Game of Numbers.

We know it is the season of Mangoes when the temperatures soar and we find ourselves sweating and sweltering through our daily routines. Most deservedly the king of the fruits with its yellow fragrant goodness, and satisfying richness leaves no man standing. Me and the mango; has all the makings a true love story; the twinkle in my eye upon the sight of the mango, the quickness in step moving towards the mango and the love high upon gorging the mango in all its glory. But alas! As Shakespeare said the course of true love never did run smooth nor does my love for mangoes come without its issues.

After eating mangoes to my heart’s content for over two weeks, I step on the weighing scale and realise either the scale is broken or my mango filled heart. Its clear very quickly that the mango is now deposited happily on my waist line giving a certain unexpected permanency to our relationship which now quickly sours. I swiftly decide to avoid all sugar for at least a week or two till the scale reflects the number I want.

As I was going on with life in my now cranky no sugar; no mango self, I think to myself of all the other numbers that can easily manage to dent our self esteem. Today life is all about metrics, weight number, age number, appraisal number, earning money number, spending money number, saving money number and in few years, it will probably extend to cholesterol number and the likes. Numbers, lend everything a certain objectivity making them vulnerable to judgment and comparison.

I feel everyone is going through life, doing the best they can and sometimes, the need for some sort of validation for their efforts culminates into standards being defined with the help of these very numbers. What starts usually as a way of positive reinforcement becomes a cause of anxiety and creates pressure, if we are falling short of these numeric figures-which is inevitable at some point or the other. We try to fit ourselves inside these slots carved out of the harsh, unmoving standards and anything outside of it automatically falls under the category of guilty pleasures, for which we feel the need to be apologetic.

A holiday taken with loved ones, with its experiences and moments of joy can just not be summed up with the effect it has on the bank balance or, in the photos uploaded on social media. We need to realise through all this that though numbers, define a certain normal it cannot be everyone’s normal. Our life is tailor made for us and has its own standards so a few deviations here and there in figures or timelines is just our journey. We cannot let the numbers define our existence and lead them for us to curb our desires or the will to choose our own path. Therefore lets cut up the mango guilt free and let its sweetness permeate our being in this hot Indian Summer, while the extra kilos just being the new normal of the love story that is Me and the Mango.