Superstitions

Superstition, the irrational hope against hope. It is either the seed of doubt that someone sows in your head or the ray of hope that you hope to see even though its cloudy outside. Forget judging everyone else, let me tell you a little story about myself. I pride myself to be a person wary of superstition and blind faith. I don't ridicule them but I don't believe in most of them either. But a few years ago, I tagged along with some friends to a renowned astrologer in South Delhi out of curiosity. I don't know whether it was her 3 storey bungalow in GK1 or the stilettos on her feet but to my rational mind, she did not fit the image of a typical astrologer so I gave in to the temptation of getting my future told. Lets just say that wasn't such a smart move. She did what astrologers do best, put the seed of doubt of impending disaster in my mind and then also told me how to circumvent the same. To cut a long story short, 18 months and countless boxes of sweets donated to Gurudwaras later, my life remained just as it was before, nothing better and no worse.

When I was in school, I always made a wish on a mail van. I would cross my fingers and not say a word till I saw a black car. It took many years of futile wishing to realise that the Barbie house wasn't going to be wished into my life, I would have to take more concrete steps. Then came the age of wishing as I crossed a subway while a train passed above. And more recently, my final hope and futile wish at Chishti Dargah in Fatehpur Sikri.

Taking the 3 decades of my life as an indicative sample (if Freud can do it, so can I), I think I can safely say that superstitions are just that - superstitions. Blind faith. Wishes don't come true by wishing them. You have to make them happen. If problems were solved by wearing stones, Obama wouldn't have any bare fingers left now, would he?!