The other day I noticed, an email, in my in-box from a ‘Jules’. Since I was unaware of an acquaintance, by that name I was curious. On delving into my in-box, I learnt, accompanied with a certain amount of amusement and surprise that ‘Somayajulu’ had been rechristened as ‘Jules’.
Around the same time a friend invited me to an evening of Jazz……..at an up market place. There was a tossup between playing Table tennis & the Jazz. The Jazz won so I trotted off, smelling like roses, with my best perfume in place & an integrating grin pasted to my face, for most part of what was a terribly boring evening. I don’t like Jazz, so why did I go? Why did I spend good time amidst folk sucking on dead cigar’s and chica’s in short short skirts, sipping margaritas? Why was I there nodding my head at strategic intervals, rather than knocking a table tennis ball in my club? Many of us know the answer to that one, but refuse, to look at facts, in the eye. It is more important to be seen with the right crowd at the right place, wearing the right stuff, listening to the right music rather than doing what is good for us and what is required of us. In theory this is called as carrying an 'Emotional Load' and Psychologists say is the reason why many people are stressed and confused.
While I do not subscribe to the view that we must be inward looking and exclude all other influences or cultures, I’m also of the view that we must reflect before we begin to ape the West & its practices without a thought.
Digressing a little, I would like to take you back to the Second World War. Both England & Germany were abounding with spies. Englishman in Germany who spoke fluent German & vice versa was let loose. The spy when caught would not break, so the method used to identify, who was not a natural German or Englishman was as follows: ‘A smart punch would elicit a cry of pain & unwittingly this would be in the person’s mother tongue. However well trained the spy was, at heart, they continued to be what they always were at a more intrinsic level, and to my immense dismay I have found that we humans are just like that. With whatever veneer we cloak ourselves, (accented English/perfumed/branded clothing) I find the selfish soul baring itself at the drop of a hat. I always thought, that, education was a panacea, where we became better human beings, where values had a better foundation, but that too is not true. Poor upbringing sticks better than pseudo sophistication, in lives today, that are on the fast track to nowhere!
What did I get, from the evening of Jazz? A sore throat from inhaling second hand cigar smoke and a sprained neck, from having to nod my nut! I’m going to stick to TT in the future, which incidentally is a British game!
