"Ketchup has got to be one of the best inventions bestowed upon mankind," he declared, dipping his tasteless sandwich in to a bowl of ketchup.
Of course I had to agree.
I worshiped the thing.
You see, baby, while I was growing up, ketchup was the unwritten remedy for all of life's flaws; cold fried rice, burned noodles, chicken fry, sandwiches of all shapes and assortments, ketchup ruled my turf and rocked my world until I was enslaved, enraptured, a willing captive.
Ketchup made every culinary experience so much more tasty, sometimes edible and other times, even tolerable.
And that is what I wish for you, dearest baby.
I do not wish that recognition or deep awe be bestowed upon you, for seldom is a song sung or a poem written to the praises of a bottle of ketchup.
I do not wish that you be acknowledged for your outstanding brilliance or your individual talent, for seldom is ketchup used in isolation.
I wish, instead, that by your mere presence, you enhance that of someone else, that as with ketchup, you bring out the best in others, that you silently contribute and well.
I wish, that by being administered, you make tolerable that which is not, that you be heralded as every person's savior in times of bad food, bad days or distress, for you are willing and able and more, you are available.
I wish, that while I'm not sure if consistency is always better than being a trail blazer, since it's better you wear out occasionally than rust ever too often, I wish that as with ketchup, you be equal to all, maybe even be predictable as a person. That you do not manipulate, use, rather you grow, encourage.
I wish, also, that you being meek, realize it is not cowardly or being weak, for like with ketchup, being an add-on instead of the show-stopper is not a bad thing, baby.
It really ain't no bad thing.
8 comments:
Hi!
Very, very, very impressive allegory and analogy!
I could gather two ideas - it is alright to not be the "show-stopper", and that it is commendable to serve as enhancing or ameliorating force on people/situations that leave a bad taste in the mouth (are not good people/situations).
I totally agree with the first idea, but for the second (you recommend utilizing one's 'inner ketchup' to people also and not just life-situations), I realized for me how much effort should I put to improve someone's life is directly proportional to how much I value them, which in turn is mostly related to how good/bad humans they are. Because if I end up being consistent (and equal to everyone) like ketchup, I am being fundamentally unjust to those who take the effort to be 'good', and partial towards who remain 'bad'. It would also amount to disregarding my own judgement and instincts (of devotion to those I value, and measured distance from those I do not) - to deny the human in me that values and devalues fellow humans. I would be acting like an automaton - adding value to everyone indiscretely (choice of adverb could have ranged from 'consistently' to 'rampantly'; so 'indiscretely' was a compromise of sorts with moderation as an end :D )
But anyway, a lot depends upon what attribute of ketchup is to be used for analogy.
Without getting much figurative, I would like to remind you yet again, ketchups are very high in sodium and can cause hypertension to one consuming it, and by application of your analogy to humans, to ketchup itself! ;)
Anyway, I remember your extolling the virtues of ketchup, and my warning you of the sodium content in it. So, I guess most of my comment must have sounded very repetitive to you. It was only to remind you that just because tasty things like ketchup (like you) exist, bland but healthy things (like me) will not cease to exist! :P Possibly, we (our polar opposite attitudes when it comes to optimism v/s pessimism; calculation v/s spontaneits and logical-driven morality v/s instinct-driven morality) justify each others' existence. :)
Did I just try to improve the overall palatability of my entire comment through the last paragraph? Possibly. Ketchup, in moderation is not a bad thing. :D
Really nice to see you write. Keep it up (ketchup bottle should not be capped so tight that it opens just once in a while! ;) )
And, take care.
Sorry, for the innumerable typos! :(
Edited per your ketchup-y insights :)
Aren't 'wearing out' and 'rusting' just two extremes? Isn't there something that falls between the two, viz., judicious "administration" of ketchup based on who deserves it and how much? Ketchup knows exhaustion and human knows fatigue. But I guess, I'm only getting all the more repetitive. Possibly, only because just 3 years back I used to believe in and follow your kind of philosophy. Now, I only somewhat follow it, but against my heart and conviction. I end up being nice and helpful to entirely undeserving people, and do not hold it much against myself, but yes, each time I do that, it gives rise to a feeling of unrest, of loss of control over the self, and most importantly, of being unfair, of going against the spirit of justice.
But anyway, I guess, we all change - maybe for good, maybe for bad. Everyone's "good" and "bad" are also different, and keep on changing. We determine good as those things that we feel will carry us towards the ultimate purpose of our life, and bad as those that carry us away. What is that ultimate purpose - to be a good human (as defined by the society and/or the self) or to be happy (as defined by the society and/or the self)? I think fundamentally, here is where you and I differ. But it ought to be remembered that both the purposes are not mutually exclusive in their mode of attainment. If there is a conflict between the two, it is only a sign of proactive conscience.
But why am I ranting so much? I think the most important lesson I could teach you is that - babies have a terrible knack of out turning out different than how their parents wish! :P They follow their parents in the childhood, and do exactly the opposite in their adolescence. So, if you want your baby to be good as a child, and in hope that she would emultate you, if you end up being a good human, then you run a high risk of her being a bad adolescent! If you set example as a bad human, then she would turn out a good adolescent (and adult), but a bad child! So the best approach is to confuse her! Don't set a pattern of behavior. It is in this regard that inconsistency is highly recommended! :P
And lastly, God may or may not be Great, subject to existence, but ketchup definitely is! [thumbs up!]
This is a BEAUTIFUL post!
Okay, I don't know if beautiful is the word for it, but I think the message is Beautiful. :)
Ketchup does make everything taste better. But I don't know how Javed Jaffri in the Heinz ad is able to survive for years ENTIRELY on ketchup. I mean, thats far-fetched.
Seriously, your ideas and everything are my Bible. :)
Thank you S :)
(Deep blush)
is it a PR for any KetchUp company :P
jokes apart.. Thanks for the Gyan on KetchUP
I havent read this post!
will read it and surely leave a comment!!
for now I just wanted to know if u still remember me!@ :P
Jeevy on 20Somethings! ;)
emil me sometime, we have some catching up to do.
rajeev.kr85@gmail.com
-I
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