Normalcy

What does it mean to be Normal in today’s standards? I think I am expecting way too much. Normal according to the dictionary means the usual, typical, expected. You know it was normal for all children to play in the park, you know that green square in the middle of the of the houses with trees on the side and all. It used to have a small cricket pitch in the middle along with a run down slide on the side, plus a place where the girls would play hopscotch and some times marbles with the boys. No body, I mean nobody had a chronic disease that convinced boys to go around raping him or her. Normal also meant walking in groups in the neighbor hood and not getting singled out as being “ fast and of a loose character’!

Life earlier also meant eating food, the kind that is taboo these days. Paranthas and simple aam ka achar was staple for the day; now heaven forbid you ever ate something so mundane, it is only muesli and oats. Didn’t you know that you clog your system by eating all the fatty Punjabi food? Hey, instead of running to the gym and burning away those carbs and proteins just revert back to the lifestyle our ancestor’s gene coded us for. We are suited genetically for this kind of food, the kind dadi ma swears by, small portions, the dal chawal kind. No one ate dark chocolate before or measured their almonds. What would happen if you accidentally ate too many nuts?

A bigger butt, maybe but hey nothing would happen, you wouldn’t die! Chill, relax, take a deep breath enjoy the mundane the normal. Why does your plate have to be a rainbow of colors? Oh according to the holy grail of dieters and food nutritionist’s, that’s the guide to healthy eating. If they wanted us to eat the Mediterranean way we would all have been there; last I looked all dal was brown or yellow and the sabzi had the life saving yellow turmeric to save you from Parkinson’s.

Normal is boring staid and comfortable. Too many people are trying way too hard to be out of the ordinary and different. Yes be different, move with the times but don’t become bizarre with outlandish ideas. The world is changing way too fast and we have lost our tolerance to others, giving haphazard explanations justifying our actions in every sphere.

And , then my pet peeve is also the fashion I see around me. Last I looked the girls were having a tough time wearing clothes so tight I figured they didn’t need to diet, they just stitched the clothes on and didn’t breathe. I know I would just pop my buttons just dreaming my chocolate. And men, leave the color to us , please be men don’t go around prancing and preening yourself in rainbow colors in you jeans. That is one disaster gone wrong. Why cant jeans be jeans rather than be shape , lift lengthen your leg? And , then my poor salwar suit? Oh when did you become this crazy piece of art ?

I wish it was all  boring, normal and staid, kahan gaye who din ????