I am an Actress!

One balmy Sunday afternoon I had an encounter with a couple that tried to get to know me... "Hi - what do u do?" "Me?, well Im an actress" Bazoonga!!! I could already see a thousand opinions being formed, a thousand suppressed expressions, a wry smile appear before the next almost condescending comment, "Oh nice!" Why? Why do I even feel that I should make up an imaginary profession before I go to a new city or meet new people.. ? Why do you guys bastardize my profession and form a zillion opinions about me before you even try and get to know who I am... Can’t blame you though.. We have always been projected as a "type" haven’t we? Probably one reason why my folks wouldn't let me get into this profession and argued with me for close to a year before they gave in! Its different now ,they respect the art as they have had a chance to see what lies beneath the glitz n glamour. Sweat, blood, feverish passion, teamwork(thats right) , grit, determination.. I can go on and on.. Why am i writing this? 'Cos if another cliched question or joke about actress’ come’s my way,I might just burst.. Into a fit of rage, into a bout of crying, into delirious laughter... Oh, these emotions are part of the Navras ,by the way, nava -9 , rasa - essence, 9 emotions used in our day to day life, used to convey our essential mental state .Did you know that ,dear type-caster? I remember going to an underground stand up comedy show in NYC and me and my 2 Indian friends who reside there, over enthusiastically took the table right in the front row! He went on to pick on us (but of course) , asked for our nationality, and when we said India, he asked us ,with much sarcasm, if we were a bunch of doctors or engineers. The other two went quiet because they were engineers,however they very sweetly pointed at me and said "she is an actress" ! What happened next was a banal 15 minute session of jokes about how he'll make me famous in hollywood if I 'hung' out with him ! It was funny though.. But as this man went on with it, he again made me wonder if this is a global phenomena! Again, dear reader, why am I writing this.. Maybe after 5 years in this glorious industry of mine that has given me so much, it pains me that you still think that my job is petty and that I am someone who reads and quotes cosmo and knows nothing about matters of the world! That said and done ,may I add, I have also learnt to be compassionate against Judge Simons like you. I control my aversion, and continue to love my profession.. Oh - by the way, compassion, aversion and love, these emotions are the other 3 parts of the nava rasas… And yes, I love Cosmo, I read it in my spare time when my eyes burn out from watching Ted talks videos and when I need to get my mind off Atlas Shrugged for a bit! Hey did you know that nail polish dries out faster if you put hairspray on it?

Karan and I

The first memories I have of him and me ,are us getting dressed up for a photoshoot in the farm! He was supposed to hold a gun n wear my grandpa's army beret, guess he was playing army man, and I was supposed to be in a pink frock .. Well, I think I was playing girly girl! I dont know what exactly happened after that 'cos in the photo it was me holding onto the gun n wearing the beret - complete with a 'stern army man' look on my face and he was just standing next to me in his shirt and shorts, looking a bit disappointed! Those were the few years when I was the taller one .. Also being a year older might have given me the freedom to bully him, but then i still do that anyway ;) Karan then went onto become tall.. Taller than everyone in the family.. The next summer when he came over to spend time with us , I remember this tall lanky bean pole ,jumping off the jeep , extending hand for a handshake n saying 'Hello'! Damn, did he just grow really tall? Does this mean I cant bully him anymore? As all these thoughts were building up, I heard his mom say, "Where are all the chocolates that we bought for nidhi ?" . He looked at me with straight face n said, "I ate em up on the way. Its all over. Sorry." ( I swear I heard a menacing laugh after that) That summer was much fun, much fun 'cos till date all those memories are as fresh as if it happened yesterday... (and to think my friends chide me now 'cos I forget peoples names n faces easily!!!) That year my dad had bought me a pair of roller skates and Karan n I decided to learn how to skate (after calling truce about the chocolate thingy of course) . Now every afternoon when our parents would nap, we would be out there on the coffee drying yard , trying our skills at being the next champions of India! After 3 days of falling flat on our faces - literally, we decided to improvise n create a new game! He would sit on the skates n I would pull him around , like a chauffer , and give him a grand trip of the glorious yard. Guess he found it boring 'cos when it was my turn to sit on the skates in a squatting position kinda way, he gave one big mighty push n I was headed straight towards a pit with nothing to hold onto to stop myself! I guess instinct kicked in and I broke the speed by sitting on my, well, for the loss of a better word - bum , and got dragged a few metres anyway, dangerously stopping just before the big fall! After that, I wanted to beat him up. Even more, when dad applied hydrogen peroxide on the wound! By the way, a bottle of hydrogen peroxide was my dads 'go to' for any one of me or my cousins who got hurt! I still shiver when I see a bottle ! He would kill me now if I didnt mention what happened the summer after that 'cos this story is complete only after this incident (according to him)! So, another over zealous cousin had invented a new game where you take a handful of ice cubes and tie it to the end of a long piece of cloth, hold onto the other end n twirl it around (full throttle) n throw it at a fruit /window/annoying aunt or whatever we were aiming for! It was really exciting, 5 of us twirling rocks of ice , feeling like we were out there hunting for mankind. Now , Karan , who till now was in the kitchen drinking bournvita, comes out of nowhere, walks straight upto me to inform that my bournvita is going cold n that I should go in quickly to drink it and WHACK! His head gets hit by my ice weapon! What happened afterward was a blur of aunts rushing in, yelling at us- especially at that other guy who invented the game, tending to the bump on Karans head, and well.. Reheating and drinking the bournvita that had gone cold! Till date , whenever I mention the skating story, he impatiently waits for me to finish , narrates the 'summer after that' story n completes it with 'And thats how she took her revenge!' .Ass! After a few years he came to Mysore city for his engineering and I automatically became his tour guide and mentor, to educate him about important things like where exactly from the hill is the view perfect for watching the palace get illuminated every sunday, where to park your bike at the first cafe coffee day that had opened recently, where all the cool boys n girls would hang out.. And introduce him to the amazing biryani at RRR and the burgers at downtown! So on n so forth.. We were in the same college.. At that time when ragging was at a peak in the boys hostel where he was staying at, I once asked him to turn around n sit on my scooter ,rather than sit normally! Just for fun! "Noo Nidhi noooo , there are seniors around and I'd be dead if they caught me like this" .. "Huh? They cant do anything to you, just sit" I said.. And then took him around the sprawling campus of our college ..! Well, seniors did spot him, he went cold.. Was later called into the boys hostel , and was asked how he had the audacity to sit behind a girl n drive around the campus.. And that too , sitting the other way round! He didnt describe what exactly happened after that but i saw him flinch when the ragging scene came on while we were watching 3 idiots... Once on my birthday, he bought me 3 paperback editions of Calvin and Hobbes and hid 'em around the house, with little clues that would lead me from book to another! My little treasure hunt birthday .. :) Thats been my best gift till date ! Karna. I cant even begin to tell you how proud I am of you.. And you know what? Though I behave like the kid sister asking for your attention and driving you mad with my inane ways, I'm here , for you, always... You know that right?