On a date...

Not sure about deadlines. I love them. I hate them.

For one working from home for many years, a certain discipline seems to have seeped in naturally. I also like the feeling of anticipation as the day arrives and, even when I am not writing on something topical, I wait till just the day before – often that very morning – to write.

The other day I sent my piece. As always I mentioned the date of publication in the subject line. I got a reply, “Thanks, but May 1?”

It was meant for September 1. Was it just a typo?

No. Strangely enough, while I was typing I was wondering why I did not choose to write something about Labour Day. I looked at the desktop calendar. It said August.

There is something fascinating about this. You think of a powerful moment because of some connection – in this case a certain well-known trade union leader – and it lodges itself in your consciousness.

Someone once commented that I seem to ‘do’ LSD without LSD.

Supra-consciousness is something that takes you beyond several spectrums while making you see all the shades.

I am not a Bhakti saint or a Sufi but I feel deeply connected with these aspects.

A friend asked me if I was on my way to becoming a hermit. Unlikely. Neither do I strive to exercise control over my emotions. I have been wearing this torn-at-the-shoulder T-shirt at home. I like it. It covers me and that tear with some threads hanging loose touch my skin. Sometimes I feel an ant is crawling up; sometimes I think it is a strand of hair.

Just a little piece of torn cloth can be so many things.

Life is full of gifts. Or a Pandora’s Box. Either way, you don’t come away empty-handed.