I didn’t know the relevance of the word “perspicuity” till I
actually saw it in play a while back. Weekends are meant for relaxing – in whatever
form one can think of. Sleep till late in the morning, late breakfast / an early
lunch, siesta, reading, couch potato and
catching up with friends (ahem, on the phone). It is definitely not meant for one to wake up
at 9am and participate in a fire drill in your condominium. The temptation to escape it was high. I have
been through innumerable drills of sort, which includes fires of the literal
and figurative varieties at work. Now, did I really want to participate in one at
home over the weekend? A cup of tea, the morning newspaper, and the comic
strips in vision, I had settled down on my couch with the definitive view of
staying perched atop it till late noon. And it was at that very moment, I heard the shrill siren blare followed by a loud banging on my door. The next thing I knew,
I was walking down the stairs with the entire neighborhood towards the safe
area!!!! This is NOT what I wanted to do.
The roll call taken, we all moved towards the atrium for a
briefing on what needs to be done IF and when there is a fire. Arrrrr, I have
heard this a zillion times and there we go again! So, I put on a smile (more
like a grimace), took a back seat (figuratively) and with rapt attention inwardly
focused on my evening plans. And from
what I could see, there were quite of few of the adult residents busy on their
cellphone. We belonged to the category of ‘been there, done that’!!! We, and
not our cellphones, were in the silent mode!
There comes a moment in one’s life when you fathom rather sub-consciously
of a change in your environment. You then begin to consciously respond to it
with miniscule efforts. I have often referred
to it as the ‘magical moments of change’ – a moment that so encapsulates your
being, that you begin to slowly interact with the shift. And it is this interaction
and the outcome of the interaction that I term as experience.
The entire drill was being conducted for the benefit of all
occupants of the condos; however, the maximum participation was from the
children. What is a fire? What can bring about a fire? What are the
consequences of a small / big fire? What can we do to prevent it? How can we
take care of people who have burns? Multiple questions and all responses (dare
I say, very professional responses) / decisions on how to act, coming from the
children. They were listening with rapt attention and were thrilled at the fact
that they could respond to these questions in the presence of a large audience –
their peer group, parents, parents of their friends, et al. They were
passionately and meaningfully engaged with the experts and in the entire drill
per se. This active participation made ‘acting the part’ for the adults that
much more difficult. They had to be IN THE GAME in true earnestness. Any act of
falsehood could easily have been detected by this group of perspicacious angel faces.
Inconsistency, is almost immediately detected by children. Slowly, I could see the ‘been there and done
that’ group (including me) switch off their cellphones, and slowly gravitate
towards the talk. There was encouragement, applause, and pride being expressed –
sentiments that customarily do not accompany a fire drill. Our cellphones on silent, we were partaking of
this very heuristic learning.
Their awareness of what causes fire and true to life and
reality responses was a blow to my otherwise adult brain that so constantly
filters out the most obvious. The battalion had played its part of being my
teacher, trainer and coach.
On weekdays, I am busy at work 12-14hrs. Many a time, am dealing
with ‘situations / fires’ that sometimes are triggered by a bunch of emblematic
pyromaniacs. Trying to douse it is tough. One needs to ensure that he/ she
doesn’t get burned. And in the over-zealous attempt to avoid getting singed,
the participation and engagement levels drop. The focus is more on self-preservation
than on the experience itself. The learning is always on how to improvise on
your protective gear rather than to prevent the next fire; which in turn, gives
birth to the “been there, done that” facade. The children were telling me to “Be There and
Do That”; irrespective of how many times - the secret code of bringing home my
magical moment of change. I am not sure if I am ready for the next fire; albeit,
I had to deal with one, I would like to definitely want to douse it with a
difference!
