The Freedom of Constraints
Constrained Freedom When I was about ten years old, we used to play cricket in a small open space between a few dyeing units. There were usually five or six of us. The ground was tiny. We did not have a proper cricket kit. The pitch was uneven. The rules changed depending on where the ball landed. Looking back, almost everything about that setup was constrained. Yet we spent entire days playing there. Those were some of the most enjoyable days of my childhood. The friendships formed during those games have survived decades. I have lost touch with many of those friends over the years, but whenever we meet, even after a decade, the conversation resumes as if we had never left. The memories remain vivid. They are etched into our minds in a way that many later experiences are not. As we grew older, we gained access to larger grounds, better equipment, and more opportunities to play. Objectively, everything improved. But the joy we experienced in that small constrained environment was of a ...