spoon

Let me breathe

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Life. It’s one of those lousy words you keep hearing all the time that will practically make your life hell, if you know what I mean.

Existing has taken precedence over living, ‘follow your heart’ has become an overstatement, you talk about your passion and all you get back is a lecture on reality; you find ways to motivate yourself, you somehow deal with your frustration in your own way – by listening to music or with an intense workout session or by drinking that hot cup of coffee, whilst enjoying the nip of cool breeze or maybe by doing something utterly crazy; and just when you have started to think that you are in good shape, it all begins – ‘Look at him, look at her, why can’t you think and be like everyone, why don’t you just swim with the current, why don’t you go to temple, why don’t you believe in god, why do you take so many chances, why can’t you be pragmatic, what’s wrong with you, what’s your problem, what have you thought about your future, what are you thinking now, what are you going to do, why do you have to run so much, your legs are going to give away someday, be in your limits, when are you going to settle down …?’

Well, why can’t you just let me breathe, for heavens’ sake? I’m not trying to be different from the rest of the folk. I simply don’t care about what others do. Now just leave me alone, goddammit!

As if this is not enough, the world is rotting. Hell, yes, it is rotting in hell. People don’t have courtesy anymore, they don’t have manners, they’ve confused assholitude with attitude; those presumptuous bastards! Yet they have the audacity to point a finger at me and say that I ain’t good. But you know what the crazy thing is? They are right in their own way. That’s the way to live. Be a dissolute asshole and you are a cool guy. So listen to me you freaking pieces of shit, here I come. The ‘cool’ guy.

Some loser once said, ‘Manners maketh man.’ Bring him to me and I shall break his neck, for I committed the sin of believing in his words and paid for it. It ain’t true, what he said. Bad, uncouth guys are the cool ones these days. Even the super-duper hit Ra. One says that. No, seriously, trust me on this. You are not supposed to reply when someone sends you a text message, you are not supposed to call them back when they are trying to reach you; courtesy, anyone? Come again. What’s that word? Nope. It’s obsolete. You are absolutely right when you say you are busy. Some pathetic losers visit your blog and read your literary masterpiece and leave behind a comment. What next? You are not supposed to reply. It’s as simple as that. I mean, why should you? Those morons don’t have anything to do, right? They are worthless, they are miserable. You don’t have to acknowledge them. Really.

You should learn some profane words and brazenly use them. Why? Because it’s the in-thing, man. You shouldn’t hesitate even when there are elders or children or women around. You should learn to use the word ‘fuck’ in different ways; as a noun, adjective, adverb, etc. If you don’t learn this art, your English is no good, believe me. I have thus learnt it and learnt it well, you fucking freaks. Oh, wait a second. It feels good to use the word. It feels fucking good. There you go. A gerund.

You don’t have to know the meanings of words like joie de vivre, ebullience, blithe or entrance, but you should know how to use ‘fuck’ in each and every fucking sentence you use. It doesn’t matter if your grammar is bad, but you’d better know how to use ‘fuck’. Or else your ‘additude’ gets fucked up. Big time. Also, you should incorporate phrases like, “I was like, ‘oh, what the hell!”, “yes bro, no bro”, “howz you?”, etc. Mainly, the preposition ‘like’ is the new rule. Even facebook believes in it.

Talking of language, there is one more thing: never use your mother tongue when you want to get across with someone at, say, a kick-ass mall. If Kannada is your mother tongue, you’d better hide it and speak English. People may not respect you if you go about speaking Kannada. You then have a petit bourgeois mentality. You don’t believe me? I dare you. Go to some Café in Bengalooru and try.

Did you understand everything I said, you fucking assholes? And hey, get a tattoo. Tattoos have a history of their own. Tattoos, like perfumes, should reflect your personality. I don’t know which freak said it. But don’t you worry about it. Just get a tattoo, all right? Any design will do. Many film stars and rock stars have them, you know. That’s why you should also get them.

Do you understand, you freaking phoneys? Do it because everyone else is doing it. That’s the law. Support slut-walk, support tomato festival and support everything that’s western. Watch and encourage shows like Roadies and Big Boss and the lot, and learn how to be an asshole, for assholes and bitches are the new gentlemen and ladies. Did you get my drift? So, arise, awake! Stop not till you become an asshole!

