Ironically Speaking

As a child, I always wondered what adults meant when they said, :Oh! the irony of this situation!"

Now I know.

Irony is what hits you in the face when you are having a good time. It is what cracks you up when you feel in the pits.

It is what makes you question the world and its people, their intentions, their motives, their true nature. It is also what gives you the answer to that question that has been nagging you to the point of insanity.

Irony is what can make you bitter, make you hate, make you disillusioned. It can bring a sense of logic and with it unbridled serenity.

Irony is when you realise that life is not a walk in the park. And ironically, I feel I was better off not knowing.

That one friend...

We all have that one friend who says, "I am not an attention seeker!" but incessantly does things to attract attention.

We all have that one friend who says, "I am not hungry, don;t order/make for me," and eats from your plate (never mind how many rats your tummy is harbouring :D).

We all have that one friend who calles you in the middle of the night and asks , "So rahi thi?"

We all have that one friend who says, "Main hoon na, Tension nahi lene ka!" and invariably messes up the task.

We all have that one friend who silently observes a crisis and then when everyone has reached their wits' end, he comes up with a solution nothing short of sheer brilliance.

We all have that one friend who jokes and pulls our leg to no end, quiet mercilessly, but is the first to lend a shoulder to lean on when the time comes.

We all have that one friend who talks so sweet that we don't know what has hit us till we find ourselves over committed to a cause that isn't our own.

We all have that one friend whose voice makes a shitty day pleasant.

We all have that one friend who is the permanent third wheel, but you can'y imagine your life without them.

We all have that one friend who is so stern that you prefer to face your parents' wrath than their's.

We all have that one friend who makes you feel like it's gonna be ok, and only he/she can do that.

We all have that one friend who makes it difficult to resist temptation.

We all have that one friend who makes you want to be a better person, no matter how tough the road seems.

We all have that one friend that we are confused about.. "Do I like him or do I not?"

We all have that one friend who quotes authors and great people.

We all have that one friend whom you can go back to and be as you were when you met last.

We have a lot of friends and we are friends to many. Like the old saying goes, 'friends are the family you choose,' and boy what a madcap family we end up chosing...and cherishing.

Trust me on this one

We go through life, stumbling, faltering, rejoicing, grieving and most of all learning.

Every interaction, is a lesson - a lesson is in the journey of life. An important lesson we learn along the way is trust. I feel babies have it right. They trust their care giver, in most cases, their mother. Then comes daddy dearest and the rest of the people follow. The logic is simple – mommy dedicates her day to the baby. Her routine is centered around the needs of the little human. She makes sure that the baby is comfortable, clean and fed. It’s as simple as that.

And then, the baby grows up, learns parameters of society and his existence and learns that trust may be based on more than food, hygiene and a soothing voice to croon you to sleep at night. Trust takes on a more ‘adult’ meaning and that is where the problem begins.

That friend who stole his eraser because blue appealed more to him than the green eraser his mum bought him, that teacher who always smiled at him in the morning, could not cause she had paper correction on her mind, that classmate who ratted him out cause he did not want his parents called to the school. All came together changed his perception of trust.

Moving on in life, he learns trust in the form of different relationship – from friends to colleagues, from siblings to lovers, from parents to superiors, from teachers to neighbours – everyone teach him a thing or two about trust. Now he has so much more to consider when he trusts someone.

It isn’t about physical comfort or honesty only anymore. It now becomes about whether telling someone something matters. Whether he will be judged or helped, whether he will be laughed at or laughed with, whether people will sympathise or empathise. He begins to doubt his own judgment and lets it be clouded by all the possible ifs and buts. He stutters and stammers and is confused about who he can trust.

Questions buzz through his brain. How will my lover respond? What will my mother think? What if my father gets angry? What if people stop being friends with me? Will people think I am lame? What if word spread? What if I a wrong?

This is the stumbling and floundering he goes through in life. If he is lucky, he gets over his insecurities, mans up and puts his trust in one person or more. Sometimes, the gamble pays off and life seems less bumpy for a while. If things don’t go his way, he is back to stumbling and may even lose his way for a while.

Maybe this is life’s way of teaching him that of the people he needs to trust in life, his self comes foremost. Once he learns this lesson, things may seem tad easier, questions a little less daunting and decisions clearer. But till he learns this lesson, he continues to struggle and stumble through this journey called life.

The only solace is that no one has emerged a total winner in the game of life, but then, no one’s come out of it alive as well.

Trust me on this one.