Precious Pearls

It spreads like wildfire or even faster when you try to conceal. It seems many can maintain anything but secrecy. Every family, office, or society has some ‘top secrets’ widely spoken about! Interestingly, anyone sharing ‘highly confidential’ matters doesn’t always have ill-intentions or loves gossiping; it seems a natural human tendency to speak out what is supposed to be hidden! The more you keep it under the wraps, greater the curiosity. After all, it’s never too easy to keep things to yourself. It’s a common experience in joint families where everybody talks about everybody else. Most of the times, it looks as if people are just waiting for a possible opportunity to target someone and make it a ‘hot’ topic of discussion. Of course, one thing needs to be mentioned that there is never any ill will here. Rest assured, they will all join hands and fight any adversity as one man. No matter how single-handedly one can handle things, it has to be a group activity in a joint family....

Neither exceptionally outstanding nor anything astounding; this is how I can describe myself. I am like most of you, a normal person. Of course, being ‘normal’ is very relative. Everyman’s concept of normality depends on the background one hails from and more importantly, on the expanse of one’s thinking and experience. Anything beyond one’s expanse could appear ‘abnormal’ or ‘shocking’. People, whose idea of leading a normal life is all about education, job, marriage and kids, not only love to go through the set pattern but also live to see the same cycle being repeated by their children and grandchildren. This is ‘normal’ for them. When they happen to meet persons who don’t believe in the social institution of marriage, they would be flabbergasted! They simply cannot imagine there could be a person who doesn’t want to get married or a couple not too keen on having kids. The later lot, on its part, would wonder how people could tirelessly go through set patterns generations after...

Can there be a day without a conflict? Sounds difficult, perhaps impossible! Conflict could be too strong a word to describe this state of mind but minor differences of opinion are part and parcel of our day-to-day lives. It’s very difficult for two individuals to agree in totality always. Be it social, domestic or even professional, all interpersonal relationships work on the uniform principle, “Let’s agree to disagree.”  When you can’t agree and not argue as well, all you can do is to agree to disagree. Forget with the other person, it’s even tough to agree with oneself. However hard you try to agree, mind will always put you in a conflicting situation! Once it seemed happening to me. One fine day, I found it hard to agree with people. Everything was as usual. No specific disturbances to play a spoilsport, neither was there any reason to disagree every time. Nevertheless, it appeared that all I had to offer to others that day was an opposite view! Of course, I didn’t sound i...