an easy solution, to the stressed-out office goers, has become yet another problem to tackle. 

Even listing out the kilometer long brand names of fast and junk foods, to shift the blame, is now a taxing task! Things that stood by as contingency measures have been granted permanency. Parents, who were initiators and spectators-in-awe, are now -on- split your hair routine. What they dangled as "carrots" to children to perform their academic chores, has left the "stick" with them, wondering what to do with it! Clenching jaws, gnawing at the lips and learning to contort facial muscles at different angles have become anger control measures. Visits to dental clinics, seeking remedies to stop the crunching of teeth becomes an extracurricular activity for the parents.

Reaching wits end, a different type of blame game begins. Parents argue-children should understand the stress at home and workplaces and co-operate. Children counter-they too are equally stressed at school and home. Spending hours with Smart devices may harm inherent smartness-parents try another track to run their thought train.

With or without, there are children who are couch potatoes. With or without, there are smart ones and not so smart ones. With or without children wear glasses and do or not do well academically. These counters from children speed through like bullet trains! 

Now comes the impasse. With both parents and children hardening their respective stands, the verbal exchange results in the proverbial "hen or egg, which came first?"

Parents wanted to say but didn't, "Essentials are different from those that give us comfort and luxury. Were they not brought home to raise standard of living?" If posed with this question, the children will no doubt be unanimous in blaming the elders.  So, they did not.

The children wanted to say, but didn't, "The onus is on the user - to be constructive".  They too did not.

The children soon become multi-device, multi-channel experts.  The "carrots and stick" trick has backfired. Parents stand dumb struck, wondering whether "smart devices" might have helped the children to line up such convincing thoughts. after all!

They realised that they are singing out of sync with the children's orchestra! Status quo is anathema to Science & Technology. Efforts to make better things best are never slackened. The emotionally drained parents could not do anything but to blame themselves for WFH and WTH syndromes, which nudged the children to make friends with smart devices. Whatever is said and done, the children have possession of the remote and the last laugh!

The Bug that did not travel 214

After all the five plus decades spent rooted to his living place. Imaginch felt suffocated and wanted to get away from it and imbibe a different environment. This thought was circulating in his mind like an old ceiling fan, anemic with a weakened coil and condenser unit working in tandem.

Taking time to organise his epic tour itinerary, he downloaded from the attic books on General Knowledge - bought to tutor his off-springs. He taught them line by line, in his monotonic voice, drumming on their eardrums. Smart children they were! Unable to withstand the verbal tedium, they came up with effective countermeasures very quickly. They switched off their audio systems.!

Whatever he does it will have plenty of preparation - scribbling pads, writing instruments, stick files and such paraphernalia. Next action called for categorising his interest - places of historical, religious, scenic and geological importance. Furious noting down ensued with such a vehemence; the deep impression of his writing left the pages in tears. But he took his time; worrying his hurry might make him miss something important. Poor scribbling pads -they resembled heavily bandaged casualty patients!

    Armed with collected basic information, he then took to marking up places of interest. A large-scale map, giving company to those GK books, was brought down from the attic. The dusting and cleansing process went through with his characteristic dedication. Then, drawing pins of different colours were stuck onto the map. When the operation behind closed doors came to an end, the map lay on the table looking like a catalogue of galaxies, an astronomical nightmare!

With painstaking care, he completed packing and stacking, again behind closed doors – not the one to broadcast his plans in advance. He has experienced “a slip between the cup and the lip” many times over. Selection of clothes did not give him much trouble. He had shirts of the same colour with differing designs and pants in shades of grey and black. Looking at the wallet, that had seen better days, he took an impulsive decision to buy one soon.

At each stage of planning, his trip turned out to be more and more complicated. His inner voice sneaked in a snide comment “great, you have found out a simple method to create a complex situation" He ignored this voice over. Never to let someone else to have the last laugh, he searched for a face-saving solution. Changing track, he started to estimate the size of the hole, this trip will leave in his pocket, financially.

