Avatars- They are all Right Here

We in India have heard stories of the avatars of Vishnu- ten of them. So what's the equivalent for us?

Maybe the roles we end up playing in life. Though not as spotless as those played by the Gods, we do play them in our own way. Sometimes (to use filmy analogies) we are the nanha munna mischief-maker who is every grownup's pet, sometimes the Rajesh-Khannaesque lover boy (Sharmilaesque lover girl), or the Bachchan-like angry young man out to avenge a thousand wrongs done to self or society. Sometimes the jester, a la Asrani or Deven Verma or Mehmood (or Tuntun aka Uma Devi). And sometimes the extra on the sidelines.

Sometimes the Soorma Bhopali who boasts about his (mythical) conquests, the all-protective Bhaiyya (big brother), the cudgel-picking daughter-in-law, or the gyan-spouting philosopher father. I remember one dialogue of that kind from Saira Banu's dad in 'Padosan' in particular. When his wife (Saira's mother) pesters him about how their daughter is of marriageable age and he is not concerned about it, he replies philosophically, "Jab jab jo jo hona hai, tab tab so so hota hai" (what has to happen will happen when it has to).

Coming to the self, the boring academic, the bored student, the leader of an enthusiastic bunch, author, the 'virtual friend' of many in the ether (you might call this an ethereal role), and that of a blogger with some readers (a wonder, in this age of distractions), are some others that come to mind.


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