The Other Man

A simplistic story about marriage, love, trust and betrayal, The Other Man is about Peter and Lisa. They are happily married, or so it seems, with a daughter big enough to be wed herself. Still in love with each other, Lisa throws uncomfortable questions at Peter over a dinner conversation about the possibility of love coming from a person other than your spouse. Should one go for it? And if already gone for it, what awaits?

As the movie unfolds, Lisa apparently disappears and Peter comes across startling discoveries. His wife had been having an affair. Trips to Milan for fashion weeks and dress rehearsals were her excuses to meet her lover, Ralph.

12 years. She had been in love with two men - her husband as well as her lover for 12 long years. Guilt occasionally knocked her door. When it did, she hugged her husband tight and reminded him of the fact that she loved him a lot. Guilt eventually gave up.

People sure can be gullible. No, in fact people are not gullible. But the ones in love are.

Not once did Peter suspect his wife of betraying him. He loved her truly and believed that his wife too loved him and him alone. When one is in love, he lets down all his defence mechanisms and surrenders to that one person whom he loves so dearly. And when that one person breaks his trust, it is ever so difficult to come to terms with reality.

The way Peter couldn’t...

Beliefs couldn't get weirder...

My interest in random topics brought some facts to light. To be frank, it’s my fear which forced me to delve into this. I believe in superstitions without actually knowing how and why they exist?! So, this post is only and only a favour to myself :)

Why do we touch wood after mentioning good fortune? (So for me!!!)
Belief holds that spirits reside in trees (wood) and hence, if you say something good, you quickly touch wood so you are remembering and acknowledging them and also calling to them for protection against ill-fortune.
If wood is not to be found, you can touch your own head. (I do it but that’s self-deprecating!) And if nothing can be done, just saying touch wood is also sufficient.

Why shouldn’t we open an umbrella indoors?
Umbrellas are used for protection from the sun and rain. So if you open them inside, you are apparently annoying the sun-god and the rain-god. And hence, bad luck will chase you.
There are variations. Bad luck comes only if you open an unused umbrella inside the house for the first time. So if you bring a wet umbrella inside the house and open it for drying, it is not bad.
Dropping an umbrella on the floor means someone in the house will be murdered.

Why should we hold our breath when we go past a cemetery?
The strong belief is that with each breath, you will be inhaling evil spirits hovering in the air. Another story is that you are alive and breathing so you are making the dead jealous!

Why do we bless someone who sneezes?
Belief says that when you sneeze, the soul briefly moves out of the body which means that an evil spirit can take residence within you. So the next time you sneeze, cover your mouth, so that you tuck your own spirit back into you.

Wow! I feel enlightened. Amused and confused as before, maybe more, but enlightened.

Mind Games

“I have got to stop being superstitious”, is what I have been telling myself for the past one year...without any result of course.

I have a fear of sharing anything good that’s happened to me or my loved ones because I know I am jinxing it. I know that THAT happiness will not last long, now that I have told it to someone else. It’s almost as if it’s a crime to be happy and even worse, let people know about it! As if the devils have called for a conference to ruin my joy. If I have a plan of getting up early in the morning at 6 o’clock for jogging and have told a friend about it, it turns out, by default that I cannot get up the next day! As mundane as it sounds, it has always happened to me! Never has my superstitious belief failed me. So I touch wood to avert the tragedy. Don't know if that helps or no.

The other superstitions, although I don’t believe in them, I am scared to take up the challenge! Just to prove my point, I will neither cross the path that a black cat has passed nor allow somebody to step over me fearing that my vertical growth will be stunted.

Is it really true? Or is it all a psychological game that the universe plays with us? Or is it our mind playing the game with us?

I don’t think that it is harmful to believe in superstitions but I have this urgent need to overcome my fears. Fears like this that I, myself am generating.

‘How’ is the question. Any answers?