Diversions and detours

The V3 gang was on the roof of a posh apartment complex in Town Hall, trying to brainstorm the best topic for their column. Deep in thought, Sachi was starting to feel philosophical with the sunset in the backdrop and the aerial view of Town Hall.

“The vehicles look like toys from here and look how it forms a straight line,” noted Sachi. Trying to keep his interest in the V3 conversation, he said: “What about bad habits? How some people get married and they have to tolerate each other’s bad habits? Do you think that’s a good topic?”

Gazing at the lush green of the Vihara Maha Devi park, Ruwi contemplated by saying, “Hmm, bad habits. Of course, everyone has bad habits. I think in marriages you just have to deal with it. I personally don’t like people who don’t switch off their mobile phones in the cinema halls and use it noisily.”

With eyes diverting to a beautiful parrot perched on a tree, Shaz said, “Definitely! Now what bugs me the most is irritating children screaming at the cinema which brings us to the topic of should they be allowed in and what alternatives can parents do if they can’t keep their children at home?”

“Speaking of children, do you know one of our former colleagues is now pregnant?” asked Ruwi, an image of the shalwar kameez clad girl suddenly forming in her mind.

With a wink, Shaz said, “Oh! That had to happen. She’s in another country and married so it’s high time!”

Adding his views, Sachi noted, “Which brings my thoughts to how you can have children.”

Ruwi and Shaz went wide-eyed and wondered if Sachi’s question implied talking about the ‘birds and the bees’.

“Hey guys, why are we moving from topic to topic? How come we can’t stick to one topic?” asked Ruwi hoping that somehow the V3 column would be finished on time without delays.

“Exactly, I have no idea. I guess our interests shift and we all have short attention span,” answered Shaz.

“There we go!” proclaimed Sachi again.

“What?” chorused Ruwi and Shaz thinking Sachi must have lost his mind.

“We got a topic. The topic is ‘why can’t we stick to a topic?’ “enlightened Sachi with a smile.

“Hmm, that’s true. Why do we change topics, especially conversational ones, quickly?” pondered Shaz.

Picking on the subject, Ruwi gave her opinion: “When we talk to many people, we usually pick a topic we are interested in and focus on that.”

Thinking about his sister-in-law, Sachi mentioned, “I know some people who, if they don’t have a common topic to talk about, just ask questions. The best thing about my sister-in-law is that she raises questions impelling the other to talk but she also remembers it so it’s like she’s learns from other people”.

Ruwi said, “After all, you don’t want it to be boring conversation and any type of knowledge isn’t a waste. You can always gain something from another person.”

“I believe that in conversation, gossip is the thing that really gets people going. If a conversation becomes too serious or boring, some confident folks bring about a gossip topic and then everyone joins!” went Shaz.

“Have you noticed that during a party, the people talking the same topic unknowingly stay together while the rest find other people to share common ground?” asked Sachi thinking that this rooftop was a nice place for V3 to hang out.

“Some people don’t like their friends to feel ‘left out’ if they are well-versed in a topic and deliberately change the topic to help them fit in” highlighted Ruwi, who liked the evening breeze drying her wet hair.

Shaz said, “In any sense, diverting from the main topic is natural human behaviour because it’s difficult to stick to one subject all the time. After all, variety is the spice of life in conversational terms which is nothing like a boring lecture.”

“By the way, do we have a message or a bottom line for this?” asked Ruwi.

“Oh! I guess it’s just a philosophical thing where we can just talk about how human nature works and what happens,” said Sachi.

“Sure, it’ll be nice to do something different and out of the norms” went Shaz.

Heading towards them was Shaz’s boyfriend who said ‘Hi!’ to V3.

“Hope you guys are doing alright. What shall we eat?” he asked.

“See again, another diversion!” commented Shaz.

“Well, I think ‘food’ is a nice enough topic and I’m sure the V3 gang is hungry!” he said.

“Cool, let’s eat!” said V3 whose tummies were rumbling after all that diversions and detours.

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