This is an everyday occurrence with me. I find things in the book-shelf, almirah, cupboard, and even on my study table that I am not really looking for now but remember that when I had wanted them they were not to be found anywhere. So I have speeded from desperation to nonchalance in a blink of an eye… almost similar to the way car-makers talk about 0 to 100 in less than 10 seconds, or that way smartphone specs mention charging from 0 to 60 percent in thirty minutes. But if you think this is easy or that it is something common and happening to everyone, you’re mistaken. Every time I stumble upon something that I wasn’t looking for, I shout, ‘Fantastico!’ I am neither an Italian nor am I under oath to keep using this word that looks great as the twitter hashtag for Tata Zica. I simply love finding something that I’m not looking for and, therefore, I get ecstatic and do what football fans of Messi do all the time, everywhere. I jump up and shout: ‘Fantastico!’
Most people just utter a non-descript ‘hmphh!’ or ‘huh! huh!’ and move on to whatever it is that excites them at that moment… they are obviously not fans of finding things that weren’t looking for.
Did I mention that Specky, my wife, is the only one who probably understands this? I say this because she invariably asks me this set of three questions:
Do you think you will need this anytime in the near future?
Will you still insist on keeping this in a secure place of your choice?
Will you be able to find it at the right time next time?
I invariably say ‘Yes!’ three times and that generally closes the matter. I do tell her every time that there is great fun in stumbling upon something you desperately wanted and couldn’t get. ‘There is hardly any fun in getting everything every time, right?’ I ask.
‘Well,’ she replies, ‘remember the third lens cleaning pen that you now have?’ I get her point but she goes on and reminds me of the five boxes of thumb pins in the drawer waiting for me to press them on the imaginary boards with space, two SD cards that now have no spare device to adopt, parker roller ball refills that I keep gifting to the courier guys because I always have a few to spare… and the line is actually unending. There are even books that I have bought and then re-bought thinking my copy is lost and because I loved reading it, I needed a handy copy in my home library. And so the saga of buying the same things goes on because I don’t remember where that thing is when I need it… and I go ahead and order another copy from some or the other online portal.
The point isn’t of us having surplus copies of similar products at home… I don’t fret over extra copies as there are always people who can be gifted because I think they are wonderful things to gift. My wife thinks otherwise… but that is a different story. I mean I find it absolutely fine for Mandate by Vir Sanghvi to be worthy of being gifted to everyone including even those friends who discuss nothing but the latest TV soaps. The whole thing is about the purest quality of joy in finding an unread copy of that book under the sheaf of press releases that I get in tons. I guess I have mastered the fine art of finding things that I wasn’t looking for as I intuitively know that happiness is tagged with such moments.
I find things and I find joy. I discover stories. Isn’t just this enough to make life fantastico?
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The fine art of finding something you weren’t looking for
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This blog post is inspired by the blogging marathon hosted on IndiBlogger for the launch of the #Fantastico Zica from Tata Motors. You can apply for a test drive of the hatchback Zica today.
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Arvind Passey
25 January 2016
