Column

An ode to boredom

Pradip K Saha

June 30, 2026 | 7 Min Read

June 30, 2026 | 7 Min Read

Boredom is not the absence of mental activity. It is the mind telling you it wants more, it is ready for more, that it has exhausted the options around it and is clearing space for something new.

Summer vacation is on in northern India. For nearly three decades, this was my favourite memory from summer: cricket in the morning, television and a nap at noon, followed by more cricket till dusk. Hide-and-seek in the dark caused by load shedding. Then, comic books till late at night. And of course, eating mangoes whenever I could.

But I’m afraid I have come to dislike summer vacation now. It is one of the less romantic discoveries of parenthood. A six-year-old at home is a full-time project. Try finding ways to connect e-way bills to the health of the nation’s economy while negotiating with a small human being’s demand for constant engagement.

It was just past noon on a busy workday when our son wandered into the home office.

(Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of YourStory.)

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