The boy who made it to the Capital: Reclamation of lost time!We were losing time. Al...

The boy who made it to the Capital:  Reclamation of lost time!We were losing time.  Al...:   Reclamation of lost time! We were losing time.   Always checked if a day could be more than 24 hours. But it never could be stretched. T...

 

Reclamation of lost time!

We were losing time.  Always checked if a day could be more than 24 hours. But it never could be stretched. The amount of information we wanted to take in and the kind of work we wanted to do in a day was enormous.  Earlier, there was a set of works for a day.  It slowly changed with the telephone and internet.  The writing machines were also there.  First the radio and afterwards, the TV were also to be given time.

We did all that.  Earlier more time was spent with father, mother and siblings.  Slowly we took the best out of them and avoided them to attend to the new items which appeared.  They felt the erosion in the love and affection.  They explained it by the time erosion in their common spent time.

Children growing up is like a steam engine being prepared for the long haul.  The father and mother are busy supporting the little ones and enjoying their lovely antiques of childhood.  They grow up and their needs increase.  The father and mother never give up.  They increase their effort to fulfil the needs of the young ones who also grow up in between.  Like the firemen throwing more coal to the furnace and the train picking up speed.  The train pick up speed and whistle!  What a joy, the parents think.  What a joy, the children think.  Then all are certain of the level speed. 

 

Then the children notice they have grown up.  They notice they can manage the train by themselves! New acquaintances come into near proximity bringing in new knowledge and advices. The big station comes and the youngsters think the parents can get down.  That is a beginning.  Those who get down can get back in when the train returns!  The youngsters who leave will always return and be reunited! 

The ones moving away fondly remember the good times, but has to take care of new works and assignments.  For which all gadgets are useful! From practice of the old type-writing to electric, electronic type-writing to computer and associated equipment and floppy drive – pen-drive mechanisms are all used.  One has to keep up with the day to day news for which the TV and its connected stuff all come into daily lives. Connected are the radio and the present ubiquitous Android. 

Whenever they get cut of,  one remembers the old times and the good old times. But alas, we have lost precious love time.  At times, the loved ones are not there and at times they are too old to enjoy normal matters of life. 

Now I am reclaiming time.  By putting off my TV set and not watching my android. Covid has taught me that.  The authorities have given us more time by clamping up the lock-down.  No going out any where like spirits who don’t get any respite in the netherworld.  Absolute peace! No ride outside, no going for drive, no going for taking in the breeze and no stepping out of the house!

I had previous experience of this during the time of my youth hood when I used to travel to Delhi in the Jayanthi Janata express.  It used to take around 56 hours who later became 48 and still after wards was curtained to 36 hours.  In those trips no body ever going anywhere out of the train coach.  Timely food and drinks are served by very efficient stewards who used to find joy in that work. That was roughly two and half days at a stretch in a train coach.  With 72 to 80 people in every coach, it was not thought to be so strenuous in those days.

Even though such travels were enjoyable, the love time with out parents were being curtailed as we were going away from them. Neither of us knew or thought of it at that time.  Slowly it dawned on us, by the time one parent was gone, one was ailing and siblings who went far and wide were scarce to  interact due to their own new lives.

 

Now we all have returned to the roots to count the old days and reclaim the times lost..!  But the some of the near ones are lost, parents and gone and the many are ailing.  Still the silver lining is there.  Even though ailing they are alive and without major problems!  Is that not a great thing to thank God?