It is election time in Haryana, and festival time all over. I can not forget this, because sound waves scream and shout and remind me of this. As I sit in my cosy, calm, Gurgaon home, these rude airwaves barge into my private space. They don’t have the decency to ring the bell or knock the door- they just scatter all over like cats, and immediately own the place!
I am trying to get Medha, my daughter, to do her Homework. But my ears defy me – and force my attention to the Congress candidates’ CV. As I ask her to ponder over her spellings, I find myself pondering over another ‘pratyashi’, who is supposedly the favourite of 15 sub-castes.
Why must I endure all this ruthless canvassing and loud music when I don’t want to? True, the airwaves belong to one and all, but can there not be a way to selectively tune only to the ones that matter. Can science provide me with earplugs that lets in the guest airwaves, and keeps out the intruders? Can I get a sound-filter installed- preferably in my earrings – to avoid being woken up by Diwali dhamakas year after year? Can Meditation give me such control over my senses?
As I wonder about such life-changing questions, I realize that Medha took advantage of the opportunity and has run away. She has given me – and her Homework a slip – and has switched on the T.V. , I call out for her, I shout, but it’s no use. She is now engrossed in the cartoons; she simply doesn’t hear me.
May be she knows something that I don’t ?
