“Kid”- ish Blues!!!

08th July, 2007 “You look so kiddish!”, “You just don’t look your age!”, “I can’t believe you are that old!” – I am pretty used to hearing such comments from people around. (I refuse to take it as a compliment; you’ll understand why if you read any further) And quite obviously, I hate it! Try as I might, I just don’t seem to crack my “baby” image… so much so, that my office colleagues openly address me by pet names commonly given to babies, and my boss calls me her “bachcha” [which means “baby”]! What’s more, there are two more colleagues of mine who are of the same age as I am, and yet, it is only me who is subjected to this ignominy! Let me relate a few recent events which have made me squirm and blush madly, and which have prompted me to write this, to my readers here! EVENT 1: Thanks to the non-stop rains that had submerged Kolkata in the past week, and the water-logged streets that I had to wade through on my way to office, I’d been wearing a short skirt to office. Once I reached, I’d change into my usual trousers. All this, I tried my best to accomplish without getting noticed by my colleagues! Unfortunately, I never quite achieved it! The worst was the day a colleague of mine and I entered office together, but he didn’t acknowledge me. Later, he apologized by saying, “Oh, I was wondering who this little girl is! I really didn’t recognize you!” EVENT 2: A session at the beauty salon was long overdue, and the first chance I got was well utilized towards the same! The Salon that I usually visit is the most famous in our locality, and does a lot of Bridal make-up. And this is the season of marriages in Kolkata. Quite naturally, the “brides” get the first preference, while customers like yours truly have to wait patiently for their turn to come! Hence, what usually takes me three hours at the Salon, took five long hours that day! Now, the quiet person that I am, I chose not to complain and patiently make do with the slow service that I was getting, with a smile. After about four hours, one beautician (the one who had ushered me in) suddenly realized that I was still at the Salon. She exclaimed, “Arre, yeh bachchi to subah ke dus baje se aayi huyi hai! Khaana bhi nahi khaaya hoga isne! Jaao, kuchh le aao is ke liye! ” [Arre, this little girl has been here since ten in the morning! She’s not even had lunch, I’m sure! Go, get something for her!] Within seconds, the entire Salon was busy pampering me, getting me something to eat, something to drink, something to fill my supposedly hungry stomach! And soon, there was a plate of chocolate cream biscuits and a bottle of Pepsi in front of me! All the other customers, including the Brides and the other customers who were also waiting for their turns, turned to look at me, surely wondering whether I was the daughter of a premium customer or of a VIP (surely they could not be thinking that I was either, because I “don’t look my age”, remember?!) I was squirming with embarrassment. It took me another hour to get out of there, and within that hour, I was nearly force-fed the biscuits (by repeated questions about why I was not eating, and if I wanted a different flavor!), had been urged to eat a few more biscuits at least five times, and was asked ten times whether my hunger’s been satisfied!!! And all because, I, according to them, was a “little girl” who should not (or cannot) stay hungry and thirsty! What a sticky and awkward situation!!! People spend so much time and money trying out the many tips on “how to look younger”. I wish someone would tell me “how to look older”!!!