Opinion Arijit Singh and The Kinks remind us about the importance of peace of mind

In man’s evolution, he has created the city/ And the motor traffic rumble/ But give me half a chance/ And I’d be taking off my clothes and living in the jungle,” sang The Kinks in 1970. ‘Apeman’ is a song of its time, and there are things about it that wouldn’t go over well today — not least Ray Davies’ Caribbean accent. Some things, however, remain just as relevant if not more so, such as the frantic pace of modern urban life. Or indeed, the fear of dying in a nuclear war. The fleeting, unserious wish to escape it all and flee to jungles literal or figurative is a human constant. There’s a word for such weak desires, something one vaguely wants but not enough to act on it: “Velleity”.

That said, there are always those who do go through with it, who quit the rat race and are happier for it. Perhaps Arijit Singh isn’t the best example — after all, a hugely successful artist quitting playback singing to focus on making music that’s fully his own isn’t in the same position as an ordinary, burnt-out employee. It may be more a question of boredom, as he has said, and creative freedom. There is, however, a goal that Singh, the “quiet quitters” who were trending a couple of years ago, and the hippies ‘Apeman’ was arguably satirising, all share: Peace of mind.

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It may be an elusive goal in a world that’s going to the stress-inducing dogs, but the resolve to seek it in defiance of pressures, expectations and even one’s own professional ego is to be admired. Perhaps it’s a trend that will pick up in the coming years, at least among those who can afford it. Because, to return to The Kinks and ‘Apeman’, “the air pollution is a-fogging up my eyes”.