A World Full Of Strangers

There are times in life when it's comforting to have strangers around you. You don't feel lonely this way. And yet there's no one who will ask u 'Why are you upset? What happened? Why are you feeling so low?'

They just leave you to be yourself. Girls walking around giggling on phone, guys involved in animated conversations with friends, women exchanging gossip in whispers and some old men sitting with the newspaper which seems to be their best friend.

You walk past with some burdens buried deep inside you, desperate to fight their way into the outer world through tears. Your will emerges stronger and not a single drop is shed. May be because you don't want any of these inanimate strangers to come to life and ask you the same questions you wanted to avoid. Or may be because you really wanted someone else to care about these...

An Old Acquaintance

Something happened today while I was shopping. A guy approached me and politely asked me, "Excuse me, are you Sapna?"

I looked at him curiously and replied in the affirmative, a confused look very perceptive on my face.

He immediately continued, "You remember Sanjay Punjabi from Junior college?"

I answered an embarrassed "No". I added, "I'm so sorry but I don't remember."

He kind of expected this from me. After all I was the kinds who hardly spoke much to others all through my school and college.

Blatantly ignoring my poor memory, he continued "I'm Sanjay. So, howz life? What are u doing nowadays"

"I'm a doctor"

"Wow", he interrupted. And here I was wondering what was so 'wow' about it. I didn't think there was anything great about it.

Courtesy demanded I ask him about his life too.

"I have a job at one of these nearby shops."

"Great", I concluded.

He said he had seen me even before but was confused if it was me or someone else. "I do come shopping here once in a while" was all I could say.

He left with a good-bye and I turned around with all my bags.

I realised his condition - obviously not very well-to-do, his clothes (I noticed the unduly old and a bit tattered shirt) said it. Yet he had a smile on his face. May not be having the best kind of job too... Being a salesman at a garments market isn't really a 'dream job'. Yet he seemed happy. Contented.

I walked away wondering what makes me crib about my work sometimes. Why do I crib about life at all? Can't I just be happy like him and go and say 'Hello' when I spot an old acquaintance?

Voila... Retail Therapy!

Stress is the talk-of-the-town and what better stress-buster than shopping. Na na na… don’t get me wrong… I’m not jumping to any conclusions but merely stating something that has been substantiated completely by research scientists who I’m sure are not shopaholics! On the contrary, they may be dedicated husbands to women who are shopping maniacs (aesthetically termed as ‘compulsive shoppers’) to an extent that they have got their husbands’ credit cards blocked due to non-payment of charges that are well beyond the assigned credit limit. So what makes shopping a mood-lifter after all?

The simplest explanation would be that when we are feeling low, we need to experience ‘something’ that lifts our mood. It may be chocolates or sweets for some, a nice game for others and shopping for most of the fairer sex. Shopping is likened to ‘rewarding oneself’ and who does not feel better when rewarded?? It triggers women out of their gloomy state and launches them straight into the air-conditioned, sweet-smelling interiors of a big store in the nearest shopping mall. At the end of all the My-God-I-bought-so-many-things experience, a wonderful mood emerges that lasts quite a while :)

I don’t think I should even wander into areas that touch the point about the credit card bills that are awaiting you in the coming month… didn’t I say I was discussing only stress-busters today??