A Different Note

Night Whiled Away

Hasib Reza

Afaint yellow light shines down from the street lamp with the unbroken buzz of jhi jhi poka sometimes silenced by the occasional honk of a car heading home filling up the night air. The city has fallen to repose after a long day, like a crying child finally put to sleep.

There is nothing quite like the night. For a lone silent observer, drunk in the beauty of it, one could hardly be any less mesmerized. It is beautiful, this beauty of silence. An elixir so strong, a sound so relaxing that not even a billion spa treatments could compare. It is nature's spa for the weary, parched and sun burnt soul. Perhaps, the closest one could come to describing the feeling was that of being the last person on earth. But it is not the disconcerting feeling that Hancock felt. All the world's playground has been left for the night, and you finally have it to yourself.

“Amai bhashaili re ...amai dubaili reee
Okul doriar kono kul nai re”

A night watchman sings along in his local accent as he plods along on his nightly petrol. Sometimes he waves his baton in the air in a smooth motion, as though commanding an orchestra in his mind.

The night is for music. All those tunes you were not allowed to enjoy or too embarrassed to sing during the daytime is finally all yours to savour. Nobody has to know that you still enjoy a bit of Backstreet Boys or Abba. It is the perfect time to indulge in those furtive delights that the cruel daytime would never allow. And if you are feeling foot-loose, there are no reasons to worry, just clap your heels together and dance away into the night. Of course it is an open secret, the fact that music plays much sweeter at night. For once, you are free to tune up the volume till it's just right. You can finally lend your ears to the subtle sounds of the lazy guitar or the background vocals.

The night is for the heart, when the popular choice is to weave dreams about your significant other. That is just the tip of the iceberg. You can have just as much fun spending time going through your old journals or the SMS inbox. Suddenly, Nishat from class 5, the rickshaw ride back home from school and the jhal muri wala at the end of road 11/a come back to life. Nowadays, many spend hours on Facebook, but why not take a look into your old Hi5 account instead? For the bookworms, rummage through your old Hardys, Nancys or Valleys, or glance through some dust-ridden old comics that you may find under the bed. However, you could also spend some time watching TV. Channels like Cartoon Network and others still show cartoons like Swat Cats and Scooby Doo (the original one) from back in those days. It could be a much-needed respite from all the Hindi dubbings and commercial machines to a time when the only thing cartoons would advertise were Scooby snacks and spinach. You also have the chance to revisit those old TV shows and movies that did not exactly break box office records but are perfect food for the soul.

The night is for the individual. This might seem quite surprising since most people would be sleeping. But, in this day and age when one barely has time for networking, why not spend some time sending messages over the phone to the near and dear ones? You might even be surprised at the number of people who usually stay up late at night. If not, rest assured, it will be the first message they get in the morning. It is also the perfect time to get in touch with your friends living on the other end of the globe. So find them online, or better yet, surprise them with a call.

Loss of much-needed sleep is never a good option. But if you are inclined to indulge in yourself, why not have some fun along the way?

(The writer is a student of Media and Communication of Independent University, Bangladesh)