Preface -- A Nobody's Notebook

 

These are little snippets of life in the past and the present. I stay at a village and the rural society presents its sweet-sour agrestic culturescape. One may have, especially those who have spent their lives in the cities, an idyllic idea about life in the villages. Well, things are idyllic in nature but you cannot escape the volatility presented by a conglomeration of humans, even at the scale of little hamlets.

Even though right in the middle of it, I stay at its fringes as far as participation is concerned. I live almost within the premises of my house, only coming out when the essentials of life force me out. I have my little garden and small courtyard in my old, cracking countryside house that allows me to even go for walks like a caged lion does—to and fro, to and fro; from one end to the other.

It’s a small world within and a humongous one outside. Little birds, insects, flowers, plants and some small trees in my yard provide me a space, a kind of microscopic view of the larger realities outside. It serves as a little lab of experimentation with thoughts, ideas, perspectives, judgments and of course poetic dreams and imaginations. It provides a bit of stability in this shaky world. I salvage my meaning of life primarily from little happenings among these few flowerbeds and the little clump of small trees in my yard. Life comes peaceful, simple and enjoyable, a kind of little ‘meaning’ amidst all the puzzling realities around.

And a little secluded corner is very conducive to pamper nostalgic memories from the past. So the leisurely bait catches some memories from the swift currents of time. It’s a very nice feeling to visit those times. These memories serve as an exotic spice to make the chronicles still tastier.  

Of course, I peep over the walls also, driven by the natural human curiosity, to see what is going outside. The crude, easy as well as hard-going farmers lead a very loud, interesting life. It but may not fit comfortably with the sensibilities of an introvert writer. Most of the time, things are tragic and comic simultaneously. On the basis of your mood, you have the option to choose either of the two. In the current compilation, I have noted down mostly the episodes and observations that have rib-tickled me positively.

I hope these little anecdotes from my past and the present bring a little bit of sunshine in the life of my readers. If my reader gets a little smile on her lips while reading this notebook, I would take it as mission accomplished.