The size of the hole scared the day light out of him. He understood that his over ambitious travel plan cannot be sustained on his current savings, even if he manages to scrape from the bottom of the barrel. He wondered why the voice over was keeping silence. Calm before storm? No such luck for him. Once again, not to disappoint him, his mind-speak came up with another unkind remark “look for renewable sources - fossil fuel is depleting". 

Historical sites have a history of their own: war and destruction, conquests, defeats and plunder. Some sites host monuments for constructive love and peace. Nobody is in a hurry to change the past or let go the bygones. These sites and monuments would still outlive him by a few decades until catastrophic events occur. Even then the ruins remain as testament to "historic" events. He decided to consciously postpone this part of the visit for now! Soon, clarity peeked through the layers of brown matter, where from his inner voice has been shooting snide remarks at him.

Thousands laboured  shedding sweat and flesh, to give life to architectural marvels called temples. The idols of presiding deities and other lesser deities speak volumes about the capacity to visualise and of the devotion of the sculptors who made these divine figures come to life. Of the millions who throng to have darshan of installed idols, how many have had a vision of the deities?  How many could lay claim to the devotion of the sculptors who brought life to a block of rock? Imaginch had no qualms to accept that he had no such gifts.

Temple visit, in effect, boils down to: Which King built and when?  What astronomical significance has been considered? Which deity should be worshipped for what purpose? Is it to have a fleeting darshan of the deities and a glance at the grand architecture! Why not pray to the higher power from one's house itself?

Religion, construction and destruction of monuments and ruins of conquests are like substance and shadow. But the misfortune is in the nature of the light we use to cast the shadow. Is enlightenment the missing link? Since it is a planned visit without deeper understanding, Imaginch decided to wait till he could develop "visualisation with devotion".

For him geology meant from topsoil to mines, descending to the bowels of the earth, without any distinction in between. Though, he himself was never clear about what beauty could be there to behold and why he wanted to visit such places! He retained the proposed visit in the active list since his inner tormentor had not yet come out with any wisecracks.

This thought must have disturbed it. Waking up from its slumber, the inner voice frantically searched for an ammunition to shoot down Imaginch's hard -to- fathom yearnings to be with sludge, swirling and suffocating dust, unbearable heat and din of earthmoving machineries. It wondered, "who in his right mind would want to visit these eyesores?"

It could not conjure up a drilling remark to upset him. But its silence spoke volumes into Imaginch's ears! He unilaterally decided to drop the plan like "hot potatoes or rather like hot coal".

 The positive takeaways from the truncated travel plan, appealed and gladdened him:

1. He did not spend money on a new wallet, in a hurry. A wise move!

2. His decision silenced the inner voice and now he could himself say " hot potatoes or rather like hot coal"

Before discarding his copious notes on the aborted grand tour, Imaginch wanted to glance at the section under scenic beauties. The moment his inner heard the rustle of papers, it became alert for possible breach of its tacit understanding. Imaginch's mind accustomed to his miserly ways, flexed its muscles and prompted the inner voice to say something. 

This time, the inner voice decided to come out loud and clear, like a seasoned orator. Imaginch's eardrums reverberated with the slogan "Go local and not global". Out of hundreds of stored images, his brain pulled up one of a verdant grassland with clumps of trees, undulating terrain, snaking pathways on Martian-like red soil, and in the distance a pool or a lake shining like a mirror. Fearing rejection, it left a hint that may be some wild animals could also be there! To further sweeten the deal, it brought out a Google map and showed that the place is at a walkable distance from his house.

Imaginch decided that scenic beauty is natural and open to anyone willing to hike, bike or walk. Sparkling, gurgling and roaring water; mesmerising snow with bone chilling teasers; sound of music from swaying trees; blooms in riots of colours with smiles and fragrance! Insects, and wild animals lording over this nature's kitty!  He was prepared to add the missing elements, to the place of his visit, and willing to explore this imaginary world. A demanding, heady feeling, promising limitless joy galvnised his entire body. He decided to pack and walk with this thought, hoping that the inner voice will accompany him in total silence. 

