It was the year 2018, and I had just quit my corporate job after 25 long years. While I was very excited, the burning question in my husband’s mind was, How will I keep myself busy? As the saying goes, an empty mind is a devil’s workshop, and that is one devil he certainly did not want to deal with.
Initially, I picked up my reading and caught up with the long-forgotten books on the bookshelf. Some days I would pick up my paint and brushes and try my hand at some art. Other days, if I was very motivated, I would write a poem. Then there were some days when I would do some gardening. Every day I would start my day thinking, What is it that I would like to do today? This went on for some time.
One day I saw some glass bottles in the store, and I thought of using them to plant the cuttings of the money plant. Once done, I wondered where to place these.
Suddenly, an idea popped into my mind, and I recalled something I had learned during my school days. Macramé is the art of knotting ropes to create pot hangers.
The very next day, I went to the market and bought some jute string—’sutli’. I needed some reference, for which I looked up YouTube and made the pot hangers for the glass bottles. And the next thing I knew was that I had more and more videos popping up on my phone showing new items handcrafted with macramé. Coasters, keychains, table runners, and so on. It all looked really beautiful and colorful. Very soon, I looked up places from where I could source beautiful, colorful cotton thread and started trying my hand at different items. My friends and family encouraged me to make these bohemian-style bags, wall hangings, and dream catchers for them.
It has now become an activity that I enjoy doing and look forward to every day.
The best part is the worry lines that are no longer there on my husband’s forehead, and he knows the devil is happily knotting away.
