ON HOBBIES

                                                                 

Man is not only a rational but a social animal! From the time he qualifies himself he is engaged in some activity or other. He takes up some job or other, some profession that he like or some avocation for which he has a passion! He becomes a workaholic and devoted entire time and energy in pursuing that activity! As an engineer, a doctor, a professor, a mechanic or one involved in any other activity, he derives pleasure in involving himself in those activities! As such he has little time in enjoying the pleasures of life and spending time with family and children. His life and work becomes a drudgery and he feels it difficult to come out of the rut!

       Is it necessary for man to suffer like this?  What is the way out? It is not difficult to get rid of this drudgery if you have some hobby to turn to! What is hobby? It is an activity that turns you away from the usual activity that sometimes bores you! It breathes a fresh lease of life for you from the tiresome work that you are involved in! The physical and mental fatigue that you accrue is relieved by diverting your attention away from the routine work! Hobby can be anything that you like apart from the regular or professional work! Reading, cycling, swimming, trekking, driving, playing games like chess and carom Rummy and Bridge and a host of others can  be included as hobbies! Philately is another well known hobby practiced by many.

          My hobby is playing chess. My friend and colleague in the college I served in Vaniyambadi, was also a good player of Chess. We used to sit together for chess and forget the whole world and families! It was a different world for us altogether! Rook move, pawn move,  Bishop attack, Horse movements, queen attack and defence--- oh what an intelligent game it was! We spent many hours after the college hours till we were awakened into the late hours of the night by our spouses!  Those days were wonderful golden days! Another hobby that attracted me was Ball Badminton! I was considered as a good player! A friend of mine, an enthusiast, would come to my residence and wake me up for play at the college playground. I would follow him and play till about nine am and return to prepare myself for classes in the college! Occasionally I would play in the evening also in the company of students.

           I am religiously and spiritually disposed and engaged myself in social and spiritual activities! I established an organization, and invited great scholars for religious discourses! It was an opportunity for all to share the thought of eminent people. The local Pillaiyar Koil was the hub of all religious and spiritual programmes! We invited renowned people like Ki Va Jagannathan, Kothamangalam Subbu, Anna of Sri Ramakrishna Mutt, and Sri Jagannatha Chariar of Vivekananda College. Their discourses were a feast for the ears and the public relished them. Book reading is a hobby worth cultivating! Books are the best companions for anybody! The concentrated and accumulated wisdom of the ages is laid bare in books! One who does not cultivate the hobby for reading books misses a lot in life!

           In 2011, twenty one years after my retirement, I went to the US to visit my son and his family! I wanted to walk along with times and was introduced to the world of computers! I picked it up and was thrilled at the ease with which things were made possible. I started commenting on various articles published on The Times of India. A wing of TOI, Speaking Tree, attracted my attention! It was devoted to spiritual and cultural issues and I plunged into it as it was to my liking and interest! Many retired individuals struggle and do not know how to spend the enormous time at their disposal! They become sedentary and spend time at the TV! I have no such problem! My present and very interesting hobby is publishing Blogs on religious, Spiritual and philosophical topics!  I find full satisfaction in doing so. The comments that I receive for my Blogs encourages me to write more and I am a SEEKER on the Speaking Tree with more than 150 Blogs to my credit! I consider this not only a hobby but a humble service to   society! Let everyone develop a hobby of his choice and get relieved of  the rut and boredom of  the drudgery!