Moments of sublimity

When you are in your 30s, doing things in abundance, let's say in a week, it still falls short compared to what a 20-year-old can do, maybe in a day!

And yes! I also tried binge-watching on Netflix, but could only move halfway through the shows.

Maybe it was because I had to go to office in between, feed my two sons, look after household errands and also the man of the house!

Well, let's not indulge on the boring bits. I am sure you are not here to read about them.

WHAT I WATCHED

I am truly a romantic at heart, doting on things that are not rushed and dispassionate. This is probably why I still want my friends to write me a decent letter or send me a long mail instead of the quick and garbled WhatsApp texts.

Most of my friends believe that I was born in the wrong century, and I am guilty as charged, as I spend hours reading poetry from Tennyson and Tagore, while my friends are out partying to Armin Van Buuren and David Guetta.

So imagine my enthusiasm when I discovered 'Short Stories by Tagore' on Netflix, the characters that I vouched from the pages of novels came into life; Binodini, Giribala, Mrinmoyee -- resuscitated!

Rabindranath left words for us to contemplate, and Anurag Basu, Debatma Mandal and Tani Basu, the directors of the series, certainly helped the characters come alive.

Those who decide on watching the series will certainly enjoy how the master storyteller portrayed women's hearts, thoughts and ambitions, at a time when women were rarely looked upon as anything but secondary citizens of the society.

WHAT I READ

As a self-proclaimed and proud 'slo-mo,' I love reading books, and if that means reading tons of them, then let it be so. Most of my friends who know me really well gift me books, on every occasion, special or not.

Similarly, thanks to a close friend, I was gifted the book Manabjanam by Sadat Hossain recently, which transported me to the rural peripheries of Bangladesh. The lush green setting, the sparkling silver carps jumping out of the pond to escape the fishers' nets; the typical Bengali belle feeding the cows, playing with goats and the chicken, got me transfixed and mesmerised. All these incredible expressions can encourage the most unwavering to be impressed with rural life. But then comes the writer's famous lines--- “It takes only 8 days for the city dwellers to be distressed and bored with rural life and vice versa, only 8!” This is when the skilful writer presents the narrative where the real faces of the villagers are unveiled. Their masks fall off, and issues like cold blooded murder for land and power, infidelity, complicated relationships, con artists in the form of pirs and fakirs and so much more are unveiled. By far, many characters are defined, and it is expressed eloquently how their lives are dissimilar, and yet connected. The main gist of the story brings you closer to real life – just as much as the title of the story depicts.

WHAT I DID

Every time I try to do anything productive or creative, I end up reading on nonsensical gossip about the Jenner family, or watching my friend put on her eightieth dress of the week. Yes! I am discussing how much Facebook disturbs me and ruins my prolific life.

So, last week, I tried taking revenge by putting off the internet for a few days. I took it slow, and it helped me finish reading a book; catch up on real time friends and bake quiches and tarts for my kids.

And my God, was that a relief!

Photo: Collected