Oh Silence, Where Art Thee?

Coffee at Dawn - Patnem, Goa '22

Mornings ought to be silent. The day needs to start slow. The tempo needs to pick up, slowly, eventually. Just not right then. The crescendo of the day can come later, I don't care. But not in the mornings. Nature moves unhurriedly in the mornings, then why don't we? 

Have you observed how dawn breaks? The darkness fades, slowly as a grey breaks into the sky. More light. A streak of sunlight. Brightness. Birds chirp, dew vanishes, the day begins. 

Mornings are for contemplation, for reflection, for the quiet moments of silence punctuated only by bird song and sea waves. There is no need for music at that hour. Not even jazz. Only the sounds of nature waking up and embracing the day are welcome. No voices. No chatter. No discussions. No arguments. No sweet nothings. No honking. No TV. Nothing. 

Though one knows that Silence is not always welcome. Other times you need to hear the humming, the chatter, the retorts, the clanking of the vessels, the sound of the tadka and of course, laughter. 

But Silence in the morning? Oh you will be welcome with folded hands, like one greets an old friend whom you have longed to meet for many years together. For whom, your soul yearns everyday. 

There are many reasons why Silence is not appreciated by most in equal measure. Have you observed that? Some people cannot tolerate Silence. They do everything in their capacity to break it. Dispel it. Banish it. Send it off. But that's not the company I can be a part of. I am a friend of Silence, at least in the mornings. 

For many years together I have longed for it and I have been upset when I have failed to find it. That feeling has gnawed at me, slowly at times and other times like stung me like a scorpion painfully, leaving behind its vicious venom. This has made me angry and irritable, absolutely vile and mean. Insufferable. Intolerable. It has turned me into a monster, into the murderous Hyde, away from the otherwise affable Dr. Jekyll. 

Many of us crave many things, I crave Silence. I crave solitude. If not all day then in the mornings, before the madness of the day takes over. At six am. Served with a nice cup of black coffee, brewed fresh by me, preferably by the sea.  

Oh Silence, where art thee?