Alarm play – The Hindu

I am not woken up at dawn by birdsong or the cock-a-doodle-doo of a rooster as I would prefer, but instead by an incessant barrage of alarms set by my wife and son. These begin at least a couple of hours before the intended wake-time. For example, if the aim is to wake up at 6 a.m., the first alarm is set at 4 a.m., the next at 4.01 a.m., 4:02 a.m. and so on, just to turn it off and go back to sleep, nevertheless. Why adopt this strategy I do not know, neither do I ask my wife or my son since they are rather touchy about this topic. But I have noticed that my son gained a six-pack as a side effect of sitting up so many times. Maybe that was the goal all along?

The alarm army comes in all shapes and sizes, from the simple beeping ones to the ear-shattering bell alarms which could very well raise a dead man back from his grave. In effect, they rouse the entire household except the alarm-setters themselves. Our dog and I imagine the neighbours as well are all jolted awake at ungodly hours by Lady Gaga screaming at the top of her lungs or a Hanuman-Chalisa ringtone praising the gods who are probably fast asleep while us mortals scramble to the silence buttons.