one cannot escape advice- this universal phenomenon is inevitable, unless you are a sadhu meditating in the himalayas. it's a bug that bites everyone with any human contact, in any form- direct or not. dispensing advice is rather simple, but to receive and digest it can be as difficult as pappad for your digestive juices.
before giving advice, stop and think; does that individual need any advice from you? do you, as a person, have expertise in that particular subject matter? or does the said person want to rant and only needs a good ear?
sometimes advice comes from people who could use some themselves.
from the "fraandly" neighbourhood aunty "beta, kitni moti ho gayi hai. thoda hisaab se khaaya kar. subah garam paani peelena, aur gym ki membership tumhe sonu discount mein dilwah dega. tere health ke liye hi bol rahi hoon!"..sigh.... only if the chair wasn't giving way under the weight of her humongous behind....
sometimes, when you least expect it - "I'm telling you, buy this stock, its going to sky rocket! mark my words! i'll change my name otherwise!".. well if it doesn't, what good is it to me if you change your name?!
sometimes its patriotic- "India should spend more on defense and the military! these damn terrorists should be taught a lesson!" - like that's the way to stop terrorism.
sometimes its selfish.."why don't you sell your flat to me, that way the property would be within the family and everyone's happy!" - the money, would then come in installments over decades or not come at all!
sometimes warm and friendly- "maybe you should not breakup. think twice before taking a rash decision."- now that one may actually work!
..and there are a million different facets of advice giving which i can't possibly elaborate on.
since desis give advice to each other on everything, you start expecting it and are slightly disappointed when nobody is around to give you any. being away from home teaches you this harsh truth. advice that is not only for that particular individual but helps build what we call a community.
so to all those parents, teachers, guidance counselors, doctors, spouses and friends (some who told me to carry that prestige pressure cooker to the US of A)- keep the advice flowing, coz maybe, just maybe it might actually be useful!
- Papdi Chaat (the pseudonym is a tribute to the Mexican guy who made me the dish in California, and to Sukanya who bore the brunt of the extra red chilli powder!)
No comments:
Post a Comment