1. Thou shall not be a glutton.
2. Thou shall get a tattoo.
3. And a guy.
4. Thou shall read 8 good books.
5. Thou shall travel.
6. Thou shall learn to save.
7. Thou shall not procrastinate.
8. Thou shall act less loony and more ladylike
9. Thou shall not be a control freak.
10. Thou shall live it up. Like always :)
We met last week
For the very first time
Genius and I
I had seen him in the crowd before
This time it was personal
A short, yet passionate affair
3 days to be precise!
I heard him talk
Pour out his heart
They documented it, his life.
I giggled with him, cried too.
He wrote a song to comfort me
Then I heard him sing…
That song. And the other one too.
He said he loved kids
And dogs. Quite in the same breath.
We connected instantly.
I believed him.
Pure and child-like,
He was the moon walker.
The genius – Michael Joseph Jackson.
No…it’s not a sweet. In fact, it’s a not-so-sweet term in Bengali which when loosely translated means “idle gossip and discussions about people in general.”
In our country, this seems to be our favourite pass time. And I thought it was only a small people disease. But boy was I wrong! Or was I?The gossip sessions my housemaid indulges in does manage to retain some innocence. But when I see educated people from well-bred families rip people apart in the most unquotable manner, I stop to wonder. The cool breed, some even those you can put in the wild-child bracket, have such small minds when it comes to people other than themselves.
Celebrities, of course form a major part of these discussing. Being a part of the media world ourselves, and therefore apparently close to the ‘inside sources’, most of us have dirty stories to share. Some so atrocious, unbelievable and at times so inhuman, that it makes me cringe. The general character assassinations and speculations on people’s bedroom deeds are the biggest points of debate. Like they were to help change India’s economic condition. And mind you, these gossips are shared with utmost conviction (Oh! my friend’s friend’s friend’s grandfather saw her go into his vanity van). Right.
“Oh have you not seen, she is always holding her father-in-law’s hand!”...or “Such things happen in high society yaaar”, even something as low as “How else do you think so and so became successful?...must have flashed…hahaha”
I have never found myself questioning the scandals; all that upsets me is general negativity, the mistrust, the unnecessary curiosity and the complete shallowness. Sometimes I think we would have been better off as animals. At least we would not have the brains to be self proclaimed judges.
Some years ago, when I was still a teenager, someone I much respected gave me an interesting piece of information. ‘The problem with teenagers of all generations’, he said, ‘is that they are all making a constant effort to be different. To be a rebel, not quite knowing what the cause it. Which is why they falter so easily; and it takes immense strength of character to say no to your peers and stick to your beliefs.’
His words stayed on with me all through those years. I took immense pride in the fact that I had managed to stay away from the cancer stick. I never used the f word in school, even as my friends seasoned their sentences generously with it. My most frequently used cuss word then was as innocent as “spineless jellyfish”!
Then I had these strong views, or so I thought, about various other things - for example tattoos. Now since they were ‘cool’ and therefore wannabe (ha ha) I was averse to the idea of inking myself. My favourite line those days used to be, “Tattoos are a no-no. They are too permanent for me.” (I am so sure I must have read it somewhere, but I loved to own it.) So while I was ensuring in every way that I didn’t turn out to be a difficult teenager, I didn’t quite realise that I was behaving exactly like any average teen. Making an effort to be different.
The realisation struck when I was amongst wannabes of a different kind. Pseudo intellectuals.
I saw myself in them to a large extent, and suddenly my once individualistic lines were not so unique anymore. That’s when I think I loosened up. And trust me, it’s fabulous to feel that free. From you own restrictions, your own barriers. Because that’s when you begin to accept and learn the golden rule, “to each his own.”
By the way, I love the idea of tattoos now. May get one soon. And not so proudly, I also confess that my cuss words have graduated ;)
