Arnav enters the classroom,
sits down, doesn’t say anything.
He looks at everyone, everyone looks at him.
At first, there are a few giggles,
but Arnav only shrugs,
and eventually a deep silence falls
and everyone begins noticing the smallest sounds,
the planes zooming in
the corner of the room,
the nasal breathing of
one of the students.
Some are agitated.
When is he going to say something?
everyone squirms, checks watches.
A few students look out the window,
trying to be above it all.
This goes on for a good fifteen minutes,
before Arnav breaks in with a whisper.
‘What’s happening here?’ he asks.
And slowly a discussion begins —
as Arnav has wanted all along —
about the effect of
silence on human relations.
Why are we embarrassed by silence?
What comfort do we find in all the noise?
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