On the march of forwards.... -213-

Social media thrives on patronage. Once used to this fingertip wonder of a whirlpool, the patrons literally crave to stamp their presence. With just a casual look around, one can witness the two handed, two finger typo dance, over the display screen - mimicking a Russian ballet dance on the go! Of the numerous dance forms, this defies definition and rules!

My heart beats with the touch screen, with or without the scratch guard, and the multiple mega pixel camera lenses. The smartphone designers would not have dreamt about the tough workout for the hapless touch screens. No doubt, the designers must have walked off with a Guinness record for heaving a collective sigh of relief!

With the "hands on" experience on call, the patron is now confident to exhibit the acquired skills. It starts with simple messages to relatives and friends. Emojis are shared to gladden or sadden each other at supersonic speeds.

With practice leading the demand, more and more time is spent with the cell phone. The cell phone is smart and the patron.....learning to become one? 

Appetite for more is satisfied by ferreting out hidden features of the media and cell Phone. Mounting, self-inflicted pressure moves the boundaries beyond greet and wish messages. Why to leave the unearthed features to be under exploited?

Every waking and walking moment of a social media savvy, the touch screen suffers, without breathing time. To keep the multiple cameras in good humour and be impartial, the user clicks pictures and shoots videos of whatever catches his or her fancy for the "forward and forget" messages! 

After a while, the generated "selfie storms" weaken on the borders of mediocrity. To keep the kettle boiling, forgotten and long-lost acquaintances are renewed and added to the roster. The hidden reason for this frantic enlisting is - the patron has been "blocked" out by many from his first list! The craving to stamp one's presence nosedives when even the "forward and forget" messages get ignored.

Like a seasoned hunter looking for prey, the patron trains the media gun on images, information and exhortations. Received messages and videos, fits the bill for instant "forwards". In desperation even news items get the chance for multiple electronic journeys. Now what happens? The inevitable expectations peep, beep and galvanise the sender to check for replies. Instant replies are welcome and delayed ones acceptable. Some of the messages probably got deleted. No matter what, the user keeps the chats flowing! 

Not to be put down so effortlessly, the sender then checks on the social media activity of non-responsive recipients. The sender has learnt to be a spy, on the smartphone! The talented individuals are drawn into the "interest" group and take it upon themselves to get into each other's smart phone. The enthusiastic ones get into as many groups as possible and merrily continue with their craft. Number of such groups formed rivals the growth of weeds. With various "interest "groups actively travelling the labyrinths of social media, the service providers smile, and the networks experience electronic stampede.

After some time, the shocker comes - on the same day and on getting the same "forwarded" messages many times over. Since everyone in the group is doing the same thing, it is not at all embarrassing to anyone! This the tragedy of being in many likeminded groups.

Slowly the initial euphoria evaporates. Disenchanted users embrace dead silence to postings in the group. Some "brave" ones quit after a decent interval- out of timidity! Still the merry churning by the group goes on with diehard activists - numbering a dismal two or three. 

It is anybody's guess why the group does not fold on itself. How easily the social media platform becomes crowded like the busy Railway junctio? Happy gathering (withering) of collective indifference? 

 

Imaginch's doubts - part 2

Why the visuals on T V always show policemen in groups when out on the streets on a high alert situation?
This doubt had Imaginch in a bit of bother. His explanation should be such that it does not take lightly the efforts of the police personnel but at the same time be convincing. Though he had watched such visuals on T V and on two  or three occasions while passing by such grouping en route to a bus terminus or a railway station but this thought never cropped up in his mind: the police grouping is meant to dispel the anxiety of general public by a show of strength and nonchalance.

