Crow Water and Stones

[Dedicated to Doel Ghorai, the sparkling star of Sept. 2005]

You know, finding old pals of yesteryear doesn't have the same charm anymore. Where are the scented/non-scented letters, the euphoria of long years of absence, the delight of hearing a friend's voice on a crackling phone ? It is like the story of the crow and the pot of 'little' water.

Back then, papa crow smiled and explained how little stones plopped into the pot would eventually lead to a rise in the level of water. The little crow boy nodded and went about collecting the otiose stones and dropped them one by one. Eventually the level rose satisfactorily.
The little crow, his pot of water, his girlfriend all lived happily ever after without any thirst.

The End ? Of course not.

In case you are still interested in the analogy, the pals i am talking about are the little stones, whom I, the little crow, have to carefully choose and retain in the pot, so that I may enjoy the water, which signifies the fruits of true friendship. Too good huh ? Here is another one. The Papa crow is our conscience, asking us to act the right way. The stones are the efforts we put in, allowing us to taste the water. The impatient and careless ones add no stones, and expect the water to rise when they want it to (wow, this is fun).

Here's the final one. The water is actually various forms of communication. The papa crow is the ideology we follow that decides how well we stay in touch with our friends. He is ignorant. The water doesn't need help. The little crow does. He shouldn't drink more water than required, which would eventually make him sick. The right amount of water and the right number of stones would ensure that he doesn't remain thirsty, drunk or stone-less.

Ignoring the bakwaas, I feel this age provides us with tremendous opportunities for reinforcing relations. The snickering and giggling ones please understand I am not restricting this to ladka-ladki stuff. Around 400 of my batchmates passed out this year (yes, with degrees..not daaru). . Sure, my frenergy (friend-energy) peaked around July, when I carefully enquired about their health, their job. Now, the Abhinav Gupta's and Amlan Ganguly's have slipped out of my circle. Of course, an 'out of sight out of mind' attitude has its peculiar advantages. And is much easier to maintain too....

The Yahoo Msg! and Orkuts are great tools to make one's presence felt in another's zone. Forwards and birthday messages are a reticent method of doing this, where you can answer 'present madam' without attracting too much conversation. A tailored message requires a bit of effort and some brain-power. Mails are tougher, requiring an investment of time too. Phone calls consume money. and aaj kal signal bhi nahi aata....

Of course, Technology is not to blame. Nor is my daily schedule the culprit. A few years hence, my phone bill will (hopefully) be a makhhi in my overall expenditure and hence, not a great concern. Now, it is merely a question of choice. Not of chance. I decide. And act.