I kept touching my watch all through the day the first time I wore it to school. It was tiny, gold plated with an extremely small dial and even smaller needles. It was the very first watch I owned and I was proud of it, though it was a hand-me-down.
In high school, I was crazy about square dial watches, they looked so trendy and cool. I experimented with my watch constantly : right hand, dial facing up; left hand dial facing down, and so on. I made up personality profiles based on how a person wore his/her watch-
Right hand : Too masculine (if the wearer was a girl) , or Too conservative (if it was a guy) .
The possibilities were seemingly endless. In college, I wanted a Raaga, the feminine watch. Delicate, with floral patterns and made for a true woman. My watch was my identity. I would be woe-struck if I misplaced my watch somewhere or if I had to wear another one, because the batteries in mine had to be replaced. In short, a watch was my most important accessory.
I changed with the times, yet, I always felt a watch was an expensive addition to the wardrobe. It was a gift that came to you when you were being responsible.
When you top that exam with flying colours.
Or when you get admission into a good university.
When you cross a milestone in your life, say, you turn twenty-one.
The gift of Time was a grand occasion and you always had to prove yourself worthy enough to wear it, I felt. I fiercely protected my watches, never letting them go.
Yesterday, I bought a watch for someone I know. I went into the store expecting a huge rise in prices. After all, it was a WATCH and inflation is everywhere. Strangely, it was as expensive as the one I bought in 2006. Same styles,similar prices. Then it struck me. Time is everywhere. On our computers, on our mobile phones, in our mp3 players,in our cars and buses, you name it. It is no longer precious, made ordinary by banal display. Then I thought some more and wondered : is that why we are always short of Time today? Because it is no longer a gift, but a pervasive non-entity? Is this what happens when you get something you do not deserve? Where you spend the rest of your life caught in its clutches, trying to 'control/manage/allocate' it?
Perhaps that is why Time always has the last laugh.
In high school, I was crazy about square dial watches, they looked so trendy and cool. I experimented with my watch constantly : right hand, dial facing up; left hand dial facing down, and so on. I made up personality profiles based on how a person wore his/her watch-
Right hand : Too masculine (if the wearer was a girl) , or Too conservative (if it was a guy) .
The possibilities were seemingly endless. In college, I wanted a Raaga, the feminine watch. Delicate, with floral patterns and made for a true woman. My watch was my identity. I would be woe-struck if I misplaced my watch somewhere or if I had to wear another one, because the batteries in mine had to be replaced. In short, a watch was my most important accessory.
I changed with the times, yet, I always felt a watch was an expensive addition to the wardrobe. It was a gift that came to you when you were being responsible.
When you top that exam with flying colours.
Or when you get admission into a good university.
When you cross a milestone in your life, say, you turn twenty-one.
The gift of Time was a grand occasion and you always had to prove yourself worthy enough to wear it, I felt. I fiercely protected my watches, never letting them go.
Yesterday, I bought a watch for someone I know. I went into the store expecting a huge rise in prices. After all, it was a WATCH and inflation is everywhere. Strangely, it was as expensive as the one I bought in 2006. Same styles,similar prices. Then it struck me. Time is everywhere. On our computers, on our mobile phones, in our mp3 players,in our cars and buses, you name it. It is no longer precious, made ordinary by banal display. Then I thought some more and wondered : is that why we are always short of Time today? Because it is no longer a gift, but a pervasive non-entity? Is this what happens when you get something you do not deserve? Where you spend the rest of your life caught in its clutches, trying to 'control/manage/allocate' it?
Perhaps that is why Time always has the last laugh.
Words fail to capture my admiration at this post. It is profound and simple, like the silence of some meditating Buddha.
ReplyDeleteI bow to you...
Hey, thank you! :)
ReplyDelete