Cities

My roommate quipped today that there was an air of sophistication he had seen that comes with people from cities – especially people from metropolitan cities. I didn’t quite understand what he meant by this, so I asked him to tell me why he felt this way. For a minute, I thought that perhaps he meant it in the way we spoke – using big words where they aren’t necessary. Or perhaps he meant it in the way cityfolk carry themselves – a stupid air of superiority, often without any basis.

He responded, chuckling.

“The insects man. I’ve seen so many of these in Assam. And I can’t do anything about them. You seem so distracted by their existence.”

That’s the air of sophistication, really. The fact that the tiny details annoy people from cities.

I’ve lived a pretty urban lifestyle – what, spending 10 years in Dubai, and then 8 in Bengaluru, before landing up somewhere between Ahmedabad and Gandhinagar. And he’s right. Being privileged enough to live a life filled with a lot of luxuries means becoming dependent on those luxuries. Quite often, that line of being dependent on those luxuries become habitual. And that habit prevents you from looking at the bigger picture.

My roommate can continue to work on what he’s working on when our room is getting infested by insects – some of which come in shapes that are definitely not naturally occurring. He’s able to zone the insects out and focus on the bigger picture.

While I will run away from my room to the library. Infestations really aren’t my thing.

I understand that the general quality of pieces is declining, but hey. Atleast I’m writing. 🙂