So I was talking about my heightened state of interest in the murky world of politics. I used to follow poll opinions and discussion among the election pundits with religious regularity. I also remember my active interest in opinions expressed by senior family members and then using those adopted opinions in my group and gosh, it used to give me such a high! Of course, my friends were impressed with my knowledge in a thing that was alien to them and that’s how I was bestowed upon with sobriquets of ‘General Knowledge Master’. I am not really ashamed to admit that my image was based upon some stolen opinions of elections but other parts of the ‘precious tag’ that included sports and movies were earned by me. It was some sight seeing the entire group of ‘dads and papas’ sitting around the TV set and each having a different set of opinions. I used to watch, listen and grasp the basics from them as sincerely as possible.
Actually that whole scenario can be termed as true symbol of election fever. I always wanted to be first in leaking out news about who won from which constituency and the reactions I received always varied in nature. From despair, ecstasy, excitement to contemplation and criticism, it used to be myriad expressions of contorted faces. It was no less than a festival occasion for me. Just now as I am writing, I am realizing that there was one more reason of my excitement. And that was a ‘feel-good’ factor associated with seeing all the otherwise busy persons of the society sitting in a harmonious environment and indulging in some chit-chat. Yes, it gave me a feeling of harmony, brotherhood and togetherness. I am still trying to figure out what actually happened in my life that made me this aloof and a sucker of individualism.
It’s hard for me to pinpoint the period when I found myself with dwindling interest in politics. I just stopped caring who is winning and who is losing. That was also a symbol of emerging indifference towards all the things not directly related to me. As I kept entering into different phases of life, my area of interest found itself manifested in process of crossing new frontiers. Sports, career, girls, sex, movies, travel and many other such aspects of life held my interest at different point of time. In recent times, stock market, communication, blogging and socializing have added themselves to the ever widening chambers of my life. But yes, politics was left behind. Now I feel all I am interested in knowing is the final result and not the process.
People around me have also impacted. Not even a single person that I know shows any interest in such things. Probably they are justified. However, there is one difference. Most of the people in my knowledge are critical about politics and politicians whereas I am still indifferent. Sadly, those who are critical are not much knowledgeable as far as nuances of politics are concerned. They feel compelled to criticize because criticizing politics is the ‘IN’ thing and they like to do it because everybody else is also doing the same. Did I whisper herd mentality? Oh, yes! Sometimes more you try to differentiate yourself, more you remain the same s**t-load of human garbage!
Silent Whispers 