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April 10, 2005

Harmony in disharmony

A musical philosopher, a talented realist, a sensitive thinker, a whimsical romantic and a nonchalant jester - put them in a place together and what do you expect? discord? disharmony? disinterest? or just the right amount of connection, the right amount of variety and the right amount of intelligence to carry on a delightful conversation?

What started off as a possibly lukewarm and polite dinner conversation, led us from Bella Notte to Dennys, from sunsigns to starbucks, from tragedy to romance, from hypothetical situations to philosophical discussions...and from unfamiliarity to familiarity. As we discussed trivialities and tribulations, somewhere along the line, I knew we had connected. Suddenly, I was not so conscious, not trying so hard to say the right thing and not holding back what I really wanted to say. I felt my thoughts escaping my mouth faster than I could wonder if they were appropriate to be revealed.

Chemistry need not necessarily be the intangible force only between a man and a woman, it plays an important part in group dynamics and when we realized we were all trying to excitedly take part in a conversation that the general onlooker would have classified somewhere between boring and passable, I knew there was chemistry, not in the uniformity of thoughts but in the very lack of it.

When the waiter in the restaurant subtly but unmistakably clears his throat and wishes you a good night for the second time and then the lights dim a shade lighter, you know you have overstayed your invitation and you also know that you were lost enough in the conversation to not notice that you and your company are the last to still be sitting in the restaurant, empty plates and bills scattered on the table in front of you. It would have been an incomplete interaction, more like an interesting novel with the last few pages torn off, had the scene ended in the empty restaurant, and so, we proceeded to Dennys. Long after glasses of milk shakes and steaming hot cups of coffee and tea were emptied, the words continued to find their way out, sometimes clashing and sometimes finding their perfect match, before being replaced by more. As brows furrowed in contemplation, lips smiled in recognition, minds wandered in reminiscence, as ideas and images danced back and forth and laughter filled the air, a harmony was born in disharmony...

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

I thought the only thing that happened was sensitive thinker's hand involuntarily moving and slapping an old man :)

Anonymous said...

Ha Ha,

There are funnier involuntary thoughts I've thought about. But thanks to how much fun you've had on this one, you are not going to know what the other ones are ! :)

Yes, we did connect. If you noticed, all possible combinations clicked on a philosophical level al one point or the other in the conversation (save for the jester ofcourse). Another point to note..talented realists's list of questions about musical philosopher ? Sounded like somebody's curiosity has been aroused eh ? :)

Sensitive thinker

Anonymous said...

Nonchalant Jester, have to completely agree with you on that one. No offense Sensitive Thinker, but I do have a really vivid imagination and I couldn't help picturizing it! Don't particularly remember framing questions to musical philosopher....:) sensitive thinker konjam romba over-a think panra madhiri irukke....:)
Talented Realist

Rathish said...

Very beautifully written!

RS said...

Rathish, Coming from you, that is a compliment!

Zeppelin said...

wonderful blog...! absolutely agree with sensitive thinker on the philosophical connection. Dont know if you guys follow rock music, but there's a song which comes to my mind...

"when you are here with me
i am free, i am careless,
i believe...

Above all the others,
we'll fly...
This brings tears to my eyes..."

That is exactly what i feel when i think about our saturday night gappa..

also about sensitive thinkers wild imagination about talented realist...well, what can i say.. interesting... :)


actually there is a flood of words coming to me all at once, but dont have the energy to write anymore... will do soon...

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