‘Be You’

Someone asked me recently, “How have you been?” I did not answer; I just smiled back. It would have been inappropriate and rude to tell him that the experience of the past one year of my life has turned me into a misanthropist – a skeptic to be put more simply. The society around me has not changed much; it still remains a masquerade party as it was when I first stepped into the shoes of adulthood. I don’t still know what it is like dealing with real people for I have never experienced anyone rare and genuine.

My experiences are gradually turning the colour of my hair grey with each new silver streak reminding me that many years of my life have indeed passed in knowing people. The punch line ‘Be You’ of a reputed online apparel store keeps flashing itself on almost every form of media advocating the necessity of being the real self. But in a society like ours where a fake curve on the face of a woman makes men go down on their knees, is it possible that honesty is rewarded and integrity acknowledged?

My cynical self has already assured me that the concept of ‘real’ can only be defined and understood in literary pieces and voluminous epics, while my optimistic self still awaits someone who can put my doubts to rest.

Where simplicity veils the talent within

It was my another day in metro today. Like any other day of the week, I had boarded the metro to Mandi House Station, near which my office is located. Contrary to the sweat-breaking and noisy crowd of everyday, there were not too many people in the coach I had got into. It was a ladies’ coach full of all kinds of women, young & old, beautiful & ordinary, fashionable & simple. Before me, was seated a lady preferably in her mid 30s, ordinary looking with a mole just above her left eyelid, wearing a black printed dress with cobalt blue polka dots. Ordinary as her looks were, her clothes were simpler with no extra frills or laces adorning her dress as opposed to the unnecessary cuts and laces we find in dresses today. The first impression I gathered, from her dress and looks, about that lady was that she probably worked in a lower management position in some private firm. Her dress, looks and mannerisms were too ordinary to lend any grand impression about her.

But overhearing the conversation between her and the girl sitting adjacently, I realised my folly of underestimating her credentials. The lady gleefully informed the girl that she had completed her PhD in Chemistry and that a book authored by her recently got published. The conversation that continued further surprised me when she showed the book titled ‘Heterocyclic Compounds’ authored by her. While taking out the book from her bag, she informed that the book has also found its place in the library shelves of colleges and schools and that it took her two years to complete her research on the subject she had written in. I saw the glint in her eyes that spoke of achievement that could be attained only after years of hard work while the smile on her lips spoke volumes of adulation she had received on account of constant and consistent efforts. Her words revealed the great deal of knowledge she has about her subject, though her simplicity had veiled the talent within.

I learned a lesson today, thankfully, not the hard way – Simple looks veil the talent within.