Googled picture
As J walked in to the fitness center, stood in-front of the
life size mirror, started grooming his hair and said ‘machi*, I will join you from Monday. My tummy seems to be growing
evidently’. I must tell you, J is one of the physically fit and sportive
guys around. *Tamil word meaning brother
in law. Slang for friend, colleague, etc.
I am sure you would agree when I say all human beings love themselves
more than anyone or anything else. I wouldn’t deny or get into an argument, rather agree
that there are countless selfless people around.
However, most of us wouldn’t resist or miss any chance of
peeping into the mirror and feel happy about how we look. Danish philosopher Soren
Kierkegaard rightly quoted Don’t forget
to love yourself.
A few people spend long hours grooming. And few, only a
glimpse. Let me not bring up the topic of beautiful ladies’ penchant towards
the mirror.
Photo credit: Sushanth Kondi
Be it a mirror hung on the wall or a glass pane on a building
or a shiny reflective surface or a steel plate while waiting for food or a
tinted window of a car, everything turns out to be our mirror for a glance.
Many Indian Bollywood/ Tollywood/ Sandalwood etc. movies have a
scene where the protagonist will try to groom his hair looking at the tinted
window pane of a car while the leading lady or a villain brings it down.
Waiting for the 48 second signal to turn green, I noticed a jovial
couple on a motorcycle ahead. Fresh in their looks, talking casually, the boy
turned towards his right and started to check out himself at the car standing
next to them. The girl seated behind, teasingly said, oye hero, mast lag rahe ho (you are looking good). She then held
his chin and turned his face forward.
I really appreciated the gentleness of the person in the
car. Noticing the happy couple, slightly moved his car behind a couple of feet to
align the mirror, I mean the window, in line with the hero (bike rider). Noticing
this gentle gesture, he returned the favor with a smile. Gentle!
This is a series of gentle gestures I observe. Read my
earlier posts in this series here: Part one, Part two, Part three, Part four. It would be a pleasure if you could read all
my posts. Thank you!
