One of the things that change as you grow up, and progress up the ladder of your third decade on this planet, rather quickly for one's liking- might I add, is the number of trips you make to the stationery store. Today morning, while watching the Republic Day parade after God knows how many years, I again found myself escaping into the past, reminiscing childhood memories. As often happens with such train of thoughts, one led to another, and soon I found myself thinking of the dozens of trips I would have to make to the neighbourhood stationery stores not so long back. Then I tried to think of when was the last time I was there, and I was clueless! When was the last time I bought a pen? Again, Clueless! I somehow always have a couple of them around. But while in school, and even college, the stationery was like a daily pit stop. I would be there every other day, sometimes twice in a single day, because I forgot to get an eraser, or a compass or some other object which now seem like they belong in some other distant world. But then, life revolved around these seemingly miniscule pieces of paper, plastic, and metal. There was always the need for pens, pencils, erasers, sharpeners, geometry sets, maps - physical and political, chart papers, those colorful, shiny rectangular pieces of paper (I cannot recall right now, what were they called!?), ink pots, refills, covers, graph papers, sketch pens, water colors, brushes and a million other things. Children back then were often classified into two rough groups, one who would always have a surplus of these supplies, and those who would always be borrowing them. Oh wait, there would be another kind - the ones who would always have an extra pen, but would blatantly lie in your face that they don't, lest you borrow and never return. Every class always had a 'pen chor'. Half of the stress associated with exams pertained to having adequate stationery supplies. Do I have enough number of sharpened pencils? Will at least one of them hold on for the duration of the exam or the tip would keep breaking off? Does my pen have enough ink? Do I need more refills, should I carry the inkpot, should I risk using an ink pen in the first place? Do I need to carry my own graphs/maps? The stationery shopkeeper was a friend. Friendly familiar face one would see at least 5 times a week.
Now when I cross those shops, the shopkeeper is the same, he's older, greying, and the teenaged helper of yore now manages the shop for the most part. I often cross, with my hands full of groceries, or vegetables, and have an urge to go the shop and buy something, just for the sake of old times. But do I really need anything from there? My stationery stocks are somehow always magically replenished, the need for them always reducing at an exponential rate. I honestly feel a bit weird when I have to actually write more than a couple of lines with my hands, it looks like a person learning to write with surgically attached arms! (ok, that's last night's episode of Grey's anatomy talking). Writing with hands has become so obsolete, and I am still involved in research and science! I have hardly any use for geometry sets, maps, chart papers and their like, and we all have printers and photocopiers at our workplaces. And worst of all, the stationery shop is not the first place I would run to in event of a friend's birthday, to buy a set of magic markers, sketch pens, a board game, a pack of playing cards, or a snazzy pencil box! Unfortunately those gifts will not cut with it now. Or maybe they will!? Whose birthday is it next? Maybe this nostalgic trip might even save me some money!
