Back Pocket Logic

The 'Bolt from the blue'...from someone I knew. Something hit me down a few days back and I was compelled to think about it day on after that moment and I mulled over the fact that I was a victim to the same...Logic! At times, we see adverts that describe kids being snappy about their ideas and hence turning out to be logical...so many adverts on how the youth sound logical to the ears of the old school. That day at home, it was logic from the other era! Stumped I was...by a deadly googly...completely bowled over! You'll know as you read on.

Getting ready for office wasnt eventful as ever except on this day when nothing but a 'logical thought' bolted across from the corner room where my paternal grandpa's sister resides. Well, shes approaching 85 years and like the veterans of our previous generations, had more presence and longevity than anyone in the room...just a sore back to indicate the quantum of work that woman has done in all those years. Amidst her singing and chanting in her room, I was blasting my metal music in mine...two extremes in one home. A discussion soon sparked out with her and my mom and that was what caught my attention...it wasnt about the music for sure!

"Amma...wheres my purse?" I screamt amidst all the noise and commotion of the morning chores..."On the table only naaa..." replied my mom...and right as ever she was. This was when I noticed my grandma walk past on her usual walking exercise but stand still when she saw this happening. After her rounds, she called my mom and asked her a simple question..."Why do people keep their purses in their back pocket of their pants?" in a very naive manner but in a staunch and pure Tamil...right from Srirangam. As expected...the whole home fell speechless and rattled us all for a moment...the day the earth stood still. Not expecting us to answer, she replied by herself...

"Sometimes people complain that they dont have enough money to spend or they are unable to save enough for the future!!! People complain of thefts and pick-pockets too...do you know why? I cant understand this logic...let me tell you why. People keep their purses near their buttocks where the only biological function is excretion...the same will be the philosophical correlation to your purse...money will only be spent and not saved! People keep their purses in their back pockets and go ahead...when these days people are unable to see things ahead of them...how can you expect to take care of your purse when it is behind your sight? Hence the temptation for strangers and miscreants to pick-pocket and more the chances of thefts! In our days, they used to make shirts with pockets stitched on the inside of shirts and this had a sound logic. We were always told to keep the purse or our money in our chest pockets...and this is where the 'heart' was...'Lakshmi' (Goddess of Wealth and Prosperity) is where the heart is...today it is somewhere else...and we complain of spendings and thefts. How can anyone even dare to put their hands into your shirts and try to steal? Isnt that tough to do than keeping it in your back pockets? Dont you have any shirts like that?

The only reply we had was "They dont make any like that"...in fact it wasnt the right answer and she did not expect an answer. There was no answer actually...the fact is that we buy branded shirts that really dont serve such smaller purposes. Was she kidding us...'hell no' she wasnt! It was at this moment, where we were all still on our feet and she slowly waltzed back into her room expecting no answer...such was the spirit and such was her obsvervation and anaylsis. That was the moment I felt stumped in a long time in life...harsh lessons with a subtle question. I was speechless (so were the others too) and the only thing I could do was smile all the way to my way to office like a fool with a revelation to share...such was the impact of that logic...coined the "Back Pocket Logic"

Though that hit me the hardest and I realized the toll it took on me for the rest of the day, I am yet to find a shirt like that...honestly, they do not make any. The truth is also, that the shirts that I choose are branded and they do not make those kind of styles anymore...and God (too) hardly makes wise people and logical gurus like my Grandma anymore...