Those of you who know me would definitely know which snakes I’m talking about here and they’re definitely not the slimy, slithering creatures that scare the living daylights out of me. For the uninitiated, I’m talking about Snake II, classified into Classic and Campaign, the game that along with Nokia 1100, is on the verge of extinction. Or at least the charm of the black & white Snakes seems to have been lost with the advent of the newer, fancy phones…
I am addicted to Snakes…in the true sense of the meaning of the word ‘addict’. I’ve been hooked onto Snakes for almost 5 years now & although the initial euphoria of beating high scores has died away, the addiction refuses to let go of me. The sight of my phone lying around peacefully, undisturbed, simply bothers me. It doesn’t matter if I’m reading, ‘studying’, trying to sleep or am doing nothing; playing Snakes has been incorporated so soundly into my activities, it’s like advertisements in media.
And why do I play Snakes?
The rational explanation that my consciousness initially offered was that it gives me a break from whatever I am doing (if I’m doing anything i.e.). But after some more probing, my sub-consciousness sheepishly admitted that it’s just an excuse for doing nothing. I’ve already waxed eloquent on my ‘eagerness’ to jump into any sort of action, but sometimes amidst the chaos in my life, the 5 minutes I spend playing the petty game is all the time I get to myself in the entire day. The entire process is so perfunctory; it’s as good as staring into space.
So what did I do before there was Snakes?
I stared into space, like everyone else… It’s just that with the passage of time, idleness has become too luxurious an enterprise to be afforded. Because with idleness comes gultiness(sic). And the gultiness is as good as a dementor!
And now when I have to use one of the ‘fancy phones’ back at home, it seems so alien; it gives me the feeling you get when you look into an empty room hoping to find someone who’s been long gone.
It’s funny how we console ourselves for doing things we are too embarrassed to admit under an array of pretexts. I’m clinging onto my cell phone under the pretext of living in a hostel (and it does make perfect sense because nobody in his right mind would steal my phone!). But to think of it, it’s just an illusion I’ve created for myself; and it’s good while it lasts! Even though I don’t know what I’ll do when I get a new phone, I will eventually get one. And like all things in life, this chapter of my life too will blend into another one. Because life isn’t always about holding on; sometimes it’s about letting go. It’s how you gather memories over the years…
Else we’d never have any memories…
