Normal.

Ever seen a mentally retarded person? they say that those people cannot behave normally. normally? if we remember our physics well then we should be able to recollect our theories that were built up on assumptions to begin with and those phenomena that contradicted a certain theory were termed as special cases. and i am not making it up when i say that many a times some phenomena that do not follow a normal theory are termed as 'special' cases. look at the irony, we term phenomena as 'special' when they behave abnormally or sub-normally but term the human beings who are not normal as mentally retarded, mentally ill or some term that gives you the idea that "something is wrong with this person".

Obviously, i cannot blame anyone for this but then it left me with a thought. a thought about their place in our world. in our normal world. you are supposed to be normal if you can speak in an existing accent, if your postures and gestures are similar to the other thousands that were born before you, if you can score an average grade and sustain a job, if you like money and luxuries; but what about those we call mentally ill? what do they seek? for a normal person, i often say that a path he chooses in life is to seek the meaning for his existence. but i don't know if this holds true with those born with mental disorders.

A few years back, an accident occurred at gateway of India. two girls were slashed with a knife by a mentally ill person. i learned that he was mentally ill since childhood. while discussing it with a friend, my friend argued that the person shouldn't be allowed in public. he should be kept in an asylum. but i knew how that ill person's parents must be feeling because i have a mentally ill person staying in my locality whose parents have raised him well as from what i have observed. he even threw a stone at me which was big enough to knock me down if it hit my head. but i luckily escaped. although i realized the threat, a stronger realization possessed my thoughts and that was his parents' love for him. however the child is- normal, abnormal or subnormal -their parents love doesn't change. i suppose that is the only thing that doesn't change as would be seen by normal human beings. while writing this i recollect the recent incident in which a baby that died in the mother's womb and remained in it for a long time had deformed body parts and was termed as an alien, adding to which, the mother wasn't allowed to see the child's dead body.

May be there are many terms that define normal, but, i am sure "cruel" is one of them. we tend to observe a person's character through his eyes while he is interacting. i have stared into the eyes of these mentally ill twice, but all i could sense was the innocence of a new born. the thought process was ongoing but the vibes that i received where more pleasant and innocent than destructive and manipulative. i hope there was a way to redefine the terms used to administer these mentally challenged as they are more subtly termed these days.

May be it is only i who feel so. but, when a normal person breaks a glass in a fit of rage, we term him as short tempered, when a normal person suddenly feels like playing while at work, we term him as moody, when a normal person eats his meal in a disgusting manner, we call him ill- mannered. But if a mentally retarded did any of the above disgraceful act there is only one thing that would come to our mind as normals- "he is mentally ill." i hope someday i can understand them and built a place for them at least in my world where i wont see them as ill or retarded or challenged or disabled but 'different'.

21

i always thought that i knew so much about life that if i had to start writing i'd probably have a couple of books published. yet, i havent heard of many writers, who at the age of 21, have written great books on life. when i was 10, i always fascinated the idea of being 21. at that age you dream of winning over the world by the time you complete your teens.

life at 10 isnt all that happening for an average kid like me. in addition, its human nature to find another guy wearing the same shirt as yours to be more handsome than you could see yourself in the mirror. in short, we are always interested in others' life than our own. so as i mentioned earlier, being an average kid, i was more interested in people around me. the one thing that intrigued me the most was the freedom privileged by the grown ups. i wanted to wear stylish clothes, go out for movies almost every weekend, have a girlfriend, stay out late night, hang out with friends for long time and have my own money to spend the way i want. but, i was 10 then.

now, m 21. style changes 4 me everyday, i go out for movies once in while, i dont have a girlfriend, i cannot stay out late night, i cannot hang out with friends for too long, i still dont have money of my own to spend the way i want and the worst of all is that even if i get a decent job after a few months i wont be able to spend it my way. why? its simple, m 21. i have deadlines, i have duties, i have responsibilities, i have a career and i have an image in society. you dont have any of these when you are 10. just some stupid exam to be passed by hook or by crook twice a year and till you do that you get what you want and you dont have to answer anyone else. but, m 21.

yes, m 21.however messed up my life is, i am more worried about whom aishwairya rai is getting married to or whom she broke up with. i speak with so much fake confidence that people around me imagine me to be the next bill gates. i read the sexpert column in the newspaper dutifully and read it with so much enthusiasm as if am planning on losing my virginity the same night and will be discovering myself being affected by all the possible STD's the next morning. i have a regenerating heart that actually works more efficiently and quickly than a lizard who is believed to be the only mammal on earth with the power 2 regenerate a body part. i guess, they never studied the heart of a 21 year old very well. it is said to be broken, destroyed, cut, withered and all possible adjectives for destruction when his love goes away. but within no time a new heart re-generates to make space for a fresh love. i read the horoscope hoping that my financial and romantic life will improve. at 10, it was studies and mom. at 21, its money and love.