Why fewer police personnel are present when hooligans go berserk, in the name of regional solidarity, targeting ‘others’ who have been living there for generations? Is there no other means to observe solidarity?
This was another related doubt to the personnel in uniform. May be the uniform is not the best shield against allegation of outright condemnation of highhandedness, which comes predictably after every police action. Secondly the uniform is not an insurance cover against attacks by the mob, who in their stirred up frenzy mistake these brothers as the government. Thirdly, someone in the mob can identify and take them on one-to-one at a later date as the nonstop visuals telecasts can come in handy, in the wrong hands. The mob does not worry about getting identified from the same visuals in the secure knowledge that there are some vested forces waiting to take care of them.

The narrow minded mob psychology exhibits only its tunnel vision. No time to read notes on demographic compulsions and then react to a situation. Expecting a mob to use peaceful means to show solidarity for a cause, which anyways does not get the deserved attention, remains a pipe dream. The mob comes armed to the teeth with lethal weapons, made in indigenous factories. The mob would be in no mood to distinguish between a pellet injury and a bullet injury to go on another rampage.

In a bid to get in to the policemen’s shoes , Imaginch thought like this: Probably the men in uniform would be saluting the common man’s grit and determination to face it alone as they were busily in safeguarding the assets of VVIP and VIPs!

Why the militants target only the security forces?
Like a hero getting under the skin of the character he has to portray, Imaginch went epidermis to find out the answer, though he was literally shaking with fear of being branded as a sympathizer or even worse and tagged under (“case fit for sedition charges”) CFFSC which he did not want to expand and be caught. He was very conscious of his position or stand and needed no urging from TV channels.

Theoretically a non-state operator, the militant is unable to take on the might of the Nation in a straight combat. High on hate and low on human values, life and ethics, he targets the uniform deluding himself that he had taken on the Nation.  There is no place in his skull to think that “fighting for a contrived and non-existent cause, dead and buried without being acknowledged” is not valour or sacrifice or honour by any scripture.  Yet to a militant, the security forces represent a Nation; it’s well being an impediment for the rule of anarchy.

And why the security forces are not able to spot and stop the militants before they cross over?
The first point that came to his mind empathized with the forces on one solid reason – absence of a visible no-man’s land where anyone crossing over is a non-welcome visitor. Secondly the terrain has rivulets, forest cover and local inhabitants. The last fact reins in their fire power fearing civilian casualties which inadvertently acts as a cover for these militants. Thirdly, indistinguishable resemblance to the local inhabitants makes them tread cautiously to avoid a hue and cry about restricting freedom of movement. Running out of further reasoning, Imaginch let out a satisfied sigh.He hoped to have nullified the effect of his act of getting under the skin of a militant with this spirited defence on behalf of the security forces.

Why people keep saying that someone is lucky?
This was like coming closer to home truth which resides ever one’s mind. Probably used as a release mechanism to vent out personal exasperation based on perceived lucky factor. In a phlegmatic sense, by comparing with another individual, it could be an ill will factor. But his doubt remained uncleared  – does it really matter?

Why people credit ‘narrow escapes’ to their favourite idols instead of allowing the escapees to credit it to their respective good fortune?
The answer to this doubt was devoid of any sensational insight. Self doubt leans on an “idol” for support, time and again, and to keep the “idol” pleased, taking no credit for the action or inaction leading to the event. This is a perpetual ritual. On the other hand, the escapee has the freedom to divert the credit or own it for the timely actions or inaction which culminated in the event. Imaginch wondered whether he had become ‘hyperbolic’ to come up with such thinking!

Why the differently clad avatars, claiming to have ultra super natural powers do not command the clouds to rain and quench the thirst of teeming millions and save lakhs of acres of crops?
Here Imaginch had to tread carefully as the discussion could turn in to a raging religious storm - left, right and the rainbow politico wings ready to fan the fire.The differently clad globe trotters might be constantly in touch with the clouds.They barely might have time to admire the beauty of the clouds from the window seats. Using a fraction of their ultra supernatural power why they could not 'order' the clouds to start raining? Is this a portion out of syllabus for them or this miracle not worth the effort?

