Monday, September 29, 2008

Confession

Wherever i go, whatever i do, there’s one quality for which i’m usually easily number one among the people i’m with. Yeah, i always knew i had this, but didn’t quite realise the number one factor until a colleague pointed it out. This guy was appointed to tell jokes at a function in our college. He listed a few of the teachers who could be labelled ‘-est’ in different ways, like the tallest, best singer, best draught player, and so on. And then he announced my name as the short-est.

Yes, i have to admit i’m vertically challenged. In fact, people keep rubbing this in. Colleagues, friends and family like to tease me about it. But you know, i don’t really mind it. Not even during the sensitive teenage years. True, were it possible, i’d love to add several centimetres to my height. But since it can’t be done, i don’t fret too much.

But the real sore point, the lack that really hurts, is in the matter of the brain. I feel soooo deficient in knowledge and intelligence. My ignorance is abysmal. And my grey cells are in the habit of taking French leave.

Like once, when we went to a zoo, we came to a gate marked ‘Pre-historic animals.’ I looked in and saw two huge dinosaurs towering high. I was delighted. How wonderful to see these creatures in flesh and blood! But to my great disappointment, they just stayed in the same position and didn’t move. Why, they were only dummies!! I could cry in despair while my friends laughed at my silly-ness.

And then, we had a scooter that we kept for sixteen years till it practically fell apart. And in all those years, i just couldn’t remember its registration number. And not for not trying. And to this day, i can’t memorise our landline phone or our car number.

My brainy kid sister once called me mentally retarded in one of those young-days sibling squibbles. And i’m still trying hard to disbelieve her.

15 comments:

feddabonn said...

lol. considering the "brainy" kid sister doesn't write poetry, tell stories, make soya chicken or navigate mumbai rush hour like you do, i'll vote for you.

on a (slight) tangent, you should read up on gardener's theory of multiple intelligences. will bring the book if you remind me. a brief here. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Multiple_intelligences

Malsawmi Jacob said...

thanks for the vote, feddabonn. feels so good to have a great supporter. true, iq is not everything.

Mizohican said...

lolz. I sense a mid-life syndrome in your tone :)

Speaking of confessions, can I confess to something I read the other day which made me laugh so much??? Well, there's this site called mutiny.in, and in one of the discussions where feddabonn gave his two cents, one dude subtly hit on him thinking he's a girl!!! lolzzzz. I dunno if feddabonn read that or not, but it totally cracked me up! :-))

feddabonn said...

yeah? who? which post?

Mizohican said...

Here's one:

http://mutiny.in/2008/09/21/who-will-bell-bajrang-dal/#comment-60449

McMenon: Wish you were a young-female-single….are you?

And there's another one too but I can't seem to find it. It was from the same dude McMenon. :)

Jerusha said...

I know lots of people who shuld worry about their IQs, but you certainly don't sound like one of them. I know what you mean though, but it comes in phases for me. Sometimes I'm a downright pain in the ass because I'd feel so clever, then other times I can feel so dumb I would even go into wild panics in the darkness of the night and frantically pray and ask God to make me a bit smarter haha.

But you know what bothers me most! People for whom height (or the lack thereof) is of major concern, but intelligence (or the lack therof :P) plays no role at all in their judgements of people. Even though I agree completely that IQ is not everything, but to give height/beauty etc higher priority sounds so warped to me...

Malsawmi Jacob said...

Illusionaire, it may not be all due to mid-life syndrome. I've always felt this way ever since i can remember, even when i was only your age, though maturity has given me the courage to publicly confess it only now.

I'll try a peep at the website.

Jerusha, thanks for doubting my IQ deficiency, that boosts my morale. Guess we tend to lament when we seem to have less of what we value. Funny that even you feel dumb at times. Perhaps even smart folks have their unsmart moments.

Calliopia said...

Dear dear U H, you've always struck me as one of the most intelligent persons ever. Even since way way back when we were onetime colleagues. But I know what you mean. I've had those undermining moments and experiences often too especially in my childhood. Weird how very intelligent people can be so easily psyched into believing themselves to be dumb btw.

feddabonn said...

@jerusha: beg t differ. since height, looks AND "intelligence" are things we were born with, why should any one be more or less important than another? it seems to me as logical to be concerned about one as the other.

Jerusha said...

@feddabonn - even though you begged to differ, you didn't :P I was lamenting about the other two 'pretty' qualities given higher priority over brains. To take all of them into consideration would be fair, not focus on just one trait alone.

Malsawmi Jacob said...

Calliopia, great, wonderful, that you had such an impression about me. May be somehow you happened to miss the real nit-wit part of me! In any case, we got to go on and make the best of life with what we have or don't have. And it's a great thing to be in touch with you witty bloggers, hopefully some of it will rub off on me too!

Feddabon, Jerusha's gripe is against giving all the importance to physical factors without bothering about the mental.

feddabonn said...

aah jerusha, apologies. for some reason i thought you were saying the mind was more important than looks/height!

DayDreamBeliever said...

ah mesjay, if it's any consoloation, they say that true geniuses are often terrible at mediocre tasks. And you, of all people, can always blame your artistic temperament for the lack(if any) in such areas! Anyway, I think being 'smart' is a relative term. I, for one, can never follow a political discussion intelligently; I still have not memorized my airtel number. Maybe the brain picks and chooses what it wants to remember or learn.

Malsawmi Jacob said...

Daydreambeliever, it does seem even the scholars and the smart folks do have their weak points. It is a great consolation to know that. And yes, no one can have it all, which is a good thing, right?

Gauri Gharpure said...

Everyone of us has had those mentally retarded moments, Mesjay, I am sure.. and it couldnt be better fun than having a sibling present at such times to pull your leg later on and have a hearty laugh..