I believe in every word I said. I have sworn to be like that. Maybe I already am. But if you think I’m not and yet to achieve the above standards, I promise you I’ll try my best to be one, soon. All I ask in return is one little thing: stay the fuck away from me and leave me alone. I don’t care about your success, I don’t care who your girlfriend is, I don’t care if you’ve bought a car, I don’t care if you’ve cleared some super-difficult exam; unless you are an important person in my life, I don’t care about anything that’s related to you.

I’ve lost interest in Cricket, I’ve no interest in reality shows, I rarely watch movies; for my world is something else, something beautiful, let me live in it. I don’t want to attend your parties and functions; so stop inviting me. I have no interest in your affairs, maintaining two girlfriends doesn’t make you a hero, so stop boasting about how and when you did them. I don’t give a rat’s ass.

For once let me live in the moment. Let me have my coffee, without your bugging about my life. Everyone has his own baggage and I have mine. For it’s heavy with lots of dreams and my creativity, it takes sometime for me to lift it. I’m not in a hurry. Let me travel, both inside and outside of me. Freedom is one of the easily available things in life, yet so costly. You have made it that way. Let me buy it for once. Get away from me. Get away from my world. Let me enjoy the silence around me, and if possible, the silence inside me. Let me run peacefully early in the morning, and while doing it let me try and grow wings, let me fly, leave me alone, let me breathe, let me live; let me live, while I’m still alive…

Copyright © Karthik 2011

Comments (18)

I've been on this trip for past 2 decades. and even NOW i get morons in my face telling me what is good and 'practical'; what is 'wasting time' what is 'profitable', what is the right time to achieve several milestones of one's life...and on and on and on. you'd think these imbeciles are super achievers...like they've wiped out diseases and poverty or something. stupid passionless feckless idiots.

stick to what you believe in and go on. i have no doubt the same goofs will come after your success with lolling tongues and say how they 'encouraged' you!

Find yourself some work. Walk into an ad agency. It'll get better

Last Man Standing, stand your ground that's a mark of a man :D The rest are mice. Nice write up.

I agree on every single word here..

People will not change and the will try changing others!
Go ahead with what you believe.

and regarding the coffee shops.. can't agree more.. I have now stopped using English and I say everything in the local language and I am not ashamed of it.

Hey Karthik.....Such is life!!
Live it, love it!! Ppl will try n discourage u but that's the sign...Kick their asses n move on!!! :) :)

wow. wOw. wOW. WOW! Boy, did I love that?! Absolutely. Oh, yes, I have thankfully not had people belabouring those things to be. It's perhaps because I am always looked at as a person with a forbidding attitude. And I really don't care, too, about what the Tom, Rams, Abduls, Beths and Priyas who have no stake or interest or emotional role in my life think about me.

I loved the word "assholitude". And as always, I loved the clamping down on "additude". The Armageddon is here, but we who believe in living and dying by our lights shall stand our ground, shan't we? Eventually, that's all that counts :)

Take care, Karthik.

I loved the following paragraphs not only because it is something I have experienced - and have been advocating for years - but also because it is something anyone with similar ideals will understand:

"Some loser once said, ‘Manners maketh man.’ Bring him to me and I shall break his neck, for I committed the sin of believing in his words and paid for it. It ain’t true, what he said. Bad, uncouth guys are the cool ones these days. Even the super-duper hit Ra. One says that. No, seriously, trust me on this. You are not supposed to reply when someone sends you a text message, you are not supposed to call them back when they are trying to reach you; courtesy, anyone? Come again. What’s that word? Nope. It’s obsolete. You are absolutely right when you say you are busy. Some pathetic losers visit your blog and read your literary masterpiece and leave behind a comment. What next? You are not supposed to reply. It’s as simple as that. I mean, why should you? Those morons don’t have anything to do, right? They are worthless, they are miserable. You don’t have to acknowledge them. Really.