Imaginch's doubts - part1

All of a sudden, clouds of doubts assembled in Imaginch’s mind. They had a mind of their own and started to torment him in sleep, by parading horrific dreams of demons demanding a resolution. No amount of squirming in the bed or cursing his stars could check the free runs these doubts. In frustration he decided to take leave of absence, doubting whether this move would help him to find answers. But before that could happen, he had to prepare a list of doubts which would guide him in this great endeavour. Imaginch was well aware of his ‘Mensa’ score and had great trouble in convincing himself to embark on this journey.

When the first man landed on the lunar surface, which phase of moon was visible to him?
He calculated it to be nearing the full moon phase, for us, and more closely between 10th and 12th day after new moon day! To arrive at this guess he struggled with an ephemeris for that year and month of landing. Having done so much of work he was excited to get in to an astronaut’s space suit and steal a look at mother earth, hoping to see almost half of it in day light.

He wondered,“How many people might have seen the dark or hidden side of the moon”?
This doubt came to his mind as an afterthought of the earlier one. It took him some time to realise that the visible face of the moon has never changed since his childhood! He was neither a keen observer nor knowledgeable in orbital mechanics between earth and moon. So he had decided to take the moon’s appearance at its face value, mainly to avoid finding an answer to this doubt. Now things started to look different. It became clear to him that the answer lay in guessing the number of persons who had that opportunity to see the hidden side of moon, except aliens. About two dozen astronauts fell in to the slot. What human eyes could see, a camera lens also could see! The total went up another dozen to account for the unmanned probes that had orbited around moon. The moon on its part went on showing the same profile with fascinating phases. Full moon to new moon it inspired poets and hung on as a lamp in the garden of love.

Like a meteorite falling from the sky, Imaginch’s doubts took a nose dive and crash landed on earth – “Is there a connection between the geographical features – the Marianna trench and Mount Everest? Is it by coincidence or design that both the landmark and watermark happen to be in Asian continent”?
He knew for sure - the only time he was sure about anything, that this doubt had no definite answer. Undeterred he went about collecting information about the Everest and the Marianna Trench.

The squabbles surrounding the actual height did

not lower its grandness or his esteem for Mount Everest in his mind. The fact that Mariana Trench lay on the ocean floor did not raise a doubt about its capacity to hold several thousand million tons of sea water. He was only trying to find out if by any chance the land mass excavated from the trench could have contributed the working mass for the Everest? Will it be with or without the snow cover?

The hitch was that he was unable get accurate of length and breadth details for Mount Everest alone.Having started the game, he did not like to call it quits at this stage. Instead, he assumed his own averaged numbers for the height of the Himalayan mountain chain and the depth of the Trench to carry on with the calculations:
The Marianna trench has the volume capacity of 6, 15,825 cu.km, the volume occupied by Himalayan mountains stood at 26, 40,000 cu.km . According to calculation 1 cu.km volume can hold 100, 00, 00,000 tons of water.

The volume capacity of Himalayan mountain chain worked out to be has 4.29 times greater than that of the Marianna Trench. He was too terrified to find out the tons of water that was needed to fill the Trench.He was sure the answer will have many zeroes and did not want to be reminded of his dismal academic record. He became exasperated at the moment when his old pocket calculator refused to oblige.

Nobody has really counted the number sand particles on earth or nobody has really counted the number of nebulae and number of stars in each nebula. Yet, everybody came up with a mind boggling number of 10 raised to the power(20 to 40) for a starter. There was always room for revision. Disliking this wisdom, Imaginch decided to call it quits and scooted from the scene faster than a scared rabbit , deciding to live with a doubt rather than grappling with a ghost from the school days.  Neither he was strong in mathematics nor it had been kind to him!

However, his chest swelled with pride even after this mathematical misadventure. This swelling of chest and size measurements have been doing the rounds in the last 2 ½ years and he also wanted to  personally experience it  ,if at all there was anything attached with this human element.

