All of us at one time or the other must have taken inspiration from words spoken by someone past or present, famous or anonymous; or found them in a work of fiction. These words move us, guide us, inspire us to be better and do better. Some words make sense only to us in a sense that we wonder if others will ever grasp their meaning like we did. They may be direct or they may have multiple meanings only be discerned when read multiple times, some may be long, some only a few words. Whatever they may be, however they might be, these words have shaped us, have become a part of our psyche. I’ve collected few such quotes/lines below which’ve had a great influence on me with a little commentary of my own.
At a Book Fair
Finding the ground was not tough even though the city was new to me. I got down the auto and walked under the evening sun towards the ticket counter. “Entry Free” said the usher. “That was different”, I thought. With hands in my pockets and a ‘good-to-be-back-home’ smile on my face, I entered the book exhibition. Year after year I’ve been visiting book fairs in Hyderabad, but, over the last two years, I’ve been visiting the same in Vijayawada. Home to me is where books are, no matter the city, so walking into one in a different city was no different. I walked in alone (’cause even my best friends who tend to come with me once don’t dare to come the next time, citing I hardly speak and simply don’t move quickly) and firmly planted my legs in front of one book stall, opened a book and quietly drifted to a different world.
Apple of my eye
Wikipedia defines ‘nerd’ as “A person, typically described as being overly intellectual & obsessive … who may spend inordinate amounts of time on unpopular, obscure, or non-mainstream activities, which are generally either highly technical or relating to topics of fiction or fantasy, to the exclusion of more mainstream activities..” I see myself as a nerd more in terms of the obessessive interest I have displayed in certain activities. One such activity which has my undivided attention mostly to the chargin of my family and friends is my obsession with Apple.
Down Memory Lane
I took a long warm bath, walked out to the hall, with a cup of coffee in my hand and gazed out of the window. It’s been drizzling since morning. I put my pen to the paper, waiting for emotion to move me. But, suddenly the incessant honking of the car behind me broke the reverie. I was not at home, but driving to the office in the rain, cribbing to myself about how wet I’d become by the time I reach office and not at home enjoying the peace of a rainy day. But, when I noticed the beauty of the clouds, the drenched roads, the cold, I drifted back into the past – rain makes me nostalgic.
My Journey with Internet
It was the first day of college. After the introduction speech, the principal asked us, ‘how many of you have an email address?’ In a crowd of 60, around 10 raised their hands, mine was not one of them. He then asked ‘how many have a computer at home?’ I did not move. The principal then started to lecture on how computers would revolutionize life with the help of internet and how email was going to be our new digital address. ‘What the hell was an email?’ I asked myself. ‘In the future’, he continued, ‘people who dont know about computers would be termed as illiterates and not merely the ones who are uneducated’. I had studied computers in my school – BASIC, LOGO & Lotus 123, never even seen a GUI, or an email. I quickly forgot what he said as soon as I stepped out. I was clueless. It was the year 2000.