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The mood thing

Photo: P. V. Sivakumar

Changing forever What exactly upsets youngsters is unpredictable

As the wind lashes through, raking up dust and crashing branches of trees and dark clouds hover menacingly, a gloom sets in the gloaming. The sky threatens to cleave its breast and open up its vault to crush the hapless down below with its wet, pou ring debris. This is an occasion for sensuous susceptibilities, a perfect time for incurable romantics, a sound in the pond for haiku poets and a rejoicing moment for birds. But Tarun stews in his own gravy. “My mood is not good,” he mumbles with an expression as if the problems of whole world are prickling him to death.

Youngsters react in a different way to different things. Bhargav and his group of friends betray a kaleidoscopic range of moods on a single issue. “Obviously, things upset us,” says Lakshman, one of the group members, “and heads go crazy.”

If it weren’t so, “life would be dull,” Naresh chips in as if to say a bad mood contrasts well with a good mood.

While down in the dumps, these guys are clueless about what to do. Ravi, a lad with practical wisdom, says: “You really can’t do anything about upsets and you just wait it out.”

When going gets tough, moods make it tougher. When down and out, we seek our personal sanctuaries--- music, books, friends, movies and anything to shove away that unpleasant feeling and to lighten the burden of time.

Naveenis a go-getter andmesses up things, which promptly land him in foul moods. “I get upset when things don’t work out the way I want.” Things assume sinister proportions and get messier. While in one of those dark moods, you don’t even know what you’re doing. Looking back after these bouts, you will come to know you’re insane in that time.” Talking about the effect of music in sanitizing him, he adds: “I listen to music, especially melodies, which calms me.”

The mood-affliction seems to affect even kids. “I am tired, I need rest,” says five-year-old Gayatri, made miserable by a load of homework. Her mother is quick to interrupt: “The homework is not for her but for me actually.”

But then, there is a solution at hand. A tap on the shoulder, a squeeze of the hand, a kind word or an empathetic feel can lighten the blues. “My friend Raj Kumar helps me get over these moments by patiently listening to my rants,” says Hari.

After all, you don’t worry about moods. They come and pass away. That means we are still human. And that’s a good thing.

Meanwhile, the episodic burst exhausts itself out. Stars gleam like gemstones in the sky. The moon blushes to appear on the celestial stage. Moods, like clouds, linger on for some time and pass away. Far away, a frog croaks and vents its own mood.

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