"What do you do?"
Recently, on a conversation list that I belong to, udhay asked, "How do you respond to that most banal of opening remarks....'What do you do'?"
There were plenty of witty, clever and flip responses. Mine was as follows.
Here's a post from a friend of mine, Sanket Patil ( for all I know, he may be on this list too... I found him a Very Interesting Person!)
A variant on "what do you do?" is "what were you doing?" and that's what he writes about:
For some reason I was looking at an old blog I used to maintain (you remember *blogs*, don't you kids?) and chanced upon this. While my circumstances have changed somewhat my general attitude remains more or less the same.
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Zen and the Art of Doing Nothing
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Long ago when we were in Madikeri, there was this friend of mine, whose house I used to frequent to play shuttle badminton. Soon after the exchange of pleasantries, he used to ask me the dreaded question, "What were you doing?" My answer, as always, would be, "Nothing." This puzzled him endlessly.
"What do you mean 'nothing'. You must have been doing something!"
"No, nothing really. Nothing in particular."
"Were you studying? Or helping your Mom?"
"No."
"Playing?"
"No, I just came here to play. Didn't I?"
"Watching TV, then!"
"No, I hardly watch TV."
"Well, what were you doing?"
"Nothing, I told you."
"How can anyone not be doing anything!?"
Yes, I had mastered the art of doing nothing at an early age. I generally did not have anything exciting to offer to people. No doubt why I've hardly retained old friends. Or made new friends. Although, instances of the above conversation hardly take place these days, it is still a difficult question for me. Or rather, the question is not difficult for me at all, it is my answer that others find difficult.
With the diffusion of the Internet, this has become the central inquiry of mankind, what with people over emails, IMs, numerous social networking tools, buzzing constantly, demanding to know what one is doing, one did during the week, or one plans to do over the weekend. As if everyone has to be doing something at all times. Some of the newer tools press the issue further: what are you doing right now?
Why not spend part of your time doing nothing? I am sure it will not matter too much. In fact, most of you might cause less harm to yourself and the world by doing nothing than you might by doing anything else that you plan to do. If you think how can anyone survive by not doing anything at all, think again. I have. I am even doing mildly well.
I found this point of view something that I also have, so thought of sharing it.
And in answer to Udhay's query....I feel that often "What do you do?" is not banal, because when I ask it, I am genuinely interested in the answer. In the course of the walks I conduct, I have met helicopter pilots, wellness practitioners, eye surgeons, dairy farmers, people who work in saree shops, teachers of differently abled children, bell designers, astrologers, ushers at events, people who keep airports free from birds, criminal lawyers...a fascinating variety of jobs and professions. I may word the question as "What is your day job?" To me, this is a very valid question, and one I ask often. So, if I happen to meet you, and I ask this, it's a real interest that lies behind the words, and if I get fobbed off with an evasive or witty answer, I lose the chance to learn more about you.