20 April, 2009

Shallow, Shallow World

Ever wondered how shallow and vain we humans tend to get? How we tend to judge and subsequently snub people who we think are not as smart/pretty/rich/successful as we are? I can bet how most of us are nauseated by the overload of "fairness creams" ads that feel like a gritty piece of gravel when you're gorging on your fave Biryani.

Why has our idea of beauty narrowed down to how fairer/thinner/taller we can get? Whatever happened to the good ol' heart, a sense of humor, intellect, strength of character and well-nurtured talent? As a list down the virtues, I realize how bookish and other-wordly they sound now. It is perfectly OK for our generation to reject a perfectly nice person just because he/she does not meet the checklist of perfect complexion ( no, this does not imply clear, healthy skin but "fair" even if the rest of the package looks and behaves like a stinkin' garbage can), height, weight and other stuff that's not likely to last for another decade. This, let me clarify, is not a random, thoughtless statement and neither is it an all-encompassing one. I see people around me every moment who are completely obsessed with the way they look and they are cruelly critical of others who don't care a hoot about what they are wearing with what and how their hair is not perfectly framing their face to accentuate their features.

Sure its great to be well groomed and nicely turned out but is it all that is there to life? Doesn't it take a small bit of life away from you if you refuse to open the car window when its cool and breezy outside for the fear of ruining your hairdo? Aren't you turning your back on small pleasures by refusing to eat a chocolate pie you so damn love coz you're scared it will land up on your butt? Don't you feel ugly staring at the mirror when there are larger and more important things waiting for your attention? Don't you feel disgusting inside when a close friend unloads his/her worries on you and all you can think of is what you should wear to the party tonight?

I might be wrong (though I hope I am not) but in my opinion, people who are all about themselves are somewhere very insecure inside. They know they are ugly and they have little to offer other than branded clothes and a chiselled body. The make-up and high-maintainance haidos are facades which they use to hide the hollowness within themselves. Why are they so scared of showing their real selves to the world? Why do they feel like death if someone saw them before they got out of bed? I am compelled to form an opinion because of late, I have been coming across too many people who do not believe in keeping it real.

16 April, 2009

25 Random Things About Me

1. I can cuddle a python (I have a soft corner for reptiles) but I'm shit scared of dead cockroaches.
2. When I'm tired, uncomfortable, stressed or irritated, I darken my room and light an incense stick to sooth my senses.
3. Tube lights (or any other harsh white lights) give me a gritty "sandpaper on the wall" feeling and I switch them on only when a guest insists and that too, at the expense of my inner peace. I totally dig zero watt yellow bulbs or candles.
4. If I ever decide to undergo plastic surgery, I would get my face reduced to half its size.
5. I'm a hard-core believer in karma and how life comes in a full circle. I also believe that energy (life) is recycled across the universe and that's why no-one really "dies".
6. I'm a sucker for chaat and churans like imli golis, anardana golis, fatafat and other smacky stuff - can't have enough of it!
7. I find physical and personality quirks attractive. Normal and perfect does not interest me at all.
8. An animal's company can take all my blues away.
9. People are often scandalized by my words and actions - I secretely enjoy it.
10. My fave attire is a pair of men's shorts , a relaxed tee and flip-flops/crocs.
11. I am addicted to lip balm (fruity ones) and have to moisturize my hands every time I touch something dusty....yes, I do have OCD.
12. I don't have an explanation for this, but I involuntarily tend to loath things that have a mass following. Examples: Cricket, Shahrukh Khan, poker straight hair with blond streaks, skinny jeans, religion (all of 'em), materialism, an obsession with making babies....
13. I share my home with one husband, six pigeons and two tortoises.
14. I have had babysitters from Pakistan, Egypt, Czechoslovakia, Bangladesh, Iran, Syria, Phillipines and Sudan but it was finally an Indian who agreed to keep me for more than a week.
15. I can't drink anything with fizz or anything that is hot. I eat my food when it's room temperature and I love organic drinks like coconut water, kokum, aam panna, buttermilk, sol kadi, C2H5OH etc...
16. I pass most of my free time day-dreaming and making up things in my mind.
17. I feel uncomfortable talking on the phone...I prefer mailing or chatting. It might be worth mentioning that there used to be a time when I could talk all night on the phone.
18. Muscular men put me off. And so do small, thin papery ears (did I mention that I have an ear fetish?)
19. I believe traveling can teach you stuff that no book/school can.
20. I live my life on very simple terms...that's probably why I haven't experienced negative emotions like stress, depression, anxiety and sadness in a long while.
21. If I could have only one thing in my life, it would be FREEDOM - can't think of living without it!!
22. I am a full-time optometrist turned full-time writer - and very proud of the transition.
23. I hate it when people gift me flowers.
24. I may come across as a party animal but I am a very family oriented person who loves to spend time at home.
25. I 'm permanently happy coz I'm always optimistic and I think nothing is big or important enough to fret over..we're just an insignificant part in the larger scheme of things.

15 April, 2009

Indian Men - I Tell You!

What's with these Indian men, I don't understand. When they are young, single and ready to mingle, they totally dig hot chicks ( the ones who rank high on the fashion meter, are avid party goers, enjoy their cocktails, don't hold back from hurling a certain hindi swear word or two at lecherous uncles and who can while the night away driving around with a random guy on a mobike). From what I can gather, they like hanging around with a bindaas babe because they get to do all the "guy things" like drinking, smoking, talking dirty and using foul language without feeling awkward or stared upon. Then, out of the blue, they settle with a demure damsel in distress who would avoid you like the AIDS if you just offer her a drag from your fag ( disclaimer: I do NOT look down upon people who do not drink/smoke/abuse but I DO look down upon people who look down upon smokers/drinkers/abusers).

Believe me, it has happened to me quite a number of times (the dirty looks from familiar women) even though I don't practice any of the above mentioned "sins" to a significant degree but to tell you the truth, I'm no miss goody two shoes either! I do have my sexy, naughty, bitchy moments every now and then.

Coming back to the point of typical Indian men, why do they choose the perennially salwar kameez clad distressed damsel for matrimony when they have been hanging around with the bindaas siren babe all their years. The funny part is yet to come - why after marrying the distressed damsel do they still yearn for the bindaas babe and stare/make a pass at her when the opportunity arises? Why do they not stare/make a pass at other distressed damsels who their friends married? Why do they hide their smoking/drinking/porn watching habits from their new wife when they had been doing it all along with their girlfriends? Why don't they marry a girl who could give them company at the bar, watch a porn flick and maybe enjoy a fag when its cold and rainy? Wouldn't that in a way prevent them from going overboard with any of these vices? Do they feel that such a girl would be bad at running the house or set a bad example as a parent? Are they insecure that a bold, confident girl would invite a lot of attention from other males?

I know, my thoughts may seem baseless and even shallow - they just popped up out of nowhere. Actually not really out of nowhere - lately I have seen many of my male acquantainces doing the same. The phenomenon really beats me. Can anyone (preferably an Indian male) shed any light on this?