The silent spectator

The objective of the silent spectator is not to enjoy the excitement without active participation or to remain passive when events of impact unfold before the eyes. Remaining silent might be an automated self defence mechanism with the sole intent and purpose of avoiding an escalation, though soldiers armed to the teeth would be absent in this conflict zone. This is not about a cat on the wall but about a dog in the bag.

The unwanted noise that assails the ear drums gets no protest,even from its owners. Be it the festivals that let loose noise touching intolerable levels or the honking horns of motorists or screeching jet liners or the personal audio devices – the list is long and hurting. Though the ear drums want to shout, it succumbs to the doubt whether its protest will be heard among the dins of modern life. Getting tired of the insults, the ear drums play their trump card – become partially deaf as if to extract a small revenge on the users. Even at this state the ear drums have to remain a silent spectator while the white coated gentleman conducts sound tests and squarely blames the defective hearing system for a fee. With lesser noise to disturb, the ear drums wonder, “Which is fashionable – hearing aid or head phone?”

People like to read updates on cell phones, laptops and notepads on the go. In their hurry they tend to ignore reading glasses or lighting conditions or the vibrations making the eyes literally weep over the updates. They act as if their very existence depends on this act.  Back home, the strained eyes have to entertain the tired mind by staying focused on the T V screen. They would like to ask “this might be relaxation for you but why subject us to such sufferings? Is there any other option except to close their eyes on this unanswered question? The maximum the eyes can do is to let out tear drops or become bloodshot.

There are people who like to be in touch with others at any time of the day, unmindful of the inconveniences to the other person spoken to or the silent spectator present within earshot. They rival the social networks in passing on gossips or prying in to a third person’s life at will. Though these are earfuls , the spectator, who remains silent to preserve a fragile peace at home, might be pleading for a little peace of mind.

Morning walk and newspaper introduces another kind of a silent spectator. If lucky the spectator gets to meet with a motorist driving through a one-way street or jumping a red signal. Otherwise silently completes reading news items regarding chilling acts of terrorism, murky public life and global shenanigans. Not even in a position to tackle stray dog menace in the locality, the reader silently acts and reacts and forgets as soon as breakfast time passes. In the extreme cases, the silent spectator meets with ‘feathers from the flock of hawks of the same kind’ - only to listen to their lofty opinions and forget the whole thing by lunch time.

More often than not, logical discussions are avoided even though the points being readied are valid. Issues larger than logical arguments force this spectator - not to speak. Such a person can only wish to be out of ear shot and out of sight, which may or may not be possible always! Similar is the case when the urge rises to say ‘volunteer help only if requested’ and the spectator backs down in to silence for fear of being branded non-compassionate. This stamping becomes vehement if the silent spectator shows blue cross sympathy on animals rather than on neighbours.

There is a special type of silent spectator – suffering on account of other silent spectators. Unfortunately, this forced silent spectator’s roll comes packaged as functions and obligations scripted by harmonic laws, whatever it means! All the elements of music – tune, pitch, amplitude, frequency and composition fail to sync with each other. The ordinary variety of the breed might feel fortunate in comparison with this special type.

Silent spectators- ordinary or special do not feel that you are alone in this world. There are others in the queue.  A good example is the surveillance camera which tries its best by nodding its head up and down, twisting the neck right and left and straining its eye capture sharp images on 24 X 7 routine. For all the hard work, is it being called by any other elegant name? Will a silent spectator be satisfied with another name - a jaw cruncher perhaps! There are giant brothers in the same league – the celestial objects watching all of us from astronomical distances!

Enough of a solace or want some more!

The lizard on the lamp post

Imaginch felt miserable as his sleep pattern had started edging towards the border of insomnia. Not long ago, he had been happily going about this one activity like a Swiss watch – afternoons in day dreaming while asleep and at nights sound asleep with an accompaniment of snoring instruments. He became upset as he could not find out the reason for this act of treason. The simple inability to fall asleep, at appointed times and for scheduled duration, had other invisible effects which he alone could notice.

