Bookless

I came home today, sat in front of my computer, and for a whole half hour, imagined I had two close friends in Kolkata, like practically family. I’m talking, sharing-Netflix-password-level of friendship. I hadn’t decided on spending a half hour doing this, it just happened out of nowhere. It doesn’t help that I haven’t met anyone outside of work for the past month. It was bed-rest, hospital, work, home, work, home, movie theater, hospital, bedrest, work, home, nightmare. I haven’t been this alone since, never. And, when you’re alone, you start to use your imagination more. A friend’s mom once told me that life will not always be the same. There will be times of loneliness and reading books would help me get through it. It took me four years to finish the Godfather, and I loved it, but never again. It was something I took up during the first year of college, and immediately regretted it because I kept forgetting the characters, and their backstories (except for the very creative sex scenes), now, that’s what I call a ‘graphic novel’. Wait.. that’s not a graphic… anyway, it’s too much information, is what I am trying to say. A movie on the other hand, not a big deal. My attention span can deal with 2001: A Space Odyssey with zero trouble. I could watch that spinning bone for hours.

Stuck

I’m stuck at home with a fever. I photographed a spider. I am not going insane.

I couldn’t do stand-up on Sunday because of the fever. I missed a free dinner today because of the fever. I took the day off because of the fever. I am not feeling depressed because of the fever. The fever is empowering me. I learned to play half of Bohemian Rhapsody because of the fever. I talked to my mom for more than 15 minutes because of the fever. I shaved because of the fever. I thought about reading a book because of the fever. After quickly dismissing that thought, I thought about my last relationship because of the fever. I posted twice today because of the fever. I ate rice today because of the fever.

Possibilities

A thousand years from now, will plagiarism still be a thing? How can the originality be verified when there are billions of possibilities?

How books changed my life forever

I suffer from mild insomnia. Reading has helped me overcome this terrible disease. When it’s late, I put on my pyjamas, I get a nice book and I get cozy on my bed. I start to read. All it takes is about 5 minutes and then BOOM! Brain shuts down like cosmetic surgery clinics after government inspection. My relationship with books has never been better. But then I heard about audio books. Genius.

Literature, art and all that jazz

I went to a writers-meet yesterday. I don’t know if ‘writer’s meet’ is the right word. It might be something else. By went, I mean I attended a solid two hours of a two-day event. It was called People’s literary festival 2018. It was about going against conventional ‘literary festivals’ that they say are a sham. If my younger-self saw me attending this event, he would probably reassess his situation and change whatever the fuck he was doing with his life. But you know, life is a collection of experiences and we learn from each of them. I had no intention of going to this event. But I did go and by the end of it, it felt pretty good(even though I weirded out a couple of people). I went because a friend invited me. Why else would I go? I don’t intrude into uninvited events(would be hell of a lot fun though, especially if I wiggle my way into ending up on stage, speaking to the audience about Robert Zemeckis movies. Note to self: add idea to bucket list). The main reasons why I decided to go are:

1. I had nothing to do that weekend
2. I was feeling lonely and depressed

So I figured the best way to fight the depression was to surround myself with nerds.

Now, a little bit about myself:

I don’t read

I don’t write

I have nothing to do with literature

I am a big fan of learning and idea-exchange

I like to meet new people. Wait… that’s a stretch. Lets just say I like to meet people who think differently. Even if their beliefs or ideas go completely against mine. I like to hear the same story told from different perspectives. I like to hear opinions on things. So when the panel started to speak on censorship in their work and daily lives, I was intrigued to hear different views. Some of them spoke about how artists receive death threats on a regular basis to a point where it doesn’t seem to matter anymore. It has become the new normal. I think that’s fucked up.

I noticed someone sitting in the second row(probably the event organizer) getting a little anxious when one of the panelists wouldn’t stop speaking. I saw her waving to someone on stage but they couldn’t understand what she was saying. So I helped out. I raised my arms, pointed to my watch and showed hand gestures that meant,” zip it lady. Wrap it up”.  

On an unrelated note, Is there an unwritten law that says, as you go higher up in intellect, the girls need to cut their hair short and guys need to grow long hair? Don’t get me wrong. Me like short haired girls too(especially after attending this event). Who gives a shit about length of hair anyway.

 

Realizations

I attended a literary festival today in good old Kolkata. The theme of the event was “Women in writing”. So just as you would expect, there were a loooot of feminists there. Soooo boooring(just kidding!). Very good looking feminists though. “Interesting people” is what I am trying to say(I did not speak to a single person there). Three great women spoke on the issues faced by women all over the world. Man! It was an eye opener! It is a known fact that girls are being trafficked all over India but this event gave me a better insight into what goes on in their family and what leads to them being sold off to pimps. I learned a lot about the struggles women face in their careers. Instead of concluding the event just by talking about the issues, the speakers tried to make suggestions on how to solve the problem. They explained the importance of good parenting and treating people with respect. It got me thinking…I should be knowing a lot about the struggles faced by women because I have a mother and a sister. Most importantly, I have been to school!  Yet I know more about these issues from YouTube videos! There’s something terribly wrong here. Anyway I am glad I attended this event. Makes me feel I did something worthwhile on Republic day.

While the event was going on, I got hungry. You know.. with all the information overload. So I got this:

Its called Papri chaat

This thing changed my life! That’s two life changing events in one day.