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Writing as an Addiction and Addictions for Writing.
Why, in normal course of life we turn to become addicted? Or to put it in more mild way, why we are heavily dependent on one object of passionate desire and why we allow to remain by relying on pursuit of that object for the stability and tranquility in our life henceforth? If the writing and writers are integral parts of the life then why should they be aloof from the comprehensive rules being applied to other forms of equally substantial areas in life? We may easily distinguish between the kind of physical obsession about certain eatables/drinkables and those of constant/mental intellectual needs sought to be satisfied by very intense, uncompromisable habits. But this distinction is not merely to compel us to apply different rules for writers, authors. I did not intend to do so. But going ahead I wish to mark a line of genuine departure point to assert that if writers, artists, thinkers, musicians are worthy of protection from time and again threats of censorship, attack on their freedom of expression and assault on their free way of living, then strangulation of their addictions is certainly one aspect of that suffocation writers may experience.
Then the question asked in the title will certainly come back and haunt us that are addictions way towards being a writer? May be this is not a normative question compelling us to narrow down the choices to only have certain forms of addictions and leaving no other rebuttal option. Addiction if viewed in broader sense not only leaves us with helplessness and overreliance on the cause-du-jure but it also gives writers a cultural sphere in which they can discover their own solitude, they can mingle with the single idea they are engaged in or they can consistently dwell in contemplation about the issues they are disturbed due to. What exactly amounts to addiction in this case? About writers, it does not mean obsession. It does not hint towards being crippled by the availability and non-availability of particular cravings. It is form of lifestyle in which the comfort zones are so infinitely deep and morals are massively high that they continue to live likewise whole of their life disregarding all other material rewards, luxuries and worldly benefits coming out of sheer recognition to their creativity.
Just as we always listen to the very senior and renowned authors, scientists, artists regularly reflecting on their relation to their work like, “We do not work in our world to earn awards. We live to enjoy that work.” So this type of courage to say the unobvious things definitely must be coming from that corner of mind where the romance with the hardships and strivings of the unrelenting work resonates with that of solace they find in their habits, customized-uncustomised lifestyle. This romance is possible because these people are able to develop peculiar ways of circumventing the nonsense of daily life by achieving a supreme individual freedom to think, write and express in whichever form they like, at whatever instances and around whatever environment they are living in.
Upto certain point, this discussion about comfort zone is meaningful. Beyond it, I am afraid how far it could withstand analysis. Because every serious effort of writing somehow connects to the diverse issues of life. So, however justified writers could not have luxury to isolate themselves from the pressures of their own livelihood, the compulsions coming due to professional occupation and due to enormity of logistical-administrative issues they handle in their fieldwork. So, I doubt how many people are able to catch this minute thread of addictive passion in their writing. Some people may admit this because they are professionally involved in that or some others may argue about this only because they see writing as one of the platforms or means to achieve larger material goals in life. But what about the people for whom writing is the only mean, only goal, only way of living, only way of dying. They cannot think of anything except writing about the ideas, ideologies, delicate relations, virtues, values, emotions and likewise.
How do writers could manage the painful task of sustaining losses in their own life and still continue to move ahead on the front of writing. In one way or another different ways of addictions actually gives us a feeling about what to compromise and what not. For example, any passionate addiction normally compels us to sell anything to continue that. But here we are thinking about the addictions which are indispensible for creating and personal or social ambience to nurture, to blossom, to emerge into the realm of momentum where there is no other need to satisfy the cravings of the body and mind. Only that unique passionate desire inhaled in the form of unending association is enough to inspire our experiments with letters.
So standing for addiction in creative world and rejecting the right to promote material obsessions of addictions in public life are not biased approaches. We can debate on that also. This may perceive a genuine bias towards elites, a strong leniency towards the people who can afford the luxury of relaxing in unique loneliness to pursue their goals compared to the communities suffering for a little bread and butter requirement. But while taking a laid back seat to think more carefully will allow us be able to appreciate this kind of freedom. This liberty is meant for giving a exclusive bias for people who are supposed to make use of that for developing traits and skills employable for if not immediately solving but at least addressing, describing and debating the issues of the larger people outside that ambience.
I am not going for sudden and urgent itinerary so as to cultivate such pursuit of novel addictions. In fact, I realize that I have many such shades of habits ingrained in my life which always remind me about uncompromisable need to write every other time I wake up for breakfast and every other evening when I go down the memory lane and for dreams. But I strongly feel the need to have this value in my life to uplift me to the level of a living where I can sustain my writing as an addiction and also I can cultivate a addiction which can shape my writing in unique fashion so that I will be more than happy to embrace to those moments as very proud because then there is no need of any other pleasure because I and my addiction will be made for each other.
It is hard to agree that I have emerged to think like this. It is not easy to leave everything behind and get along with only one single passion when you know that things you left behind may be of greater significance and relevance than the things we continue to adore and seek. But the kind of addiction we acquire over a period of time, in that work of writing, around that quest of scripting the mind and life, during that painful experiences in which we compromise many things; I do not thing I will never ever regret the shameless marriage to addiction for betterment of my writing. Because that will determine why I live and not the things which I left behind. However crude, irresponsible it may seem; the place of passionate obsession is unique in the solitary world of literature, scholarship and reporting the life. I will be pained to lose the heritage, treasure of writing only because I refused to ally with some kind of addiction. Instead, I will lap and leap for the passion it signifies if it helps me to evoke my imagination for making writing worth living and dying for.
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