I'm Nobody

I have a second hand copy of this book

A short while ago (during a break from finding out "how to trace source of an email"), I came upon this post "If I be the Antagonist" in Dr. Debajyoti Bera's blog. While the first part of the post was interesting to read, it was the latter part which I read with much more enthusiasm. It contained some verses by Emily Dickinson.

Emily Dickinson is one of my favourite poets. The first time I heard about her I don't remember where but it was definitely not more than a year ago. Most probably I read about her on a website. At that time, I didn't pay too much attention. It was while out seeking something interesting (in a second hand book market) that I saw a book of her poems. It was quite cheap - about Rs. 25 I guess. I opened the first page and read the verse "I'm nobody! Who are you?". In no time I had bought it.

I didn't get any more chance to read it. I brought it to my hostel room in my fourth semester - the last time I lived in a hostel - so that I would spend my free time reading. No such opportunities arrived and I carried it home again after the end of semester. It was during the summer vacations that I happened to read it properly. The summer of 2010 (like all summers before) I was doing a project at my institute (IIIT-Delhi). It required me to travel to IIIT-D which took almost 90 minutes by bus (one way). Although I have never found bus journeys to be boring (especially at that time, when AC and low-floor buses were a rare sight), I yearned for a better way to spend the time during the hot and uncomfortable journey. One day I randomly picked this book to read on the bus and thus began my 90 minutes journey to a different world.

I can't properly describe why I like Miss Dickinson's style of writing so much. Her poems have a haunting feeling. Perhaps what makes it so attractive are the references to those small truths of everyday life which we are generally too busy to notice but smile when shown to us. That is what appeals to me so much. And also I sometimes tend to identify with her poems. I often think about her reclusive and melancholy life at Amherst. Was it this which inspired her to write? Loneliness is definitely a key theme in her writings.

The verse I liked best is of course "I'm Nobody! Who are you?". The author knows that she is not really a well known and popular figure and thus delights in meeting another person who is similar. Furthermore, she hates to be public about herself. In a world, where everybody is racing one another in advertising their skills, I find it heartening to believe that there were (and definitely are) some people who tried to preserve their independence and not follow the crowd.

I have put up these verses in the "about me" section. I guess this is what truly defines me.

I'm nobody. Who are you?