The New You

One bright day in June, my nine-year-old nephew dressed up in a blue T-Shirt came running towards me & requested me to play along with him 

I was completely absorbed in replying to a few emails & didn't heed to his request.

He eventually gave up after asking me for four to five times in a series & withdrew from my workspace in a blue flunk.

Now, wait!!!

I know as a reader you already started judging me & also Nihal. This is just an example scenario that I'm going through in this "the new you" phase. 

Witnessing the working model of offices shifted from physical presence to virtual presence, bringing both personal & professional lives under one roof have its both pros & cons. I was one of the many who started to absorb the phase of "the new you" by now.

Each step of Nihal away from the workspace took me back in time to my school days.

I was a kid from the nostalgic '90s who happened to witness a couple of changes. BSNL landlines to Mobile phones, Handwritten assignments to online submissions, physical classrooms to virtual classrooms, ISD calls from Telephone booths to WhatsApp calls, Group meetings to Zoom meetings, CD's to blue ray discs, letters to emails, photo albums to instagram, Soaps to Sanitizers, Sharing is caring for staying away is caring, Trousers to Shorts & finally Shake hands to Namaste.

Change is inevitable. I had witnessed that a new generation flexible to adapt for a whole system of change took its form & shape in these 30 years. Those who look into the past or present are certain to miss the future.

Doordarshan used to bring all the flatmates together under one roof on weekend evenings for a movie & programs like Shaktiman, Jasoosi Vijay, Chitralahari were exiting. Now I see Nihal watching Harry porter series. I used to read Supandi stories from Champak magazine back at his age. Cricket with a wooden cloth washing bat was fun then. Nihal now solves SUDOKU puzzles online. His best time to solve a Rubik's cube is 6 minutes. I just look at the colours & smile.

On the other hand, the education system also took a rapid phase change. I see Nihal as the nimblest mind to adapt to the system changes-a replica of today's generation kids.

These pandemic times had made me realize that no matter what stands midway, life still moves on. To make the best utility of my time I began to learn a new skill ( story writing, drafting ), reading a book, exercise, pursuing online courses. Spending time with family, taking health care & maintaining work-life balance has become my order of the day.

Today, I see Nihal screaming with joy when he hit the follow-up coin for red in carroms winning the game played against my brother & me. Family time. Smiles.

"The new you" in me evolving.