Someone who had just lost their brother to cancer, thought some quite time in KBR would help. At the end of the walk she felt better and was approaching her car when an old man, toothless from the set of his jaw approached her and told her she should smile more often and then proceeded to give her this paper which read “Please smile more often! Smiling is much better than scowling” etc etc!
After being told to smile more often, the lady found her car being blocked by an incompetent driver who wanted peace and quiet and plenty of time to find a parking slot to park his car. And honking at him which she joyfully did, was not helping the situation. Finally, finally after many twists and turns he parked his car to his satisfaction and told his older companion, maybe an embarrassed father that she was a nut case. Needless to add choice words were once more exchanged: if only the old toothless man with too much time on his hands had minded his own business?
One has heard of chain reactions. Apparently a man had a bad day at the office and he came home and snarled at his wife who was only waiting to make him a cup of tea. She was upset and scowled at her small son who was in the kitchen and the son in turn went out and gave his poor dog a kick. There’s no record of what the dog did.
And which one of us does not like to give advice especially when no one has asked us for advice? Then there are a few of us who feel it is our duty or whatever to inform our best friend, sister, cousin as to how you ‘think’ you thought their husband was flirting or paying too much attention to a member of the opposite sex? Worst is the sisterly advice you get from people who are not your sisters.
Similarly, mothers-in-law beware your daughters-in-law have their own mothers: there’s no need for you to become their mothers. That’s why the term is Attama and not Amma , perhaps? We talk about the cold West, not just the temperature but the coldness of people around you . Maybe they are merely minding their own business? This writer heard of a South Indian man who when he boards a train in the South never divulges where he is from and instead he says he is from a far off northern village otherwise he says he gets bombarded with questions about common friends/relatives what have you? In fact after a train journey of many hours you know more about your companion than his own close relatives because what else is there to do on a train but poke your nose thoroughly into matters that don’t concern you?
