Santa Singh

It is difficult to make friends who are free of any associations. All of us feel strongly for some institution or the other; religion, political party, language and even food.

Let me give you a recent example. A Muslim talked to me about problems faced by ‘his people’. I clearly remember that I met a young adult and wanted to talk to him about anything other than religion. But he steered the talk to religion. A few minutes into our conversation, I remarked, “What have you got to do with USA attacking Pakistan? We have our own problems here and they are serious.”

It was a mistake. He started lecturing me about his religion being targeted and involved several other countries into the discussion. I gulped a soft drink when he left my company.

This chap is somewhat like my fat Punjabi aunty who cannot stop harping about her political connections and her God; neither of whom have asked her to constantly munch on her greasy potato chips.

A bespectacled man asked me recently,
“Are you a communist?”

Why should I tell you? Why don’t you ask me if I like the oceans or if my liver can sustain alcohol?

Wherever we go, we are confronted by people who want to know how much we are earning, ‘what’ are parents are and how successful we are. Based on these factors, they will decide how much of their speaking power they should invest in us.

Even the beggar targets rich looking people for alms; he should know that he won’t get more than a rupee or two anyway.

I wish I could dress like those ‘easy going’ boys; wear a loose shirt and some type of alien cargo pants and keep the hair ruffled. Let nobody guess who or what you are. Even the girls will look at you for more than a few seconds. How about an expensive watch to go with the poor clothing? Let them guess whether I am rich or poor.

I believe that someday, I will meet a person (hopefully a girl) who would bother more about my thoughts than my associations. Only then will I start thinking about marriage.

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