BOSS, GO AND SLEEP, QUIETLY
Pic.: Errol D'Souza
All
of us have our ‘pets’ and ‘pests’. But, if two of my pests are fighting, I have
this tendency in me to root for that pest, who I detest less.
Like
last night, when I was watching the ‘News Hour’. Well, my wife has asked me
hundred times, “What do you gain watching such mindless arguments before you go
to sleep?” Both of us detest Arnab’s screaming, shouting, intimidating,
preaching, and dishing out judgments. Initially, like the rest of the world, we
would admire him. But, now, we find him too much.
But,
then, when I switch on the TV at night, I tend to be a little curious about
Arnab... Maybe, just to check, what is tonight’s ‘Never, ever Mrs. Lekhi’
episode... So, last night, there were Pramod Muthalik and one of his henchmen.
Now, normally, I can’t stand Arnab for more than five minutes... But, last
night, I watched his ‘noise hour’ till the last ball!
Why?
Because, I detested Muthalik more!
And,
when it was all over, I found myself cribbing, all over again: “Useless
arguments... Stupid... Sheer waste of time!”
“Who
tells you to watch, my dear?” It was my wife’s voice from the kitchen. “Go and
sleep quietly,” she concluded.
Two
days ago, Errol, my 20-year-old nephew from Mangalore, had posted a casual
status on FB: “Still
no trace of Malaysian
Airliner - MH370.”
Joel, his college buddy, was quick to respond: “Vogeth
nidhe saiba!”
Translated from our Konkani, it meant: “Quietly sleep,
boss!”
I was the first one to like Joel’s comment!
Why? Because, I, too, often, do the same thing: Worry about
missing planes in the far away skies and groan about kissing couples in the
local gardens... I, too, stand on the roadside and watch, holding my breath,
the cock-fights, the bull-fights and Arnab Vs Muthalik freestyle-wrestlings...
Yes, till someone like my wife, or Joel, will remind me
from the kitchen or balcony: “Boss, go and sleep quietly!
One of my ‘pets’ is Mrs. Byron Katie. In
her book, ‘Loving What is’, she reminds us, that, in life, all of us find ourselves
minding only three kinds of businesses – our own, others’ or God’s. She
concludes, that, the stress walks into our lives, when we find ourselves focusing
on, and worrying about, what they call - ‘None-of-our-business’!
Good-night!!!
GERALD D’CUNHA
Comments
Leena Prabhu
- Tony D'Mello