Idleness and stillness be the norm

Of  another day from early morn ..

This is no ordinary day for me

I live within my Father’s tree ..

They honor him in permanence

A travel bursary is named whence

Young students both from here and there,

Shall cultures, spirit values share …

To find the importance that a foreign land gives to one’s elder is by itself an honor that cannot be questioned. But, to be present at such occasion and to be given the opportunity to accept this decoration on his behalf can only be the result of his blessings and his love.

The QUT Travel Bursary initiated for the exchange of students to travel to each others land, to learn to experience the culture ethos and educational opportunities that it offers, is not a new concept. Many countries have conducted such exercises with great zeal and have provided immense opportunities for the young to mix and live with their foreign counterparts in an atmosphere of mutual admiration and camaraderie. I am informed that this particular Bursary shall be one that will be permanent and this gives me great joy in knowing that posterity shall bear witness to my Father’s contribution and the place that he had made in the lives of others.

But most of the day after that has been spent in isolation and rest. In reminiscing the past, in living with the memories of times gone by. It is rare to find such time when at home and in the throes of tight and rigid schedules, so these moments spent with just your thoughts are of great value. The lap top and now of course the iPad and the mobile have become in their compactness, all that you may necessarily desire. Connection with loved ones, instant information of what rotates in the world, music from all corners of the earth, your own thoughts documented in some permanence and most importantly – time !

I have for long now stopped wearing my watch. The wrist watch was such a luxury ! Even though there were limited means of my parents, a watch came to me when I was still in school, during the later years. My grand son probably got his when he was two ! What a moment of pride and achievement that gift was for me. Time. A band on our wrist which artistically replicated the clock tower, which was till then our only reference. That or the manually operated chimes of the school bell which gave indication not just of the end of a period in the class, but when it was time to be allowed to go home, or on to the playing field.

At home, that one time piece, ornate and delicate, brought along as one of her only belongings when my Mother left her Father’s home much against his wishes, to marry my Father and its location on a mantlepiece of our modest home, was what we cherished as the indicator of the hours and minutes that passed. That time piece, incidentally, either a British or Swiss make, still remains with me secure and in working condition ; its age even older than my 70 years ! I had placed it by the side of my Mother’s portrait that adorns my Father’s room in Prateeksha. She used to keep it by her bedside when she was with us – a tender reminder perhaps of the early years of her life, her Father, and his reluctance in her decision to marry mine. The timepiece had broken down some months ago, perhaps due to the negligence of those that had been deputed to care for it. It has now been repaired with some difficulty because of its age and the non availability of parts, but I have now kept it with me on my desk where I work and write and contemplate. I care for it myself. Clean it, wind it, set its timings right. It is by the side of my Mother’s photograph also on my desk, as I always remembered her – fresh, beautiful and with that ethereal glow that envelopes all Mother’s.

We should never be too far away from the warmth of those that brought us into this world !

The knowledge of time is essential. From that one indicator in an entire house look how vast and widely spread the indicators have today become. People snigger and ridicule me on my fetish for time and its indicators, for, I have clocks and wall timers placed in almost every room at strategic points. A digital red lighted one in the bedroom, who’s radiance not only shows me the path in the dark of the night but also keeps reminding me of the number of hours I have left before I should awake and step out to work. In the dressing area, the bathroom, places of work, in the vanity van, on set of KBC in that small little area where I await the appearance of the new contestants. I look for clock towers in cities I visit and when I find them kept in working condition it reflects to me in a sense the discipline of the city that I am visiting. There are and have been towns that I have visited and discovered ornate clock towers, with the most detailed and elaborate clocks enshrined within their architecture, but never in working condition. It is an indicator to me of what to expect from that city !!

Similarly too, on landing in another city or foreign territory my attention is first drawn towards the way the traffic moves. Do they the drivers and vehicles observe the lanes and the traffic lights. Do the pedestrians await the permission of the crossings before they cross. Are the cars stopping before the double lines painted for all motorists to stop at. Do they drive within their stipulated lanes.

And the police ! Are they by their demeanor showing smart vigilance. Do they invite respect and order from the common man. The way they dress, look and appear. Their friendly but no nonsense attitude. All goes to show to me what to expect from that particular country or city.

These to me are some of the most immediate visuals or impressions that tell me how I shall be conducting myself during my stay. Value of time, respect to the norms and discipline of the place and a healthy yet distant attitude towards the keepers of the law of the land.

These to me also reflect the state of the nation. An efficient and disciplined nation shall adhere to some of these, call them idiosyncrasies, of what I believe in. But then almost simultaneously I am drawn towards the need and want of the average person in my country. A person that works tirelessly to maintain himself and his entire family per day through most meagre earnings. And I wonder then – would he be driving himself to survive, or pay attention to the traffic rules of the road !! He probably has never had the luxury of a proper cemented road from the village he comes from, leave alone pay heed to the traffic that he now sees moving on them ! In any case he will perhaps habitually despise the car, for in his eyes it is looked upon as a symbol of the ‘haves’ …. and he is a ‘have not’ !!

Time and again have I discussed this within myself. I have exhibited frustration on my own reckoning of the situation and lamented the lack of effort that needs to be made for its betterment. But running into a wall that refuses to give in, has been my almost daily occurence.

Someday, sometime, somewhere change shall occur for the better ..

Till then ..

Amitabh Bachchan