We Indians love to stare. We stare at people who we think are ‘inappropriately dressed,’ our parents give us a death stare when we eat too much while visiting a relative and we love to stare at our computer screens while at work.

computer

6 a.m.: Our office call time is 6 a.m. Yes, that is the time when hens wake up from their midnight siesta to alert the world that a new day awaits them with their daily dose of kucko-doo-koo. Before the milkman knocks at our doors, I am knocking at my office gates, pleading before an adamant watchman, who will not let me in since I am ten minutes early than the usual call time.

Walking into office, I meet my companion for the day – the computer screen. A nice 21-inch desktop that will keep me company for the next 10-12 hours. There is a flood of overnight mails to be read, agenda of the day to be decided, the first copy needs to be out within the next 20 minutes; all illusions of ‘taking your time’ to settle into your workspace go out of the window if you are surrounded by news – plenty of it.

The screen very kindly asks me for my login password which don’t remember being new to the organization. After 10 different permutations-combinations, I finally manage to crack the code. The screen had more patience than a spouse/partner of today’s generation. The day is on its way.

Noon: Having a cold is possibly the worst thing that can happen to you. You have no clue of what is happening around you with that constant feeling of laziness and above all, a blocked nose that flows faster than the Ganges! If I ever have to curse somebody, I know what I have to do.

cold

To add fuel to the fire, the office has an AC that deprives you of all your cravings to visit Antarctica. While the folks around see you as a potential weapon of mass destruction with all the germs you possess due to your constant sneezing and coughing, the AC is in no mood to relent.

4 p.m.: Finally, it’s time to call it a day. While I am in the middle of closing the 15-odd windows that I have opened on my screen, boss sends an e-mail with a dozen stories that need to be updated as soon as possible. While the screen is delighted to have me before him for another hour, my eyes don’t quite share similar sentiments.

After spending an extra hour, I finally begin my journey home thinking that I have no more screen-staring to do. Calamity strikes just then as I realize its Monday and I haven’t written my weekly column! The love-affair with the screen is prolonged for another couple of hours, although within the confines of my abode that atleast allows me to be the master of my own will.

My Mother has the best taunt for all of us screen-staring people. “Mobile ne computer to tari bairi che!” (Mobile and the computer are your wives!) What she doesn’t realize is that she does the same when she is at work and now that she owns a smart-phone, YouTube videos are her lullaby to bed.

To each their own.