Tags:
Journalism of Courage
It8217;s not often that one gets a long break. Yet, by the end of the Republic Day weekend, I was ready to star in my own version of Bigg Boss.
I began by making all the right noises about self-imposed isolation, maintaining a healthy inner life, and all that. I put on the heater, got some favourite reading material organised, picked up the remote, and climbed into bed.
I was ready. Introspection, here I come.
Half an hour into the day, and my inner voice seemed to be 8212; was this possible? 8212; whining back at me. This turned out to only be the dog scratching at the door, asking to be let in. Sigh. I climbed out of bed. No harm in some furry loving care while engaged in contemplation. No sooner had I settled back than the animal wanted to be let out again. This happened again and again. Finally, I hurled some choice abuse at the creature that some may see as racist doggist?. I called him what Danielle did Shilpa on Celebrity Big Brother: a dog.
Okay, so introspection wasn8217;t meant to be easy, it needs patience. This proved easier said than done. The door seemed to have a life of its own. The maid was drawn to the room like a magnet to keep the newspapers in their 8216;proper8217; place. She wanted to know if I wanted tea, just when I was in the midst of watching Big B and family conduct the latest round of temple touring, annoyingly making me miss a rare sasur-bahu reality drama moment.
My mother then decided to use my day off to clear my wardrobe and I was subjected to lectures on the importance of wearing high-heeled shoes, the shocking state of my jeans and, really, how tiny my clothes were when I was slimmer gee, thanks. When she marched into the room again with the air of a general going to war 8212; this time to discuss my tax returns 8212; I exploded with the passion of Rakhi Sawant when she8217;s sure the camera is on her. 8220;Oh for God8217;s sake, is there never any peace in this house?8221; My mother calmly replied, with the smug superiority of Shilpa Shetty getting back at Jade Goodie, that I was becoming far too reclusive. 8220;Mom,8221; I sighed, 8220;You are looking at me with a cultural bias.8221; Issues with anger, an abusive nature and cultural/class biases are distinct from race bias, bigotry and mental illness, didn8217;t she know?
As you may have guessed, we8217;re all up for eviction. Including the dog.
