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?