The state of the STATE

First off, I would like to thank you for the wonderful responses on my last post. I felt humbled and honoured. Now for today's post.

For the past month and a half, the state of Tamil Nadu has been reeling under acute power shortage. Except for Chennai, all the other places have power cuts which run upto ten hours and the place where I stay is no different. This state has taken all of us to the dark ages when there was no power and life was very simple. Well, in the present we are in the dark albeit the simple life. I had imagined that I was someone who could adjust to any situation rather easily. But this time, I have succumbed to the situation. I have lost my cool and peace.

I know that this post is a rather glorified rant but I still want to go with it. I cook, dress up and even sleep without power. The nights have become dreadful with the menacing mosquitoes on one hand and the slowly dripping sweat on the other. People advice us to buy an inverter but somehow we have been resisting the purchase. Looks like we have to go for one.

Candle-light dinners have become common-place but without any romance. In fact, the candles remind me of the lack of power and hence the situation becomes worse. Home has ceased to be a place which comforts, sustains and empowers. The soothing powers of the home seem distant and I dread staying at home due to the power cuts.

I just cannot imagine as to how there is such a shortage in the state of Tamil Nadu. Whether it is a hype or something else, I cannot know. But I know one thing: I am slowly on the verge of collapse. Psychologically, one looks up at the clock every second, wondering whether the time for the scheduled power cut has arrived. Due to the power cuts, sometimes we are unable to have continuous water connection. The lack of water brings to a stop many vital needs/chores that have to be attended to.

All over the world, Earth hours are celebrated but we are lucky enough not to celebrate any. We have  Earth hours every single day. In fact, I feel, Tamil Nadu is the best example to follow when it comes to saving power.

Let me give you the details of the power cuts:
Morning: 6 to 9; Afternoon: 12 to 3; Evening: 6 to 7, 8 to 9; Night: 12 to 01 and 3 to 4.

Well, I am tired and exhausted trying to schedule my work according to the power cut schedule. Sometimes I give up but then it causes several other problems almost like a domino effect.

I am reading Robinson Crusoe in prep for my MA classes. When I read of his survival in that lonely island for so many years, my problems seem nothing. The timing cannot be more perfect :)

What do you think?

Image: Internet

Conversing in the dark

Have you ever had soulful conversations in the dark?

When a friend or cousin comes over to your place and you find yourself wanting to share so many aspects of your life to him/her, you forget that it is time for sleep. Often personal and intimate conversations, for me, happen at night. The darkness is some sort of intoxication which loosens and makes me talk non-stop. I have observed this trait with many people of both sexes. Once there is the shroud of darkness where one can hear only the voice and not see the expression on the face, dark secrets are easier to spill.

I often wonder about conversing in the dark. Why do people feel so comfortable talking in the dark? The individual knows the person sitting beside is a confidant and can be trusted with anything. But still darkness is something which acts as a wonderful catalyst for speaking of the innermost thoughts and feelings.

And while this soulful conversation takes place, one can observe patterns on the wall made by the tiny light orifices. If any vehicle passes outside, the shadow of the objects outside make patterns on the wall. If these patterns interrupt our conversation, we are more than happy to watch the moving figures.

I might have had innumerable such conversations in the dark with friends, parents, relatives, colleagues and students. No matter what the topics were, it flowed seamlessly. Shame, guilt and other strings were cut lose. Sometimes tears which would flow involuntarily were masked by the darkness (ofcourse if the sniffles are absent).

Finally, we never know when we fall asleep. Sleep comes unawares and the next morning leaves us with a feeling of camaraderie -- a process where each other drank freely out of the cup of mistakes, pain, love, laughter and guilt.

I love those conversations in the dark.

Have you had such 'dark' conversations?

Image: Internet

Moving in the dark

Sometimes when I am doing something that I think is absolutely important, the electricity goes off. Now, considering India, this is a pretty regular feature which has almost become as natural as scratching one's back with the dominant hand. The first reaction is to get angry and frown over the timing of the power cuts. The act that was engaging me has to be suspended in mid air as there is no point in continuing it. But then, there is also this thought that forces me to continue doing what I was doing albeit in the dark. If you notice, as soon as the electricity goes off, the first few minutes are the darkest which seem spine chilling but eventually the eye gets used to the darkness and it seems as if we were always conducting ourselves in this fashion. Perhaps somewhere in our genetic make up there is a bit of the caveman days still ticking softly. I try to act that I have always been like this -- in the dark. I even try to imagine myself like a blind individual. The experience is very humbling. Why? One: The power of vision which we have taken for granted is a gift which many have been deprived of. Two: Moving in the dark enables us to hone other faculties, which, again we take for granted. The second factor enables me to relate to animals, which according to us, have five senses (though humans often pride in the fact that they possess 'six' senses). No matter how consciously one tries, the using of the other senses like smell, touch and auditory are largely limited or rather not used at all. We use the sense that we are familiar with and have grown comfortable with. We can take any activity be it courtship, eating, walking, etc. Everything uses the power of vision predominantly.

The modern civilisation with its glitz and glory has rendered many of our faculties scarce and rather dormant. Responding to the simple touch of a dew drop or a cat is slowly fading away apart from existing in a few pockets of the human race. Smelling the freshly made dosa or the aroma from the coconut chutney is taken for granted which is almost subsumed in the din of the hectic mornings. Giving a ear to the gentle rustle of a leaf or trying to locate the source of a sound is becoming something that takes away 'precious time.' To remind myself of the existence of the different faculties, power cuts come in handy which enable me to move in the dark as comfortable as moving in the light for as the wise man said "Light and darkness are two sides of the same coin."