“Keeping Up with the Jayatungas”

The last few years associating with one circle of friends has caused me to re-assess my values of things that are important. Comparisons of house, cars, mobile and clothes resulting in massive revenue for automobile industry and trading industries in general have been profitable (although inflation is going up!). A part of the women have been seen competing with each other and do the same thing. I got caught up in this slightly and was busy shopping like there is no tomorrow.

Getting a bit mad about materialistic things were ok but the others were getting out of hand with the same hair cuts same salons same everything.( can you believe that five women I know have the same hair cut ditto) I think I reached the point of seeing light when one day we had a conversation which goes like this.

F 1 : What are you doing to your house blah blah blah

F2 ; I am getting this light blah blah

More blahs were exchanged and I was happily lost in dream world when they realized that I was zoned out and pounced on me

F 1 So you are at a rented place santhoshi, not thinking of getting your own place

Me: Well I can’t really afford to buy my own place so we live for rented

(The Two Fs completely ignore what I said)

F 2: I think you know it’s important for us to have our own houses, I think Tamils don’t like to have their own houses.

I said nothing kept quite.

The two friends are not of the same religion and are very good friends who are educated. I don’t think the conversation was meant to be on racially motivated either they just believe that Tamils for some strange reason don’t want to live in own houses.

It’s just that now that the situation here is so bad, that every little thing which is said out of people’s unawareness bother me. The people who were having conversation did not really care about what the other person was doing they were only doing a comparative analysis of who had the better stuff.

IF I said this out aloud at that point, I would have been immediately branded as a jealous cow. Having my own place has not been a priority to me anyways (but then again I should not have been posting this if it was not that a big deal, damn I am confused now!)

(F does not stand for any fowl language)