A day without earphones

Ever since I have been using the Samsung SGH F270, (to be precise, 8 months) I do not remember a single day without the earphones. (I do not enjoy music on the phone's loudspeaker, as I cannot feel the finer nuances of the compositions, unless I have my ear phones on, or I listen in a 5.1 sound system.)

Except during working hours, the rest of my day seemed like a motion picture, with the perfect re-recording. Be it FM radio or the numerous playlists - thanks to the 2GB memory card, I had background music during my commuting, solitary walks, my evening drink and even during late night sms sessions with certain cronies.

Yesterday, I left behind my earphones at my good friend Bharath's residence. It was on my way back that I realised I had almost forgotten the ambient music of Bengaluru city. The honking of vehicles, the yells and frustrations of the traffic stuck behind L-Boards, hawkers shouting at the top of their voices, shrill whistles of the traffic cops, the synchronised starting of the engines a few seconds before the traffic lights turned green, the mobile phone conversation of co-passengers which are loud enough for the conversation to have happened without a phone...I heard all these with the amazement of a 13th century citizen who had had a time-slip.

This morning I went for my usual jog, but not the usual way. I jogged sans any recorded music. It had been ages (8 months, to be precise) since I had heard the chirping of birds, the laughter of the child I have been seeing since you know when, as it plays by, while her grandfather does his exercises, the conversations of women waiting to fill their buckets with water, the sounds of running - well-regulated and protected by running shoes, the chattering of over-weight housewives who talk more than they walk...and yes, for the first time since, you know when, I heard my own heart beat after 8 rounds of jogging and 2 rounds of sprinting. After ages, I heard my breath which was in sync with me wiping the sweat off my brow. I found back ground music again.

Much as I love music, it is this love which has made me decide to do away with earphones for a while. Let me add some ambient audio in the re-recording of my life. I at least feel natural, not like an actor waiting for someone to say cut.