Not having anything to do at these ‘trying’ times, he focused his attention on the invisible effects it has brought on him. A parade of emotions goose stepped with a regularity mocking the pendulum of any antique clock or an automatic mechanical watch showing moments in action. Even at the sleepless state, he did not fail to appreciate the suitability of a grandfather clock or the wrist watch to be cited as an example, than the digital versions. At times a border skirmish between memorable thoughts and thoughts that are best forgotten but are getting recycled, took place without any prompting. 

In the meanwhile he tried out a host of home remedies, including reading of books which he did not want to read anyways. All of them failed to yield the desired result echoing the veto pattern followed by the permanent members in UN.

These counter measures unwittingly helped in increasing his awareness about what really was happening in the thinking part of his body. Imaginch let out a derisive laugh at this action. So far none accepted that he had this faculty or were unwilling to concede that he might at least be aware of its existence! This thought about their dilemma was one of the many that he wanted to erase from his memory.

On one such failed falling-asleep sessions, he accidentally stumbled up on the discovery that during all these turmoil, the left hemisphere of his brain was becoming warmer. He could actually identify the location from which the muscular tectonic plates were moving and causing the upheavals. For a man swimming in the sea of sleeplessness, it appeared to be a life line. He started to keenly observe this activity with closed eyes.

The purpose of closed eyes was to let others think that he has already fallen asleep and to avail the opportunity to calmly grasp that life line and eventually fall asleep.  Not to allow him any such scope, a confusing signal started coming out. The right hemisphere also joined the chorus with loud music and meaningless verse. He was afraid that at one point of time all his thoughts might leak through the head like the famous wiki account.

 Many days after turning over in his bed, he peered through a window which was facing the street. In the wee hours of the night, the leaves and branches of the tree have decided to take some rest as no wind was around to disturb them. His gaze slightly shifted away from the foliage and settled on a spot near the sodium vapour lamp on a lamp post. At first this was not an inspiring sight but a sudden darting movement caught and held his eyes.

On the underside of the protective cover for the bulb, a lizard was busy hunting for insects. The lizard’s stealthy moves to launch a sudden attack on the ignorant insect fascinated him. He continued to watch this act of the lizard from different sectors of the battleground, damn sure of the vacuum pads on its legs that would prevent it from falling to the ground. For a few more days, he continued to watch this uneven battle hoping against hope that at least once an insect would escape from the snaring tongue of the lizard.

Indulging in a rare and figurative thinking, he understood in a flash that when the lamp is switched off, the insects go away. With no insect to hunt, the lizard moves on to another place to wait and trap the unwary. All these happenings fail to impress the lamp post in anyway. After this time, he stopped watching the battle of the lizard with the insects as it has already given him an insight on his predicament.

Coffee to dinner, shopping to sleeping minor irritants experienced left his mind on boil. Events around him in which he had no interest stuck in his mind like limpets on the keel of a ship. He felt going insane like the clothes in a washing machine – twisted and in knots. He decided to switch off the lamp.

Amplifying his thoughts, he reasoned that imagination tries to paint a mental image with pigments of anger, disappointment, enmity, frustration or a host of other elements to frame ‘the identity crisis ’. Allowing the emotions to stay in their true colour – black & white or grey may not look beautiful but would be true to the subjects. He knew the insects would fly away.

Mega doses of illogical exhortations on the efficacy of gurus offering instant salvation making him to wonder “what life is all about? Is there no place for being confident of solving issues by logical actions?”  He dismissed the lizard from the mind and assumed the role of the lamp post.

In the end it became clear to him that some may start at the origin and try to travel the length of a holy river and others might start at the tail end and travel upwards to the birth place of the river. He hoped this clarity of purpose would lead him to be at peace with his thoughts and eventually might allow him to resume his normal sleep pattern!