Dolce far Niente

Dolce far Niente

Feb 2021

The extended lockdowns brought about by the ongoing pandemic has taught many people many things. Each learnt as per his or her aptitude and inclination. Being a simple person, I didn't try to master the latest computer language or even Indian cuisine. I opted for something I thought suited to my temperament. In the past one year plus of lockdowns, I have nearly mastered the art of 'doing nothing' and enjoying it as well. By nothing I mean really nothing. I stopped watching TV and got over the dilemma faced by avid news watchers of deciding who is speaking the truth: New York Times or Republic. Besides TV,  'doing nothing' also meant no Netflix, Amazon Prime, Hot Star +Disney or even Zee5, all of these have been subscribed at the behest of You Know Who (YKW).  When I finish doing nothing, I am busy renewing the subscription for these OTTs and Tata Sky, before I get down again to 'doing nothing'. Some words were exchanged on my new found pastime and I was called a 'dumb statue'. This hurt and I called on Google to give me a better term for 'doing nothing'. Of the many options I found the best was 'leisure'. It rhymed with pleasure, which was in any case my objective for 'doing nothing'.

Then I discovered that Italians had beaten me to this pleasurable pastime. It had to be Italians, you know with their representatives hogging Twitter, Facebook and what have you. The Italians found a very colourful and enchanting phrase for such mundane things like 'doing nothing'. They have an epigram which goes something like, "Dolce far Niente" meaning sweetness of doing nothing. Boy what a discovery. I jumped with joy at having found people like me across the world, so what if they belonged to the land of the 'Mafia'. This phrase does not imply that one is lazy, which I certainly am not, but just indicates the pleasure of leisure or enjoyment of doing nothing.

But pursuit of 'Dolce far Niente' brings along its own perils, particularly when there are other members of the family who are not too happy with the lockdown. It was my usual 'doing nothing' exercise looking out of the window. The leaves of the Neem tree were moving along with the breeze and I was doing nothing. Then YKW casually inquired, "what I was doing". I am a very truthful person and so replied 'doing nothing'. There was a discernible pause followed by further interrogation. "What do you mean, doing nothing".  Then I threw the Italian phrase at YKW with a lot of glee. The reply shattered my 'doing nothing' phase. She calmly suggested that I was angry because of the three dresses she bought yesterday without telling me. Is there any rational response to such an announcement when you are totally absorbed in 'doing nothing' with Italian seasoning? But since I wanted to continue doing nothing, I let it pass.

I quite enjoy 'Dolce far Niente'. The shower is my favourite place. One can just carry on standing under a good hot shower doing nothing. I have given up bathroom singing for the sake of 'doing nothing' and it has pleased the folks back home to no end. Just make sure the geyser is of adequate capacity because otherwise you may come out with your teeth chattering. Earlier I could never withstand the agony of watching those emotionally heart wrenching serials and would let fly the choicest of curses at the actors and the director. But my skill at 'doing nothing' practiced over the last 18 months has reached a stage where I can keep looking at the TV screen without registering anything, even when I hear sniffles or a remark, "You saw how badly they treated her".  I just 'hmmm' and nod my head, appearing to be in deep thought, 'doing nothing'.

I am enjoying this 'doing nothing' business and have decided to do nothing regularly, everyday even after the lockdown ends. Everyone must try it. Life was never meant to be an unending series of chores. 'Dolce far Niente' or sweetness of doing nothing is something to be valued and enjoyed. I am looking for a friend who can join me in 'doing nothing'. We can sit, look at each other, take a sip of the elixir and 'hmmm' every few minutes. Nothing is really more important than 'doing nothing'. Cheers!