Name your top three pet peeves.
I used to be one of those talkative children in school, who was always in punishment for not doing his homework and then there were others like me as well. So, we all became good friends since we shared this particular trait and experience of the aftermath mutually. It goes without saying that we scored less marks in our examination. But we were not dull, we were just a bunch of bright kids who at that time weren’t really as interested in studies as we were in the rest of everything that was happening in the world.
There was no end to our conversations. When we realised our spoken words had the potential to attract punishment, then the words exchanged were written on slips of used paper. We even began to prepare these slips beforehand so that we were one task ahead.
As time went by and we grew up and apart and I found myself living in a world of my own. It’s hard to believe that I had so much to say once, but I barely have anything more than a few words of formality to say to most people now. Although I would confess, I am more comfortable interacting with written words than the spoken ones, but the allure of the world moving and speaking out there is always present within.
So, what happened meanwhile as the spoken words entered the world of partial silence? Thoughts and observation, yes, these two developed in my life and I became more observant of almost everything around and started associating my own thoughts with it. In no manner was it a less fatiguing process than speaking rather at times I felt more out of energy.
Among the things I have observed, there are things which I thought made living in this world a beautiful experience and then there were those which did not feel the same but could be ignored, but the main problems are the ones which you cannot avoid just because they make you feel uncomfortable to that level.
Although not surprising, some of these uncomfortable occurrences which we also term as pet peeves are the result of human actions. Here are some which I have observed about myself that I definitely don’t think I will find a positive side to-
1. Being Late- I won’t say I am a person who is excellent at maintaining time but I mostly do it, I would rather be before time than even five minutes late. It may be a psychological thing but nonetheless that is my parameter of comfort with time. So, yes if I am late because of someone or which happens most of the time with the other person arriving later than the time mutually decided upon. I don’t mind the wait as long as there is truly a genuine reason behind it, but something like ‘sorry I slept till late’ isn’t going to make it any better.
2. High Beam- There are certainly more than one form of problems when it comes to driving cars. From people driving rashly and cutting in, to those who just love to blow horn even when unneeded. I have learnt to effectively ignore many of these but there is one which just cannot be ignored because it makes its presence with a certain disabling intensity; It is the high beam of the car coming from opposite direction, the glare which spreads over the eyes creating a blinding effect and a sense of uncertainty of what is ahead is one of the most dangerous experiences out there. A little more conscious effort can certainly put an end to mis happenings which have a possibility of occurring.
3. Invasion of Privacy- In my house I am very conscious of my privacy. The road between my house and the one in front is a single lane road. The owner of the house and his family were certainly very good neighbours, but then they decided to shift and rent out this house, both of its floors separately. People who come on rent don’t stay for a long time, and it’s fine on the ground floor but the floor above is where the issue is. Sometimes a certain kind of family may move in who have this habit of just standing and staring at what is happening in my house and this uneasy feeling of them staring even when they might not be there is something I don’t think I will ever get used to.
The thing about this world and the societies in it are that there are many reasons to like it and there also many reasons to not like it, but we find our way somewhere in between and decide upon the way of life we want to live.
Written by Anuran Chatterji
Early Morning Memories 