Lights are mesmeric to say the least. They have magical power to provide you utmost pleasure at once and ‘illuminate’ your grey cells instantly when you switch them on. They have mesmerising and tantalising effects on one’s mind . One enjoys and feels better and comfortable in their company.
Be those well decorated, brightly illuminated Xmas trees during Christmas, or the dimly lit lanterns of Diwali, or those dazzling, sparkling, colourful LED displays of Ganesh ,they evoke an ecstatic feeling in the mind of the viewer and one gets enticed or rather ‘electrified’ and charged at once!!
I must mention here about the neon and fluorescent lights adorning 3-star and 5-star hotels all over the globe. Visible from a distance these lights act as a beacon for tourists (travellers) ,the globe trotters, guiding them towards the hotel. The combination of colours, patterns and brightness makes hotels stand out against the cityscape which is equally bathed in brilliant colourful glow of powerful LED lights.
But the most seductive of all are subdued soft, gossamer lights of a café or a lounge where lovers can whisper sweet nothing .
Then again if you are doing a sightseeing tour at night in metropolitan cities anywhere in the world, you cannot miss those dancing multi-coloured bulbs revolving around huge nameplates of famous enterprises or fashion designing shops or even streets and lanes, with dazzling array of vibrant lights, as you walk along.
Closer home , or rather my backyard literally, (Vagator, Anjuna) where nightlife is vibrant ,(coolly defying High Court orders!) and ,if you decide to visit, you may bump into a nightclub,/disco/or a DJ, performing dynamically under the dazzling cascades of colourful, revolving, kaleidoscopic lights on the stage accompanied by EDM (electronic dance music) . Your senses will be paralysed at the impact of ‘son et lumiere’.
Besides these luminous, ‘cosmetic’ lights, there are our humble ‘domestic’ lights too! Which are fundamental to our day-to-day exist stance. Without these lights survival for even a minute is unthinkable! They enable us to extend our comforts, activities and productivity too…
That explains why , a few minutes of power cut is enough to drive us crazy and which can throw our life out of gear - like our ‘elusive’ lights in Goa.! In so called ‘Amchem Mankulem Goi’ power failure could be at any time, at any level …a roadside pole, a local transformer, a tree falling on live wires, a lineman working on the lines disrupting your power supply without any prior notice…
That reminds me of my son’s 1st birthday back in 1988. The rooftop rendezvous was gaily decorated. Guests were enjoying themselves under the star-lit sky. Laughter and music filled the air and the atmosphere was charged with celebration. Suddenly most feared what happened. The sudden power cut put the entire show into darkness. Lacking a generator at that time, the inverter could back up only half-an-hour and that too without music. Earlier charm and excitement among guests waned . Though they didn’t express it on their face…
The great American statesman Benjamin Franklin has said ‘death and taxes are inevitable’. To which I would add… sudden and frequent power cuts are inevitable in Goa!