Bright lipstick does not equal rebellion

She is old news. The media, maybe even her celebrity family have moved on to more current topics. But I have had this note in my drafts for some time and I wanted to write it out. So, (late) Sunanda Tharoor, here's why I think you don't deserve my admiration.

I don't know much about you except for what little the media (social and otherwise) has decided to publish and I apologize in advance for my ignorance. But since this blog is just about my opinion, here goes.

You  were lauded by many and criticized by many others for your decision to live life on your own terms instead of following patriarchal rules. Both of these are values I admire. But I don't think you really lived outside those patriarchal norms. You may have ignored the rules of 'virtue' but you definitely seemed to adhere to other patriarchal rules. You seemed to personify the 'modern' high-society (read Page 3 socialite) woman. The kind that is typically distinguished by a particular kind of make-up and fashion choice more than anything else. The kind that helps establish the 'requirement' that women must look a certain way irrespective of the profession they are in -- a very patriarchal expectation.

So, if you were conforming to the patriarchal rules that worked for you and rejecting those that didn't, why were you lauded as a rule-breaker? Is that a crown that's now awarded to those who wear bright makeup and fashionable apparel? Because that is not the definition of a rebel. This smells like a new patriarchal rule to me.

Palpitations are pesky

I have decided that I don't like 'overly happy' people. (I don't think overly is a real word but it's the right adjective in this instance). I guess I always knew it somewhere deep down but just hadn't figured out if saying that out loud would make me a misanthrope.

And it's not as if a particular trigger set this rant off. It's more a case of having to deal with the overly happy-type too often. The kind that seem to pour excitement down a phone cord/air-wave, into myriad social media channels and (the worst) in-person. The kind that makes you feel like a misanthrope just because you don't automatically love all of humanity (I am not even sure if loving all humanity is necessarily safe). 

The kind that I have recently discovered, gives me palpitations. And forces me to calm my quick breathing. I think somewhere along the line, social media is to blame for pulling the dust covers off the overly happy-type. Pre-the barrage of constant emotions on display for the public to consume, the overly happy-type was probably bereft of the right communication channel. That's certainly changed. And with it, the ability to display unceasing happiness has increased manifold. Now, an unsuspecting (often sarcastic) comment by me on my limited-audience social media profiles risks being flooded with 'Likes' by an overly happy-type. This, in addition to the fact that the overly happy-types will always share the many joys in their life -- new cars, clothes, partners, holidays, babies, houses (if Indian, preferably in foreign lands) ad nauseum via their own social media profiles.

I think I would feel a little more kindly towards the overly happy-types if their updates sometimes included sarcasm/a mention of someone who was not themselves or somehow connected to them/some form of negativity. Anything, basically, that proved to me that they are less angelic and a little more human. I guess angels just cause my heart to palpitate. They feel a little too unreal. Fake, maybe?