Doctors will scream themselves hoarse that there’s no such thing as “detox diets”. Our bodies have inbuilt ways of removing unwanted extraneous matter which is what keeps us going all our lives. If someone has gone out of their way to poison us, a day of juice and starvation is also of no use. Because starkly put, we may not have that much time.
But. An occasional – or often – detox from the information highway (people, the misinformation highway is no way at all times) is definitely effective. The past few days, I have not checked the news and sadly, it has not destroyed my life in anyway at all. The endless obsession of being part of a conversation on the news cycle has dictated most of my life. Nor can I deny that I love sparring on social media, getting into the nitty-gritty of life via news break, and being on top of the “have you heard” game.
Although I confess that I never was on top of that game! I like to know what’s happening, but I won’t go overboard to get there.
To not know at all is an art that needs a bit of practice, but is oh-so satisfying. The past few days have vanished in friends and old times, sightseeing, shopping and eating. Do I know what has happened in the world? Umm, no.
Playing catch up is its own kind of fun, except that you lose the nuance.
People have been most upset about the following, depending on where I checked.
The Big Movie Prize Day: why did this one get it and not that one, how could anyone wear that and yahoo to Donald Trump’s meltdown and of course he’ll win and he won’t.
The Fancy Dress Man: How many changes can One Man manage in a day, what are those strange glances through a strew of garlands and who pays for all this.
The Flying Horse Snooping Ring: The Spymaster met the Warring Seller and well, Destroyer of Innocents. Was it to buy more software to sneak into devices of anyone who is not a fan of eternal cosplay?
The Travelling Man: Whatever he does is open to scrutiny so basically, why did he travel when Fancy Dress Man was also travelling in order to display his exotic feathers? Travelling Man should be Stay Put Man. And Silent Man. And Do Not Question Man and so on.
The India Conundrum: This is a civilisational puzzle that no one can solve. This includes those who want to change its name and those who want to use one name as an acronym. The Travelling Man, the Switch Twich Man, the ED Who Man, the MMM Lady and various other people play excellent games like Jwaar Baata, Tana Bana and so on as they grow and shrink and move and flex.
The Big Bank Ignorance Claim: As we know we all get fraud calls day and night. And this Big Bank Ignorance Claim is the biggest fraud of all. Luckily the Zoom Lecture Series on Occasionally Practised Ethics HQ has twigged on and now the Big Bank is being forced to spill some beans. Or maybe bonds. Something like that.
Now that I have more or less caught up, I shall enter the whirlpool once again. Or soon. Whenever I do, it’ll be news to me!
Ranjona Banerji is a senior journalist and commentator. She writes on MxMIndia on Tuesdays and Fridays. Her views here are personal.