Today’s column, dear reader, should actually have been yesterday’s column.
For the astute amongst you (and is there any other kind of reader where Pune365 readers are concerned, eh?) will have noticed that today is not Thursday, but Friday. And that these words are being perused by you later on in the week than you are habituated to.
Why, you might ask? And therein lies today’s tale.
Now, the nominal reason you are reading this one day late is because yesterday was Holi. The day began with copious amounts of water, colour and assorted odds and ends, moved on to equally copious amounts of beer being imbibed, and chicken biryani and mutton curries also put in starring roles.
A wonderful day, in other words, and one in which I simply had no time to type out a column.
Ah, but what about the days preceding Holi, you might ask. Why did I not get around to typing out a column then? That is, as a person on stage often says when they don’t have a good answer, a very good question.
Two reasons: a lack of creative inspiration, and pure procrastination. Now, I have written on these pages before of my peerless, unparalleled ability to endlessly procrastinate. Of the limited skill sets that I definitively possess, the ability to put off forever what can be done right away is one I am especially proud of.
But honestly, this week it also was a question of what to write about. Every now and then, you see, the fount of inspiration runs dry. No buses in Pune commit sati, and there’s only so many words you can write about concretisation and Pune being a smart city. And so I waited all week for the muse to unbend and give me of her munificence, but she didn’t oblige.
Until it was time to finally submit the column, and I stared at the laptop and the laptop stared back at me, and still the muse wouldn’t oblige. At which point in time, I am happy to report, procrastination tapped me on the shoulder, cleared her throat, and pointed out that I may as well write about how inspiration can strike out of the sheer panic that a deadline might entice.
I pondered on the suggestion, and decided that it might make sense. I pondered some more while I made myself a cup of coffee, and found it to be an excellent suggestion. The reason I procrastinate, it turns out, is because that is really the very best way to get inspired.
Don’t believe me? There’s an entire TED talk about this by Shekhar Kapur, no less, who speaks of how he has directed most, if not all of his movies while being in a state of utter panic. And that panic is caused by having waited until the last possible minute. It is, Mr. Kapur says, the not having a plan that forces him to come up with something.
Now, I do not mean to suggest for even a moment that this column is even in the same league as a film made by Mr. Kapur. All I am saying is it is the same thing that gives him such inspiration that does the same for me: being late.
There is something to be said, I have often said in the past and will say again, for being utterly, hopelessly late.
And that, dear reader, is why you’re reading this on a Friday, instead of a Thursday.
~~
#Statutory Warning- The consumption of alcohol is injurious to health.
He doesn't expect the paradox to be resolved in his lifetime
- Life Doesn’t Get Better Than This - June 19, 2020
- It Takes More Than A PhD To Understand These Notifications! - June 8, 2020
- #FoodKarniTales-Cooking Is Simple, And Cooking Is Fun - June 1, 2020
