as i make my way through this thing called life...

The Mary Biscuit Syndrome…
The Thaila Syndrome…
The HKH Factor…
The Upper Hand Inevitability…
The City Lights Syndrome…

The Mary Biscuit Syndrome - the consequences of disillusionment.

There is a dessert. The most delicious dessert in the whole world, some would say. Ami used to make it everyday and everyday I would devour morsel upon morsel of this heavenly concoction. I thought it was divine. Seriously, I used to think it was made from dairy products from the Swiss Alps, wheat from Sting’s fields of gold, and topped with caramel brought down by Gabriel himself… until that fateful day… when curiosity got the better of me. I questioned a good thing… never question a good thing!! “Ami, what do you put in this?” a seemingly simple question. I was hoping for a conformation the imagery painted above. However, the answer I got disillusioned me to such an extent that to this day I am incapable of having another spoonful of this deceiving sweet dish. “Well, the base is made from crushed Mary biscuits; the center filling is made from Polac condensed milk and I top it off with some caramel…It takes all of ten minutes to make…Its really simple… here have some more…”
The moral of the story. We all have our castles in the sky… we see them everyday, smiling as we walk past them…until one day we muster enough brass to accost and ask, “castle, castle… what are you doing in the sky?” Why can’t we accept cartoon physics? Why can’t crazy coyote stay in the air until he realizes it? What’s wrong with that? The day we question our castles, they come tumbling down. And we are left disillusioned but devastated. Which is better? It was better having never questioned a good thing…

The Thaila Syndrome – means of calling out...

First of all - Commerce!!! . That said…our paths met in A Levels. Thaila was a good man. Yeah, he had his shortcomings (refer to ghafoora and AK) but on the whole one hell of a guy. Short of the ‘mama…’ incident he was pretty quick witted too… but most of all we comrades when any predator threatened the solidarity of Commerce *revered silence*. We beat General Science!! We beat Engineering!!… Hell, we even beat the boarders!! Now, I must concede that Thaila was a good player. Quick feet, fast thinker, good touches… but every now and then Thaila would offer to play defense… I never quite fathomed what he was driving at… if he played defense the attack would suffer. We all knew that. He knew that. Then why the ludicrous offer. We would say, “nahi nahi. You play upfront; ill fall back!” I understand now, it was ego inflation, morale boosting, wanting to hear it from another… “you’re good”
The moral of the story is that we all need the occasional pat on the back. At times, we want it so bad, we even ask for it. There are people who are incapable of such patting, they merely augment cynicism. We always boosted Thailas confidence and it did him more good than harm. That is why whenever I see a class act I say it, I tell them… right there and then… you have it… I don’t even know what it’s called… but rest assured you have it and don’t you let it go to waste.

The HKH Factor – the difference between constraints and shackles

He does the most wicked impersonation of Antonio Bandares as Zorro. I humor him by providing the voice of Raphael Montaro (his mortal enemy). ‘you’re a man of vision?’ I ask. He replies in that man alive affectation of his “no! I am a man in search of a vision!!” and then we laugh till out sides go sore. HKH has his philosophies. Some may call them rigid; some may consider them the ideal moral code to live by. Myself, I am ambivalent. At times, I think the constraints HKH imposes on himself are required if not necessary to keep ones identity. One should never blend in with the run of the mill. When you walk in a crowd, one should be able to tell you apart a mile away… that my friend, are the signs of a true class act. At other times, I think what the heck, you only live once, might as well die popular rather than a no body. ‘Why don’t you perform on the next concert?’ Murti asked me. ‘HKH factor’ I told him. He understood immediately. Having a trifle of HKH in a person is a trait one and all should strive for. It is the ability to take victory with a spoonful of humility, that knowing just because you can; is not reason enough to do and most importantly one should realize that the KHK factor is not a shackle it is merely a self imposed constraint.

The Upper Hand Inevitability – the inability to withhold information

A relatively small dictum. Any information that ‘can’ be used against you ‘will’ be used against you. Take my advice; be very careful what you say. Take caution in what you say and how you say, for people, even those one considers well wishers may twist the truth for their own malicious ends. Perhaps, mine is just a case of the ‘fool me once…’ syndrome but take it from one who has learnt to keep his mouth shut when it comes to matters or relative importance. Don’t say anything. If anyone else has an upper hand on you it is only matter of time before the proverbial shit shall hit the fan… then some men run and only some men shall stand. Why bring it to that point? Why not curtail your inability to withhold information?

The City Lights Syndrome – humble beginnings, degenerate ends.

This maxim is perhaps an extension of the HKH factor. I know of someone, I’m not going to say who, but this individual, after much bootlicking, gets his name on every party list, goes there, dances like a ballerina in brand new tutu, gets wasted and has to be driven home because he’s in no state to drive. Some may think, o my! what a party animal, living life to the max, but I would beg to differ. His parents came to pick him up from school one day and I caught sight of their attires from the corner of my eye. The father had a beard and walked briskly in a wilted white Shalwar Kurta. The mother walked two paces behind him in a black burka. The personification of simplicity. Now, where did they go wrong in their upbringing? Maybe it wasn’t the upbringing at all; maybe it was merely the city lights. What are the city lights? We’ve all seen ‘em. Peer pressure, wanting to belong, wanting to be hip, be cool, be Mr. popular, be talked about, call it what thou wilt. The city lights are what lure the feeble, weak minded and rootless, empty spirited individuals into doing things that are thrilling but at the same time ethereal. Here are my confessions… I have never smoked a cigarette or sipped alcohol to date. I’m twenty, so rest assured the temptation has presented itself on many an occasion. But I have never succumbed to anyone or anything before and it’s a little late in the day to start now. Nicotine gives you a temporary state of mental alertness. I say no to cigs because my drive, my performance, my ability to tackle or resolve an issue, my ability to shine doesn’t come in a box… it comes from inside and its not on call 24/7. It comes when it wants, when it counts. For those of you that smoke for the heck of it, why don’t you just shoot yourself in the head? That’s more effective. As far as alcohol is concerned, my religion doesn’t permit it. As simple as that. The city lights can be blinding. Its easy to loose focus of what’s really important but know this Every second of every minute of everyday is another chance to turn it all around.


Safe…