If you were having a picnic in a dream
as
if you were having a picnic in a dream.
an
orgy for the satyr,and
a wedding for the bride.”
Margy at Brighton Beach
“I’ll
affect you slowly
There
will be no ants.
It
won’t rain.”
― Richard
Brautigan, Loading Mercury With a Pitchfork
Life
is picnic . Life is not a picnic. Plan your picnic. Never, ever plan a picnic.
The picnic is an escape; the picnic is an ideal way to confront.
All
contradictory views about the picnic are true, as they are true about life. The
ample supply of delicious food, scenic view, music, dances, games, sparkling
beverages and loads of fun with friends and family members, is the basic idea
of a good picnic. Excitement reverberates and laughter is exuberant. Messages
traverse through the eyes of young couples and they sneak behind the thick
trunks of trees or walk in the bushes, without looking back. While elders are
having a heated discussion about religion or politics, youth pursues their
passion and children play their games, angels wander in the sky to witness the
exotic sight of fun and frolics. People remember such picnics for the rest of
the life for some perfect moments.
The
Devil has his own plan to prove that opposite of truth is not lie but another
truth. Anything may happen during the brief spell. A child may
slip in a lake while recovering his ball, a couple in the bush may get bitten
by a snake, an old man may have a heart stroke, or thunder and rain may ruin
the picnic. People for the rest of their lives regret such picnics.
“Be
there a picnic for the devil,
― Roman
Payne, The Basement Trains
A
picnic organised by the company or office is no picnic. The hierarchy of office
staff is apparent at Picnic Spot. Bosses are on an ego trip and the young
recruits laugh at middle executives. A true sycophant would always allow his
boss to win the game. It is not a genuine picnic, its mockery of that.
A
school picnic is a great fun. Teenagers usually have their first crush during a
picnic. Hidden talents of their classmates impress them. A studious girl
surprises her classmates as a good singer, a geek turns out to be the best
drummer or a notorious drug addict puts his life at risk to save the life of a
drowning girl.
Picnic
in the school days is a dream comes true. The preparation of picnic is no
lesser fun than the picnic itself. There is debate about almost every issue. The location of picnic is often from the list
of popular sites. The girls discuss their attire while boys make plans for
adventure sports.
To
plan a picnic is like to plan the life. The essential components of a good
picnic and a good life are same. The objective is fun, but not everyone
achieves it. Some suffer a defeat by the rejection of their proposal to date;
others might suffer a quarrel with a friend, or an injury while playing. The
worst calamity is an abuse by a perverted teacher.
The
word pique-nique is French in origin and was first used by Tony Willis in 1692.
Lord Chesterfield introduced it in the English language in 1748. The French
described it as a group of people dining in a restaurant who bring their own
wine while in the English language; it was associated with card playing,
drinking and conversation.
The
best description of the picnic is in a Rubaiyat by Omar Khayyam translated by
Edward Fitzgerald in 1120 ACE.
A
book of verse beneath the bough,
A
loaf of bread, a jug of wine, and thou
Beside
me singing in the Wilderness –
Ah,
wilderness were paradise enow!
— The
Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam
In
Jane Austin’s novel Emma the “Box Hill Picnic”, was an utter failure.
Everyone was disappointed for one reason or the other. Emma suffers a grave
humiliation when reprimanded by Mr. Knightly for her misbehavior with Miss Bates.
The atmosphere is of lassitude. There is a “want of spirits, a want of union,
which could not be got over”. Nothing as vulgar as the consumption of food is
alluded to, but one assumes it was on offer.
Frank
Churchill said to Emma: "Our companions are excessively stupid. What shall
we do to rouse them? Any nonsense will serve…" Excessively Stupid needs to
be aroused without raising their suspicion.
Picnic
like life is a combination of good and ridiculous.
“The
list of the best "food with a view" sites is part of a drive to
encourage people to eat outdoors, as was the fashion in Jane Austen’s day.
Fiona
Reynolds, director general of the National Trust, said people are often nervous
about the weather or wasps.
But
she said picnics can be simple and healthy, and rather fun in the rain.”
“Picnics
are something we're well known for in this country, but we don't need to wait
for the summer sun to arrive. ” She said.
"Spring
is finally here and we have our extra hour's daylight – it's a great time of
year to head outdoors and enjoy food with a view.”
"Spending
more time outside is also the perfect way to refresh and re-energise both body
and mind.”
Virginia
Woolf in her novel “To the Lighthouse” describes an unpretentious picnic in a
boat within sight of the lighthouse and the novel’s closing pages. Mr
Ramsay enjoys the simplicity of the fare: “Now he was happy, eating bread and
cheese with these fishermen.”
Picnics
are sensual in D. H. Lawrence's novel “Women
in Love”. The nude dances in full moon by Ursula and in the rain by Coney (Lady
Chatterley’s Lover) have remained controversial in the history of literature.
The lakeside picnic in open air is an aphrodisiac. The complete the picnic
Lawrence does not forget to mention the delicious winy cakes, caviar sandwiches
and hard chocolates besides tea, cucumber, bread, cheese, raisins and apples.
Some
schizoids love to picnic alone on a beach with a book, thermos filled with
coffee, basket with enough food and drinks, a blanket and a beach towel. We may
think that they are alone but the fact is that they are in the company of
nature and like Wordsworth; they too believe that nature is not only alive but
also endowed with a personality.
Letters to CC:
© Vipin Behari Goyal
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