Different Priorities

I live in an apartment that's part of a huge complex. The evenings are the most interesting part of this society.There are always babies in their pram, kids on cycles/skates and teenagers playing football/basketball. There are old grannies always on the park benches watching kids playing, talking about their grandchildren, discussing previous episode of a show of common interest to their group of friends or how and when they moved to this building. And old uncles and grandfathers discussing cricket, environment and finance.

Everyday I go for a walk at 6:00 pm, passing by the teenagers, the kids, the grannies, the old uncles and grandpas, welcome by the humid Mumbai summer. Over the weeks, this has become my evening wallpaper. A background that’s become a way of life. The usual. These are my others. I don’t know anything about these strangers. Nor have I been curious to investigate further. Nor have we greeted our specific hellos.

We co-exist in this routine as if the threads of these actions were just weaved in to place us here every evening to make the world appear more real.

Apart from them, I actually look forward to meeting the new special features in my life. Baby S, Baby who consumes a different fruit everyday, dog who lives on the 3rd floor, the group of active ladies of the society, brisk walking aunty (who simply refuses to smile) and old uncle who regularly practices Yoga near the park.

I sense a feeling of an incomplete evening if I miss meeting either of the above during my daily walk. I have to mention them in my conversation during my walk with mum -"Oh, I guess the fruit baby is not around today".

As I complete each round of my walk, my curiosity grows deeper. What do the grannies at the park do all day? Are the women trying to save pennies or are the pennies saving the women? Are the men worried about the world or are they short of conversations? Are the teenagers passionate for a sport or dictated by it?Are the girls and boys on the cycle already turning out to be nasty and mean to their fellow players? 

I would probably never get to know about these complex issues but I could get to know the person I see. The person who leaves behind home worries for a breath of fresh evening air. The person who leaves behind incomplete homework to cycle/skate in groups. The baby who waves to me as our eyes meet, after my every single walk round.

Although I lately complain about having too much time in my hands, I do not complain about having used my time so wisely. Having used my evenings with my new found interest. From busy days, non stop phone calls, email deadlines, late hours of work and non-productive reflection of self to Today! A day filled with energy, positive and happy vibrations, baby giggles, friendly dogs, old people's laughter and most of all, time with my best pal. Clearly, my priorities have changed!