A different kind of Intimacy

“Conversation is food for the soul”

I crave for conversations where you are vulnerable with an open heart. The kind in which, even when there is a pause there is no hint awkwardness. You feel your shoulders relax, your mind wandering thousands of miles looking at the happy memories or dreams of the future and your eyes gazing at the stars. Then, the moment you realize that the person might have gotten bored, they say, “The sky is really beautiful tonight!”  The person you open up to really matters, because, you need someone who is amazingly honest with you and wonderfully open-minded in their views about the world. Most people do not as much even care to listen, in those cases there is no conversation. It is just mere replying. It’s like this, “Only when the sky is dark can we see the beauty of the twinkling stars.”  We see the value of those people who really care about us only when we understand that most others do not care.

It does not matter, what you talk about unless it is more than just, “What are your plans for the weekend?” or some similar small talk. The flow of the conversation, the comfort of the companionship and the feeling of secureness of trust should run within. This is when you open up your heart, become your true self and be truthful to yourself and to them. The beauty of the conversation blooms within and reflects on your face beautifully with a smile. The conversation can tell you a tale, take you on a journey and make you experience emotions which you would’ve never thought about. The life of any person is like a book, the person himself is the author. You can open up to any particular chapter that you want to experience, but then, you have to know the person at least a little bit, right?. NO! That’s where we are always wrong. You need not know them. When you meet a stranger, skip the small talk and ask something a little personal. Something like, “Where do you come from?”, because most people have different upbringings by very different kinds of parents and in different circumstances. There begins a conversation.

This one time when I was still in college I took a cab from the Coimbatore bus station to my university. It was around midnight when I got off the bus. It was a drive of around 30 to 40 minutes. So, I just started a conversation. I asked my driver, “Anna, neenga Coimbatore ae va?” (Brother, is Coimbatore your hometown?) To which he replied, “Illa pa, naa Madurai.” (No, I’m from Madurai basically). I went on to ask to him about how he got to Coimbatore and something about his family which eventually led to him explaining me the problems in agriculture that his family had been facing for at least the past 5 years. He was almost in tears as he was explaining things. He was telling that his parents had to go to different farms to work to make money even though they had their own farmland because they had had a lot of loss in the last few years. They would have to break even just to pay for the transport of goods farmed in their land to the local markets and that was a big relief. I could totally relate to the money factor as my father also owns quite an area of farmland in my hometown, Theni. He had had to face similar situations last time. But, then I really could not relate to the pain he was in. He said that it was the main force that pushed him to Coimbatore to become a driver. He went on to explain that, he was not even the owner of the cab and that he was working for another person and he gives away around sixty percent of the money through his driving as salary. He said, he saves as much as he can to buy his own vehicle and drive as much as he can and help his family to deliver them from their difficult situation. He also went on to say that people of the city do not even realize the problems that farmers like his family faced on an everyday basis and that they do not even give good remarks about movies which try to explain such issues. We went on to discuss politics, music and some sports too. Well, after all that I can say that the collaborative picture of the society that I had gained from the conversation during the drive was worth more than the 350 rupees that I had to pay him. I wished him well and that he was a really wonderful and hardworking person and that he will achieve his goals very soon. I really hope he has. (Your mind voice: What is it with this guy and cab drivers?! :P)

So, this was one serious conversation. I’ve had some other interesting confessions too. That I have made and that others have made to me. Let me share a few such conversations which I really think are interesting. Here goes...

·         There is this incident where one of my friends confessed to me that he wants a Punjabi girlfriend.

·         Who would’ve thought a “Bisleri” drinker wanted to confess so much about that one crush he had. Oh! You screwed it so bad, dude. XD

·         Someone I know acted as a kid with finger on the lips for me to buy her a Chizza.

·         Someone I know said I was the best thing that happened to them. (Rare enough. You can’t argue with that, can you?)

·         There is no secret that a long drive in the night can bring. Obviously, there were the friends who kept incessantly kept asking questions like a detective would to a criminal. (The guy really is a criminal though. XD)

·         I was told by friend that I need to socialize more and spend more time with people whom I spend relatively lesser time. (I guess, I did take that advice well. Did I not?)

That was fun. Now, Let us get back to the point. Such conversations where you so much openness is rare and should be treasured. It gives you so much more purpose as to who you are and how important you’re to some people. I tell you, you have no idea if you have not had one such conversation where you are just fixed on the other person’s voice like it is your favourite song. One-on-one conversations can be the best. But, when you’re with your close group it does not count, right?

            I guess, Conversations with people is the only place we are very intuitive and that is who we really are, right? That is why it is brilliant! There are no boundaries of error when you’re comfortable to speak to each other. The process of getting to know each other is so exciting. People are just like a hard-bound book. Once they open up to you. Every once in a while you find yourself engulfed by them. You’re a part of the book when you’re reading it; likewise, you’re a part of people’s lives when they decide to share it with you. So, when you listen, you should listen to listen rather than listening to reply. Especially the people that you can joke around and all of a sudden dive into a deep conversation. They are saviours of the soul.

            So, what are you waiting for? Go! Converse! Make the world a more amazingly small world. Let’s help Chandler run into Beyoncé. XD

“All problems exist in the absence of a good conversation.”

           - Thomas Leonard.

    P.S: You know where to drop by when you need a good listener, right? ;)

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Hey, guys! Thank you for taking the time to read my work. I thought only people who know me well did read my work. But, thanks to some of those souls who have made some advertising for me in their circles and helping me reach a few more people with my ideas. Hope you like it!

If we are meeting for the first time, I’m Nandha. I’m not a spectacular person with any superpowers or even amazing grammar. I just write what feels right at the bottom of my heart. Do drop a comment, if you think it was worth the few minutes of your invaluable time.

Thank You!

Have a great day!

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