Everyday Musings > Come Together

I just watched a movie called The Jane Austen Club. A sweet film that revolves around five women and a man, who come together to start a book club. Starting with Emma and ending with Persuasion, somewhere in-between all these books, their real life stories mirror those of Austen's characters - each lost or found in love – and by the time the club turns the last page of book six, each finds love and meaning in their life.

I found the plot enchanting. Not just the thought of Jane Austen being celebrated, but the idea of a group of people sharing their life through a common purpose was fascinating. Makes me think of the things we come together for nowadays. A drink after work, birthdays and more drinking, vacations and drinking and lounging. A lot of drinking I guess.

We're each masters of our workplace, committed professionals who do so much, and then some more when it comes to pursuing individual hobbies. But coming together, as a group, is a chore. Who's going to keep the momentum going, who's going to ensure everyone is there, who's going to take the responsibility for someone else's interest? So we live within our silos and let in a few now and then and discuss the world and politics and weather and say goodbye till you meet again.

What if each of us got together our friends and some strangers and created a bunch of clubs? Of whatever we are interested in as a group. Batman Society, Horror Film Lovers, Plastic Bag Police, Horses & Dogs Club, Philip K Dick fans, Solar Power Supporters, Mumbai Action Group; and met once a week or once a month. What would it do to our lives? To the quality of our conversations, to our country as a whole when we each participate and create a culture of exploring, sharing and revelling in common goals.

There are several clubs and associations that do exist today. Caferati, a literary club, being one of them. An interesting bunch of people, committed, consistent and creators of something bigger than themselves. I'm sure every member of Caferati has found immense joy in being part of it. I did, even though I attended only one read-meet and that too as a spectator. We need more such reasons to meet and interact and create forces of action and positivity in our lives.

The energy and creativity of a group of people can be surprising and inspiring. And the results of teamwork are proven to outdo that of individual effort. Quit India, Swadeshi, Non-cooperation were all group movements, where people came together for a common cause.

My friends just got back from Colaba. They were raving about the march at the Gateway of India, and said it was a great experience. There were thousands gathered there to share solutions for Mumbai and the energy was infectious. This was one day, one meet. Imagine if this was part of our lives and we came together, every once in a while, to celebrate the people we are, the nation belong to, the world we live in. Gravity would not be the only thing that kept us together then.