If you are passing time reading this instead of getting a facial done at the beauty parlour, toh phir oath-taking ceremony mein toh invited hoge nahi aap. Tsk tsk. I, of course, have been invited by Modi ji to give advice on the government formation but I told him that writing this column is priority and he’d have to make do with Amit Bhai till then!

Hello, good people, the election frenzy is over and life’s limping back to sanity. But some of us are experiencing severe withdrawal symptoms of the massive cacophonic ride that we were on, for the past many months. Suddenly depression sa ho raha hai that it is all over. Of course some people are reeling under the shock at the outcome, but most of us are just feeling a sense of vacuum, now that the country’s biggest conversation-starter-question has been answered, and how.

To ensure that calmness prevails in our lives, we badly need an election detox now. And this is how, in my opinion, can we achieve it.

Take a tech break: Seriously man, if, like me, you’ve been on social media every nano-second of the day (and night) over the past months - your thumb, your fingers, your eyes, your brain would be ready to rebel any minute now. Mine have. I’m writing this with an ugly crepe bandage around my wrist, after being diagnosed with a terribly painful De Quervain’s Tenosynovitis. I know, it’s an impressive, fancy-sounding disease to have, but it’s also God’s way of telling me ki khoob kiya saara din Modi-Raga tweet…now bear the pain of a stiff and swollen thumb. We’ve been too connected to the Internet for too long now. And it’s ideal now to log out for a while to re-energize our minds. I suggest taking a walk in the park without carrying your cell phone and without having the ear-plugs clog your hearing. There are some beautiful sounds that the birds make. You’d love them, chance toh do.

Switch off the TV: I know it’s not very practical but we can try taking a break at least from the ultra noisy, heated debates on the news channels for a bit. Kuchh zyada hi ho gaya hai, what with humongous panels, in-your-face, loud graphics, and a battery of experts whose skill-set has to mandatorily have the ability to outshout another human being. With the election results, a crescendo of noise was successfully reached, and perhaps now for a few days, we could experience something soothing and low-tempo, even as we consume the basic news that’s important for us to keep a tab on.

Avoid needless debates: Don’t know about you, but in every party or social gathering that I attended in the past few months, I’ve witnessed angry exchanges between friends over left or right, liberal or conservative, BJP or others. These debates are endless and outcome-less, because, frankly, I’ve not seen anyone convince another enough to change their very ideology or allegiance. Jisne jisko vote dena thaa de diya. Now that the results are out, it would do everyone good to accept them for what they are – whether you do it by rejoicing or grudgingly making peace. Faltu debates would only add to your stress, not Modi or Rahul Gandhi’s.

Switch your focus: To things apolitical, to things entertaining, to things enriching. Imagine the amount of positive, non-political content you missed out on, because your mind was just too focused on what’s going to happen in the elections. There are books to be read, there are films to be watched, there are meals to be tried, there are loved ones to be spoken to. Do all of that and more. Aur agar meri tarah harmless betting ki addiction ho gayi ho, then there’s the cricket world cup around the corner!

In a nutshell, life has moved on from #LokSabhaElections2019 and we can’t be stuck celebrating or melting-down forever. Detox your body and mind from the election stress and then come back in the groove to play a constructive role in the way our nation moves ahead from here on. Cheers to seeing a calmer you!

Sonal Kalra has downloaded a secret game app that can show TV anchors and politicians coming to blows. It’s too addictive. Her plan to go for a walk can take a walk! Mail her at sonal.kalra@hindustantimes.com or facebook.com/sonalkalraofficial. Follow on Twitter @sonalkalra

First Published: May 25, 2019 17:52 IST