Time travelling, Doraemon and the Sublime Beauty of July

Time! Aren't you just a daydream!

Had I been writing in the pen-paper mode, I would have had a whole mess of crumpled paper balls around me, on the floor. I have a bunch of ‘untitled document’-s with paragraphs of varying lengths in my google docs- a testimony of the number of times I have attempted to talk about time travel. See, the thing is, ever since I read this book called ‘Before the Coffee Gets Cold’ I have been thinking about time travel. I have been wanting to talk about time travel and about the fact that the book is lovely even though it is translated from Japanese. The universe is telling me to write about it, at this point, because wherever I look, time travel is all I see! I must say, for a race without any superpowers, we do fantasize about it too much. Take something as basic as the cartoon ‘Doraemon’. Tell me, what normal, Doraemon-watching kid hasn’t ever dreamt of having a walking-talking robot who is your ultimate panacea? I suppose, feeling annoyed at Nobita and craving his time machine is an integral part of growing up. (Not to diverge from the topic at hand, but I’ve always felt Nobita could have done a better job of being thankful for that white and blue robot he had.)

Well, I would like to start at the very beginning. I have consumed time travel content before but none of them gave me food for thought as much as this book- ‘Before the Coffee Gets Cold’. I do not want to spoil it for you but to just skim through it, the story is about a quaint coffee shop which can serve you a cup of coffee that can magically transport you to the past. The catch is that you can’t move from your seat when you're in another time and most importantly, you have to finish your coffee before it gets cold so that you can return to your own era. And yes, even if you do travel back in time, nothing you do can change the present. So basically, the entire setup is one where you get the emotional satisfaction out of travelling in time, minus the real-world consequences. 

Time! Aren't you just a daydream!

Having said this, I would like to tell you what got me thinking. Basically, what the story stresses with great seriousness is that nothing you do in another time period will affect the real life that you lead. So that means, you can meet people while they’re moments away from their own destruction and still can say or do nothing to change it. Or, in an other light, you can talk to someone who has been out of the picture in the present and can spend some quality time with them. The choices are endless, and honestly, what you choose to do with that freedom is totally up to you. If we choose to ignore this small hindrance caused by the rule of not being allowed to move from your seat, the whole idea of being able to act without consequences is something that raises an ethical question. If we all get the chance to do things while knowing that none of it is going to make any dent in reality, can we trust ourselves to always chose to do the right thing? Obviously, this is all hypothetical and all my questions are rhetorical. 

Either ways, all of this is wishful thinking. You and I are still stuck in the present and all we can do is get lost in our own imaginations of the future or constantly bog ourselves down over what we should have said or done in a particular incident. 

While we are talking about time, can we talk about July? The month is nearly ending and it feels like it was just yesterday that I shared a 'Is it July already?' post on my story. Well, July has passed without much ado. When I think back to these 20-something days that have passed, I find myself thinking about the rains. Ahmedabad has had a fair share of rains this year and some people have enjoyed it less that the others. My garden has a couple of banana trees (if I can call them that) I once had the good fortune of being able to witness water drip from one leaf onto another. It was beautiful. I could go on and on about how the water just rolled right off one leaf and slid down to the one below it in the most dainty and graceful fashion and how the leaf itself looked largely dry in spite of all the waterworks and never shut up about the charming scene that was presented to me. But I find that nothing can convey what the word 'beautiful' can. I almost ran to fetch my phone to take a video but as I watched the dewy water, I knew watching it for some time would be worth any number of photos I could possibly take.

Apart from the rains, I'd say July has been pretty benevolent, so far. New experiences, thoughts and realizations, catching up with a few people from home and meeting some new ones- July has had its own share of ups and downs. And while I haven't still found a definite connotation for June or July, I'd say this July was pretty relaxed. I also know my days of relaxation are coming to an end. Hence, for now, the only plan is to embrace this home and hearth until I fall back into the rut of bread-butter mornings and of 15-rupee-coffees. 

July- slipping through our fingers