Entertainment on the Move

Entertainment lessons from the guy-next-seat (my adaptation of the guy-next-door)

Distance had never seemed longer and time had never seemed so constrictive as it seemed now. Suddenly the commute to and from work had started resembling a local train journey, with the slight exception of an air-conditioned metro compartment. Be it in the metro or in the office shuttle, jams appeared to be ubiquitous and so seemed lethargy, inactivity and a vacuum punctured sometimes by small talk and sometimes by Whatsapp. But not even the best jokes could sustain for very long. Soon, ennui would set in. Broken snatches of sleep too did nothing to offset the exhaustion at the end of a working day.

As for social networking sites, how much can one browse and how many stupid updates/statuses can one put up? Soon, that too is wearying. Come now to music, but after a time even the songs turn stale. The lyrics no longer seem as meaningful as they did in the beginning. If one tries new music, it seems too new for the ears and takes time getting accustomed to. And hence, every day, I was reduced to staring into space and replaying the day in my head all through the 1.5-2 hour journey. 

This had become the norm until one fine evening, I found a fellow colleague sitting next to me in the shuttle. He looked avidly engaged. I first presumed it was some game. Perhaps Candy crush or some other horrible game-styled drug. But then I saw him stretched back and enjoying a movie. ‘Duh! On such a tiny screen!’ I thought to myself and said as much to him. He looked at me once and went back to his movie. Even though I tried to behave as if I didn’t care, I actually did peer into his screen once or twice to determine the movie he was watching. It turned out to be MI5. I turned my head the other way and decided to ask no more. However, hardly a minute had passed before I had disengaged him from his earphones and asked him how he managed to watch a movie on that teeny-tiny screen. He replied coolly, “At least it's better than staring into space!” Although I was a bit affronted, I found that the man had a point. When I enquired further, not letting him watch the movie, he paused the flick and turned to me. Then began the imparting of those crucial lessons I was talking about at the start.

Image Source : www.sonymobile.com

“

5 reasons why watching TT-TV*(for the definition of TT-TV, scroll down) on the phone is better than anything else:

1. People don’t like to be disturbed after a full day at work, so even if starting conversations might be fun and stress-busting, droning on doesn’t help much.

2. Trying to do productive stuff like getting leftover work done at the end of the day, when your mind is already full to bursting and sudden breaks and interruptions anyway disrupt productivity, is not a great idea, you must admit.

3. Reading the news might seem very important but there is something called information overload that one must guard oneself against.

4. Instead of caviling about the potholed roads, dysfunctional transport system, rapidly burgeoning population and whatever else, you can choose to be at peace in your own world without shouting, abusing or griping about everything that is wrong with the country. Ignorance is sometimes bliss.   

5. Staring into space is the last option that every ‘forever alone’ person has recourse to, but when you have a TV at hand, why stay alone?

”

I was quite moved by his surprisingly clear and sound reasoning. Although I merely nodded at the time, I decided to give it a shot. I imagined putting the TATASky Transferkars in action and getting myself hooked on to the idea of 'entertainment on the move’. Merely imagining it feels so good! Having the series like Friends, HIMYM** and TBBT** at the click of a button! Aahh bliss! 
So, from now on, while the bus lurches and brakes; while the metro screeches and rumbles, I will remain unfazed; content to be in my dreamworld with my favourite TV characters and their beautiful other-worldly tales.

* TT-TV : TataSky Transferkar TV

**Those few uninitiated who don’t know what these are, don’t fret! TATASky will get you your favorite shows!

HIMYM: How I Met Your Mother

TBBT: The Big Bang Theory

I am participating in the #TATASkyTransfer activity http://www.tatasky.com/transfer/ in association with IndiBlogger.