Creativity stifled: The Price of fast life

You might find this an irrational thought, but actually, to me at least, it makes a lot of sense: as one progresses through life, the second decade is spent in education (and for me, almost seven years of the third decade as well), the third in getting a foothold in life through the novel experiences of marriage, starting a family, beginning a new business or profession, and travelling to new places in a process of discovery (and also a bit of escapism), the fourth in stabilising one's life and almost half of the fifth in completing the remaining obligations of life such as pending loans, etc. Now, during these nearly 35-40 years, one's creative streak, call it a hobby, call it a pastime, or what have you, takes a back seat.

I recall my childhood and adolescence as if they were yesterday. Although not a gifted child, I was certainly above the average when it came to both, academics and creativity. Perhaps you could call me an under-achiever in sporting activities, but circumstances and the kind of upbringing I received deprived me of opportunities to discover if I had any sporting talent and to hone my skills in that direction.

The result was that I was considered a book-worm by my more adventurous peers; however, being left alone has its advantages too; I took to reading books (not just from my curriculum, but outside it too), drawing, sketching, colouring, making craft items and so on. Another, major hobby that I started cultivating right from childhood was writing. Enid Blyton was one of my major idols, and my first books were an imitation of her style of writing without her finesse or skill. I also wrote essays, poems, a novella, and I experimented even with writing a short novel in Hindi!

During my college years, these activities allowed me to explore English without any hesitation; I took part in handwriting competitions in school, in elocution and drama in school, in debating and elocution in the medical college, and finally, I took to writing as a favourite pastime hobby sometime around the age of 40+.

The revival of creativity has done wonders to me, my aging, my personality, my leadership qualities and capacities and many more things besides. And therein lies the blessings of Allah.