c u on top - satyabrata dam

All my life I have barely been in the company of normal regular people. Even if I am I remain at my elevated zone. Therefore I have been blissfully unaware of a common man’s dilemma. To me life has always been an exciting adventure, a never ending journey or expedition, with almost no cause for regret, remorse, sadness or problem. I agree I live in a fool’s paradise, a self-created one at that. Now due to the virus for the first time ever I am forced to stay at sea level amidst normal people. Call this a blessing in disguise or an educational overdose designed by ‘god-knows-who’ I have started observing those around me. And as much as it has been a source of amusement it has also been a source of wonderment, sometime pathos and at times the bliss of knowing that what my life might have been had I chosen to walk the well trodden path. The other day the kindly neighbor invited me over for dinner. And I decided to increase my knowledge about a common man’s life.   He has a wife, two...

Once I knew a man who wanted to learn swimming. So he went and bought several instructional books on swimming. He read all of them cover to cover and became a theoretical swimmer. He knew all the techniques of swimming, different styles, ways to breathe, how to speed up, etc. Thereafter he watched hundreds of online videos on swimming. Thus he became a visual swimmer. Now he knew how to put his theoretical knowledge visually. He could visualize himself swimming through the oceans and lakes. Being a thorough person next he interviewed some of the finest swimmers in his country. He quizzed them about the finer points the points that a book cannot bring out. And he learnt the secrets of swimming well. He became so knowledgeable that he started writing blogs and online articles about swimming. Being systematic and thorough his articles were amazing and soon he was asked to coach the regional swimming team. And he coached them well, putting all his knowledge through his students and the tea...