You should learn some profane words and brazenly use them. Why? Because it’s the in-thing, man. You shouldn’t hesitate even when there are elders or children or women around. You should learn to use the word ‘fuck’ in different ways; as a noun, adjective, adverb, etc. If you don’t learn this art, your English is no good, believe me. I have thus learnt it and learnt it well, you fucking freaks. Oh, wait a second. It feels good to use the word. It feels fucking good. There you go. A gerund. "

i believe this blog post is hugely rhetorical..so i dont want to ruin it..jus wantd to say i enjoyed the read..

Surprised to see this post. Seeing you absent from your blog for a long time, I was expecting you to anounce your novel anytime.

Anyways everyone has their own battles and own existential crisises and come to terms with world in their own unique ways. Guess you will also do the same eventually.

You could just see these people you talk about as prospective characters for your stories and not give them much heed. If the world has many of these characters, so must the stories.

I enjoyed reading this.you portrayal of a person in deep,confusing thoughts was nice.

You scare me with the intensity of contempt for people. But you know what? The very same contempt drove me to start an anon blog and rant to my heart's content about all the fakers.
Only, much less effectively.

Assholitude - That's the word I've been looking for, for ages. Perfectly put!!

First time here so I wouldn't say nice post, good read etc. I can understand what you have gone through to write this, I so can. Been there my mate.

Cheers,
Soumya

moonbeam,
No one could have understood it better than you.

The Holy Lama,
Long time. Hope you are doing fine.
Well, it's not that I'm not working on anything. But I know what you mean. Thanks.

Anjali,
Haha.. :D Thanks. I will.

Ramya,
Exactly. You said it. They will try to change you. Glad you agree with me.

Jaunty,
Long time, yaar. Hope you are fine.
And yeah, I'm all for kicking asses, all right. Won't miss that chance. ;)
Thanks, Ridz!

Srini,
You are one of the lucky ones, then. But forbidding attitude? No way! People who say that must be zombies.
Thanks, man. I knew you'd understand.

leo,
Thanks, leo. Appreciate it.

The Fool,
I totally agree with you. I should treat them as characters for a story.
And novel! Hope that happens soon. Thanks, man.

Harika,
Oh, yes, he's a confused soul, all right.
But glad you enjoyed reading.

PeeVee,
Oh,no. Definitely not contempt. It's just one of those spur-of-the-moment ranting. I have a lovely, fun-filled life and I am a jovial person. But sometimes, some people get on my nerves. Can't help it.
Anyway, thank you.

Soumya,
Welcome to Eloquence Redefined.
Assholitude, it is!
You've been there too, eh? High-five then.
Thanks, Soumya. Keep visiting. Cheerios.

I was working on something and suddenly thought about your blog. You haven't posted in quite a while. And when I landed here, I saw this. How did I miss this post? I have no idea...

Moving on to the post...You come across as a very 'real' person. Your stories, your book reviews and of course, the chats I have had with you reveal that. I guess the useless chickenshit gyaan you get from such people is to be taken through one ear and thrown out through the other. Like some one has already commented, use them as characters in your stories. I say, make them the bullies, the villains, the bad guys who get battered and beaten by the hero towards the end!

Really looking forward to that book you told me about. Wishing you luck!

PS: Yekshi story pending! :p

Veens,
Yeah, was a bit busy these last few months. Now that the new year has kick-started, I'll write more. Thank you.
About the post, you said it all. That's exactly what I was trying to convey. Eager to hear the yekshi story. :D

Lead here by Moonbeam's write up.. Nice to see there is still some sense out there.. Oh btw I have been in Bengalooru and have no qualms shouting in Malayalam, Tamil or Hindi across a crowded mall. The person at the other end squirms sometimes and makes it worthwhile.

Which bring me to another important question: Is a Robert Ludlum book " the Sheperd" somewhere in your library. Have been looking for someone who has a copy for ages now.

Tito,
Welcome to Eloquence Redefined.
Sorry for replying so late. I somehow forgot.

Thank you so much. Glad you agree with me.

By the way, "The Sheperd" is a novella by Frederick Forsyth, not Robert Ludlum. And sorry. I don't have it. It's quite a good read though.

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