One of these days when I had just washed my clothes I went to the terrace to put my clothes on the clothes line. As usual I went up the stairs dreaming about a perfectly vacant clothes line and found it packed from end to end. I saw another line apart from the two that were full but somehow I subconsciously rejected it without even considering why.
Assuming all the lines full, I asked one of the attendants about any reserved places for hanging the clothes. He pointed to the line that I had subconsciously rejected in my early morning daze and barked at me. ‘woh dikh nahin raha hai kya, uspe tango na.’
I looked where his finger was pointing and still could not consider the vacant line. I still did not question myself why. I think my behavior can be explained by considering the theory of ‘thin slicing’ wherein you do things based on past experiences without consciously making a note of what you are doing.
I asked with disbelief, ‘uspe tangoon, uspe?’, I couldn’t believe what that little imp was asking me to do.
But then somehow I realized that the situation demanded a greater degree of practicality and should best chew the thin slices that my brain was generating and manufacture new slices altogether.
With this thought of personal innovation in mind I guided my hands to pick up partially wet pieces of clothes from the bucket and spread them on the line but not without being very tender. When I was putting the last piece of clothing, I couldn’t prevent my eyes from wandering off repeatedly to the script written on the wire in fine print: ‘Warning: High tension cable’
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