Just a Thought

No favours and
No questions

Yamin Tauseef Jahangir

WE love to get our things done by others. Like admit it, not a single day passes by when you do not ask for favours. It almost runs in your veins to be on another person's shoulder, with the index pointed out and you start off with a poke. Then with a very shy or a cunning smile you begin with all the flowery words you have never thought of using even with your beloved. The person on the other end is completely cornered, you know it, and he knows it, and then it all depends upon how manipulative you can be to get the ball in your court.

Many do not understand the problems that they create for others. They would ask for just anything and everything right on your face, and regardless of the fact that it is feasible for you to do it or not, they remain indifferent. So either you have to be reluctant over the whole issue, or you do need to have an escape plan or a safe exit. We are also good at 'buttering' people. It goes around in every sector of our lives. Be it in the government or in a private world, you have to know how to say “Bhai please, ektu jodi…” or “Boss dekhen na…” while adding all the melody to your tone. Also you have to be accustomed to the adjectives that these people would love to hear all the time. Once you have mastered that, the door to prosperity is not very far ahead my friend. You will find the smooth talkers in every nook and corner and they are the ones who pull off a good show in getting the upper hand. You will see them talking in twisting tongue, delivering an accent which God knows where it came from, but still you remain in awe and surprisingly mesmerized by it. The end result is you are completely convinced and in most occasions you do not know exactly why.

Some do not get the fact that they can be on other people's nerves at times. You know what is going on, but still you have this desire to ask the most obvious question, to which you do get the most obvious answer as well. But the poking goes on. A gentleman on a direct flight to Chittagong from Dhaka offered a person to have the window sit. Being as overwhelmed as he could be, the person then decided to start a conversation. So he asked, “Are you going to Chittagong?” The gentleman with a witty smile responded, “No, in fact I'll drop off at Feni!” Why on earth would you ask a person such a dumb question in the first place on a direct flight? It is not hard to imagine the conversations, if any, that might have followed after such a response. You must have come across people in your life, who just do not know when to stop. If you are happy, they will ask the reason for it, and then the volley of questions that come along are enough to turn your happy hour into the saddest day of your life. If you are sad then these characters will add to your misery and take you to the zenith of your frustrations. Well, after that whether you drop your guards of patience or hold onto it totally depends upon you, but for them, it really doesn't matter.

The only conclusion that you can draw from the above facts is that we have developed a quality of doing the wrong. You must know how to be self-dependent and also should possess enough confidence in your bag to work your way out. You see, once you put a leash on such a habit you are radiating the positive side of you. It does not happen with a snap of the fingers and takes a long time, but once you start the process you will reach the other side for sure. Apart from this, groom yourself to the point where you are no longer considered to be 'annoying,' because that vibe is hard to wash off from your sleeve. We all should learn when and how to give privacy to another person and on top of that, people should stop asking questions all the time.

Photo: Lars G Safstrom / gettyimages