Today, I ask you kadavule , to throw any kind of adversary
you can imagine of at me, but never again, this damn cold, This damnation OF
THE COLD !!! If ever given ever given an extra thought to what that 'common
cold' can do to you? You are so wrong! Here I am , the sole witness to the
evilness and brutality of that “common cold“ .It not only makes your nose run
so hard it could win a marathon, triathlon or whatever Athlon; it changes your entire
life.
Suddenly, you can't eat what you want. All those dahi chats
and cold juices are sudden out of your lists. You may have the money that day
by god’s grace and there will be your best friend will be standing like a hawk
near the bill counter, making sure you order all hot things on a hot afternoon
with a sweet disposition! Evil tyranny! You can't buy cokes, ice creams and all
those chocolates that suddenly appear twelve * twenty four times tastier.
Instead, you have to buy no less than 7 extra rolls of tissue paper.
You can't sit in lab without irritating your colleague with
a *snort snort* every few minutes. You annoy them even more when you request
them, with your phlegm-dripping nose, smelly handkerchief and *achhooooo*
saliva dripping mouth, "Do you mind if I switch off the A/c for a while?”
Imagine what being a constant annoyance at lab could mean. It can affect your treat,
your morale, your work atmosphere, your productivity, your share of your
colleague's lunch and so much more. But try asking for leave because you caught
a cold, and they say, "Come on, it's just a cold". Just a cold? It
could cost me my whole life, goddamnit!
Well if you're in college and a student though, cold can be
fun. At least, for your classmates. It is afternoon, the room is warm, the
boring lecturer is droning on to glory and everyone daydreaming with glazed
eyes. And then, suddenly, "Acchoo!” There is a muffled mutter of 'Excuse
me'. In the next two minutes, "Achoo Achoo" again. Now everyone's
attention is focused on you. They are glad for the change - even sneezing
sounds better than the lecture. The lecturer glares at you and goes back to his
notes. He begins to speak again, "So, as I was saying, the most important
concept you need to understand today is" - "Aa... Aah... Aacchhooo!”
Now the class is in splits. "I'm so - *achhooo* - sorry, sssir"
*acchooo*
Sleeping is a nightmare. If you sleep at all, that is. To
start with, the A/c is switched off. Your delicate body that was accustomed to
sleeping at 18 degrees centigrade refuses to sleep in the 30 degree nights of
Chennai. And then there are the mosquitoes that use the non-a/c nights to the
maximum and threaten to leave you anemic by morning. Then of course, there is
the cold itself. Your nose either runs rivers down it (like Mumbai in the
monsoons) or blocks itself up (like the Cauvery dam). Net result - you either
need to keep awake all night trying to wipe goo off your face Or, you die of
suffocation.
What cannot be cured has to be endured they say. But the
thing with colds is that you have to endure them till they decide to cure
themselves. Colds have character. I always remember Rajinikanth’s dialogue in “Chandramukhi”
“Maatharai sapta 7 naal, maatharai sapdaati oru vaaram,” Anyhow this one week is
gonna be a hell for me. Sometimes I can almost hear them mock at me when I pop
in a pill, "You think you can kill me with that? Try me!” Well, say what
you want, this one I'm never going to be able to make friends with.
All the owners of running noses in the world, I'm with you
in your struggle against this horrible disease! See a doc, Stay patient (in
both senses) and May the Lord bless you with the virtue of endurance. Amen.!
