Saturday 6 February 2010

Forced stillness suspends life

At half past nine, I sat down all charged to get some work done . . . and off goes the electricity! Well, now the electricity going off is nothing new for us but what surprised me was that it was out for about ten hours! When one has a mental picture of how the day is going to be spent and the whole day is given to someone who seldom works consistently, the power-cut is definitely a suspension of life. Hmmmm. The stillness comes from the fact that there are no electronic appliances working and therefore even the minutest of noise is quite annoying. The constant whirling of the fan subsumes many other sounds and in the absence of that sound, I could hear the flushing in the loo, the flying of newspaper pages, the sound of footsteps and my heart palpitating (well, the last one was an exaggeration!).



Time drags itself in the absence of electricity. I find myself walking round and round the house wanting to sit and read something but I could not register the heaviness of the content that the book imparted. I did what I liked doing the best - Meandering away to the topic of electricity and its frills. I read in one of the blogs that one sign that you are addicted to blogging is that you see every experience as a prospective blog post. Well, they were right, after all! I wondered why electricity has become such an indispensable part of our lives. It is almost like one seems incomplete without it. But no. It does not happen always.

And sleep . . . I tried that as well but sleep again did not take pretty kindly to me and refrained from befriending me when I need it the most. I was quite happy when I received a message from a long-lost friend. The messages meandered into a conversation. Then I got down to writing letters to two of my friends. The no-electricity part slowly faded when I got down to doing some work other than what I had intended for the day.

Finally when the power supply was restored, I wasn't in a mood to appreciate it for I was already suspended in doing other things.

Picture courtesy: Internet

18 comments:

  1. No that related to the post.. but I breathed thought and lived electricity for 4 years.. I did my electrical engineering. It is definitely one of the best inventions by mankind.

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  2. Electronic addiction...I confess..I am an addict. I move from the TV, to the Ipod to the Computer when at home..You get the gist. Talking and spending time with those we live with, sadly takes a back stand!

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  3. Sameera:

    Hats off to you for doing Electrical Engineering. I cannot do that and therefore am a humble humanities person :)

    Ashley:

    Not addiction but a sudden jerk when electricity was not there for ten hours. I am not an addict. The ending of my post says it all: The electricity did not bother me as I went about doing other things.

    Joy always.

    Have a lovely Sunday!

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  4. Did you consider enjoying the long-forgotten sound of silence..

    BM

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  5. Dear BM:

    Oh yes! i do that almost everyday.

    Thanks for coming by. Hope you are having a lovely peaceful day.

    Joy always.

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  6. Interesting how we so easily and readily adapt to change in our lives. Out goes the electricity and we're in a panic... but then we settle for doing something else and we're quite settled... and then in zooms modernity once more and well, we're not quite ready for it because we've jumped back to our prehistoric state of finding something to occupy our time in the absence of, or unraveling of, our original plan. See how flexible we truly are? We are such amazing creatures.

    I'll have to say it was probably a blessing in disguise for you. Just to be able to step away from having to do the usual, break from the routine, and go to another plan entirely. A plan where there is no plan... ah, lovely!

    Nevine

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  7. Dear Nevine:

    Very true! We form these comfort zones around us and then jump from one zone to another. Humans definitely know how to survive and adapt themselves.

    Joy always.

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  8. I totally sympathize and completely agree,
    about the power-cut and the resultant ennui,
    but knowing there are things that don't need electricity,
    will make you happy and will take away your worry.

    I was in Andhra Pradesh for some time. In summer we used to have 8 hours of power cut in 4 blocks of 2 hours. In the morning we used to have cut from 7-9.Power would be restored just as you are stepping out to work. Being a medical representative has its benefit. You can come back for lunch and have a short siesta, but as luck would have it, just as I step in the power would go for the third installment and come back only when it is time for me to go back for my evening work. The irony is I start for work when others are coming back from work. When I come back after meeting the doctors around 9.30 pm there would be no power as the last block of 9pm-11pm would be in effect. This is no exaggeration.

    I think there is a 's' in tour title or am I missing something?

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  9. Govind:

    Hope you are well. I was in Andhra as well and even there there were scheduled power-cuts. A phenomena in India so it has almost become part of our life to live with power-cuts.

    What is this about the 's?'

    Joy always.

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  10. It's funny how disappointed I feel when the power goes out. And then we adapt, the candles come out, the camp stove for making coffee, the board games, the books. And then when the power comes back on, we are disappointed again because we have to go back to what we were.

    Maybe I don't like change? ;)

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  11. Distinct:

    Change unsettles us in the beginning but then we get used to it and then its a vicious circle in play. We form comfort zones quite easily.

    Joy always.

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  12. I wanted to say there is a 's' missing from stillness.Now when I read what I typed it looks ludicrous. Maybe I was very tired.

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  13. Ah Govind! Good Morning.

    I did not understand what you had written and so I tried finding it out. There was a 's' missing in the word 'stillness.' I corrected it. Thanks for having an observant eye.

    Joy always.

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  14. Hi Susan!
    This is my first visit to your blog & I find it so very interesting and full of insights :)
    Your expression and way of writing is simple yet effective! I am sure I would have lot to learn from you!
    keep writing
    take care :)
    regards,
    Ruchi

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  15. A friend of mine recently posted a link to this site.... about a possible solar storm in the year 2012... which would possibly result in the failure of the electricity grids in the US and other major developed countries.... (check out this link) http://2012supplies.com/what_is_2012/solar_maxim.html.
    If this were really to happen, what would be the consequences and how will this world... so depended on electricity survive.... especially when everything is automated... and depending on machines is a part and parcel of our daily lives.... consider the detergent and soap maufactures, the clothing industries... the pharmaceuticals, farming .... the list just goes on and on..... We are so much depended on these things.... pin to plane....I do not know if any of the things in the link will ever happen but it has got me thinking.... We are slaves to the so called modern development and if are to lose it we will be lost, but nevertheless, there is always hope that we will find our way back again.... Let's just hope......

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  16. Dear Seema:

    Long time since you came by. Lovely to see a comment from you and I shall check the link by and by.

    I can definitely imagine a life without electricity, the tribals have been doing that for years now. It just needs a little practise and patience.

    Come by more often.

    Joy always.

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  17. Oh I remembered Earth Day when we had to switch off all power for an hour or so. My boy and I had no idea what to do with ourselves. We were in darkness. I cannot imagine when our cities run out of power, what do we do. How do we live?

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  18. Gaia:

    Even we did that. Had candles and lovely conversation in the terrace.

    Try to make it a ritual of be current-free for a day and devoting time to each other - mother and son.

    Take good care and be happy.

    Joy always.

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