Everyday I have to commute from home to office and vice versa and the only companion I have during that time is my Radio ( apart from the Love Stories i.e ). I always wanted an Mp3 player but never got one but in hindsight it seems to be a good decision. Let me tell you why. I prefer radio to an Mp3 player because there is an air of unpredictability associated with it. With an Mp3 player I choose the songs, I know what to expect and most of the times I know whats coming next (ofcourse i am talking of a player which doesnt have Shuffle capability, but even if shuffle is on I still am limited to a few number of artists and songs), but the best thing about Radio is its Randomness, I dont know what to expect next at times a few stations never give me a clue as if which language the next song is gonna be. The songs and artists are unlimited, you get to meet new artists almost everyday and get introduced to good songs too. With an Mp3 player i can choose the songs i like, I am sure there wont be a song which will make me cringe but with radio you get a good mix there will be times when you will be like aaargh but the next will bring a bigger smile on your face, I guess this goes well with the saying that you need to experience evil to appreciate good. And with radio there are times when you feel like if at all that song comes up it will be great and the next thing you know is they indeed are playing that song and the joy you experience is boundless. I know its a simple thing but it can really brighten ones mood, it can really make one's day. The anticipation, the hope that the next song will be the one which you will love keeps you going.
This preference of mine says something about me too I guess. Its consistent with my affinity towards unpredictability in life. How many times I have thanked heavens for making life unpredictable, what fun would it be if I knew everything beforehand then there is nothing to look forward to but going through the motions. This explains why I like change in my life however unwelcoming it might be. This also explains why there is always a smile on my face even when i am leaving a place I have stayed for years or people whom i love because for me the uncertainty of future is what keeps me going. Tomorrow might be a freaky day, tomorrow I might meet new people, tomorrow I might visit new places, tomorrow I might meet that one special person, this hope makes life bearable and keeps ennui at bay.
This preference of mine says something about me too I guess. Its consistent with my affinity towards unpredictability in life. How many times I have thanked heavens for making life unpredictable, what fun would it be if I knew everything beforehand then there is nothing to look forward to but going through the motions. This explains why I like change in my life however unwelcoming it might be. This also explains why there is always a smile on my face even when i am leaving a place I have stayed for years or people whom i love because for me the uncertainty of future is what keeps me going. Tomorrow might be a freaky day, tomorrow I might meet new people, tomorrow I might visit new places, tomorrow I might meet that one special person, this hope makes life bearable and keeps ennui at bay.
19 comments:
Pretty depressing
Depressing ? Strange !!!
As a former student of psychology, I see here a pattern that talks of a mind that’s not happy at all .... A state of Constant seems to scare you in way ... Not sure how close I am to the truth
@ No Guesses - Ha ha you got your psychology all wrong then.... I am not surprised... that one another subject which is raped quite badly these days...
You are no where close to the truth... Constant doesnt scare me, why should it? Its jus plain boring thats all..
I see the juvenile awakening yonder ;-)
Nice post Av..
How about a Radio with an option where stations get shuffled around? That's an idea eh? Of course, it would need to figure out which station is playing a song. Or is that even needed?
Now what does that say about me? ;-)
Cool post.
While I can see why change is appealing to you, I've begun to find comfort in routine these days.
@ Musafir - Whats the point having the station shuffling, it doesnt help in any way. Am not even concerned with which station I am listening to as long as they are playing sme music.
Comfort in routine ? Well then I guess the routine must be a really good one quite contrary to mine...
U said it da....ife is full of surprises. Who know?
Tomm. u might meet a girl
Day after u might get married
That day after u might discover a guy in the road who looks exactly like the baby avi...who knows?
Yea...once again...u said it da...life is unpredictable...
Pretty reactive da mama...as a former student of chemistry....I feel that this post is pretty reactive...B-)
@ Stallion - Dei venda romba cross pannare.... Orul naalu vaanga pore... A story is brewing in my mind and I don wanna unleash it yet now ;)
Totally agree with you on this Avi.....Radio is one this I really miss after leaving India...If you think of it Randomness is definitely something which keeps us going...and that I guess makes life what it is...
I guess you listen to the radio station tuned in by someone else... If you have a personal radio, with the variety available you still would end up makin a playlist of your own... I used to think on your lines, before we got more than a few FM channels... But now that we have so much choice, the constant flickin between stations avoids the crappy RJs but misses out on the good ones too...
