BeLonging

I am on FaceBook. Funny how a social networking site which I only thought had appeal for teeny-boppers has become so popular with the 30-40 somethings who count as my friends, acquaintances, colleagues, past and current.

Recently however there has been a flurry of activities among my friends joining groups or becoming fans of groups. My best friend seems to be on a musical odyssey, leaving a colourful trail of musical genres and groups that I scarcely know of, as he frenetically adds his name to burgeoning fan-lists. Some have joined causes supporting rights of Indian women to celebrate Valentine's Day while others will attend a photo-essay supporting the rights of Nepali women to education. Groups are being formed to bring together old schoolmates from far flung cities together in cyberspace (one enterprising former classmate of mine got together about 18-20 members of our 50 strong Std X class after nearly 18yrs of no contact). Memories are being shared, anecdotes exchanged, embarrassing photographs uploaded and compared with current photos with families in tow.

Is it FaceBook/Internet and the avenue it provides for interaction on multiple planes and a grandiose scale or is it the economic crisis which has rocked our foundations, that is spurring this flight to attain a sense of belonging? Do we need to redefine ourselves not as bankers, consultants, journalists, teachers but as friends, activists, aficionados, intellectuals? Is it helping to turn the clock back a little, taking us to more exciting times where we dreamt of changing the world, stayed up all night discoursing ideas, sought to experience new sensations through music or written word or cinema? Or is it just that the crisis has left us with a lot of time on our hands?

I feel a sense of bewilderment amidst this activity though. I have chosen this time, not reach out wider or explore life from the perch of experience - but to embark on a new career which has me focused on activities at an infinitesimally micro level - learning, practising, thinking, applying -all within the realm of my profession. So, no I am not plunging into the depths of new adventures - neither through travel nor through music; neither through books nor through art. If I imagine it in my head, I walk back slowly retracing the steps of the past 12 years, slowly climbing into my cocoon - a chrysalis yet again. That the burst of colours when I emerge this time will be vibrant and enduring - that is what I will BeLonging (for).