Most of us are nostalgic about our native place, to the ‘manor born’ as we’d say. In our parental Lucknow home, a big old iron gate opens with a loud clang as if announcing a visitor in vintage Victorian style & the old contraption has served us well for years. It has a lever attached that’s brought down to shut the gate’s doors. In our last visit we found the lever getting detached because the nut holding the lever’s bolt had fallen off. Such an ‘iron-y’ for a large gate to be rendered defenseless by a little ‘nut’ gone missing. Let’s also recognize the worth of the ‘bolt’ that stayed on, but only just, without the nut !
To most this may appear commonplace, everyday occurrence but there’s an analogy we can draw here that’s akin to a valuable life’s lesson. Hardly considered important in the overall aesthetic context of an appliance, furniture or an ornamental showpiece, the nut is typically screwed on to a bolt as a fastener, keeping the set-up fundamentally secure. But if it’s missing things can get shaky. In that sense it’s like the fine ‘balance’ of being grounded and humble that will keep a person feeling secure at all times. On the other hand, the sturdy ‘bolt’ may represent the core values of integrity, ethics & sincerity that give the moral strength to one’s character ‘and which must remain ‘rust-free’ !
The English language, however, doesn’t allow words to be less versatile in their usage. So we have in board meetings, the directors asking the executives to explain the ‘nuts & bolts’ of the plan or acting trainees asking a producer the nuts & bolts of film-making, and interviewers asking Chefs on TV the secret ingredients of their gourmet dishes etc.
In essence the basics of everything needs to be known before setting out to really do it !
And of course talking of cakes & chocolates can remind us of lovely ‘nuts’ and almonds.
Moving on, how can ‘romance’ figure with something that’s as mechanical as ‘nuts’ but ever since we grew up, we heard our friends confiding and sharing notes ‘He’s nuts over her’ or vice versa depending on who’s afflicted by the attraction. Rarely however, are these same words used romantically after marriage. It’s like ‘Have You Gone Nuts?’ that spouses ask when discussing expensive travel plans, gifts, relatives etc etc. And then we’ve people going ‘Nutty’ as in Jerry Lewis (1963) classic ‘The Nutty Professor’ !
Whichever way we look at them ‘nuts’ are everywhere and have their own significance in life, love and machines. David Icke said it best ‘Today’s mighty oak is just yesterday’s nut that held its ground’. In today’s mad, mad world it’s easy to go ’nuts’ angrily over incessant rising prices. With media and the millennial all going berserk with acidity & trolls, the only ones we seniors would lovingly be ‘nuts’ about, are ‘Grandchildren’ !
Working on Living 