But its fun, makin your own playlist of the songs they play.. rather than on a mp3 player... If I should draw a parallel... Lets say its controlled unpredictability.. Making your choices within a framework... I dont go from being a millionaire to a pauper in a day, and welcome the change with outstretched hands... :-p
But there are times, I have simply ended up flicking stations for hours and switchin off the radio disappointed ... Parallel : too much of thought into anything can be futile :-).
Read an article in RD sometime back on how the world is movin towards individual choice.. Gadgets for ppl to choose their own music.. record TV shows of their liking alone, even bloggin was supposed to be a popular source of news in the US.. The My news thing on ndtv stands testimony to this "I-hear-what-I-want-to-hear" phenomenon... Dont know how good or bad this is.. and how it would suit human psyche... People do need to experiment once in a while and sticking to one's choices might get you into a rut..
Sorry for the long comment.. was kinda less loaded tday.. Commented on ur older posts too... Altho a little late :)
Btw, have you tried World's space ? I went gaga over it for a month and let it die a natural death later...
And agree with musafir... I too have been finding routine cozy, of late.. :-p Gives a kinda rhythm to life..
@catch22,
Bck after a long time to encounter a wonderful post. Profound philosophy. Undoubtedly,triggered thoughts :)
Very good one.
@ Raj-kris - Hey I guess this ur first time on my blog...welcome
@ Sol - Nope I have my personal Radio in my phone. I do constantly flip the channels in the radio only when some RJ is crapping. When I was in Chennai, I used to love Suchithras voice and RJing but after coming to Bangalore I have developed kinda aversion towards RJing. How many times I have felt that I can do a better job than most RJs. Well, you can say its controlled Predictability I guess but not much controlled anyway, the only control have is which channel I can listen to but what they play is totally random. Yeah I have the choice in flipping the channels if I don like a song, there are times when all the channles play crap and there are times when more than one channel plays the song i like.
World is moving towards individual choice ? Thats good news.. I wish more people move towards that...Its not that easy too. I wouldn sy blindly stick to ones choices, you need to constantly keep evaluating them...cos as you evolve so does your perspective on things and your choices mite not make sense to you after some time.
I havent tried worldspace, but I guess I listen to Radio only when I commute... the rest of the leisure time either I am in front of the idiot box or with a good book.
I always wanted to find comfort in routine cos that gives a kinda settled look to your life but never could find it ,I guess thats the way i am wired I need change.period.There are so many things which I would like to do but never have done cos of the uncertainty surrounding my future thats one flipside of unpredictability of life.
@ Rashmi - Yeah was away for a while. Couldnt blog with regularity. Not exactly philosophy but introspection. At times the things that you like tells a lot about yourself.
The beauty of "Station Shuffling" is obvious, I would have thought. The very thought of carnatic and then jazz and then kollywood music alternating on their own gives me goosebumps. Talk about randomness squared ... oh well, but then I've always been ahead of my times.
And the routine becomes comforting while it is of your choosing, although I would not stress it too much (the existence of free will being a point of debate on its own).
I always had a theory abt radio stations and job switching. The assumptions are that the radio stations(i.e. the sample) are of the same genre (say popular music) and it's a good time (say prime time). Well i think it's worthless to switch stations. Because sooner or later all the stations converge at some point i.e. you get to hear the same set of songs albeit in a different order !! It's the same with jobs (All factors equal - say both are reputed companies doing the same kind of work), it makes no point switching jobs. U kinda feel good for sometime - but sooner or later u figure out you could have achieved the same in the other company too !! :D :D
But that said, i still prefer switching stations or jobs just for the heck of it !! Its much more interesting to live life that way - i am more like Avi - i hate routines (maybe bcoz i havent found the right one)
@ Karthik - Analogy vechhuntu yengayo poitte da. Changing jobs for the heck of it ? I dono probably I mite have done that couple of years back but now I am a bit wary of doing that...Yeah if both are doing same kind of work there remains no point in switching unless ofcourse your salary is gettting doubled or something....But definitely if I were ever to quit my current job I would make sure that the work I do is considerably different.
@ Musafir - Station shuffling being a variety ...well maybe true in Chennai but not much in bangalore cos I don understand much of Kannada lyrics and me being a lyric oriented person I must understand the lyrics to enjoy the song, hence in bangalore the stations I shuffle would play only hindi songs...
I dono routine may be comforting if its of ur own choosing but I have always got bored of the things I have enjoyed doing...I have been thinking for quite sometime about the routine where I would find comfort.
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