Growing up.

The food court here has an amazing appetite given its capability to gulp in more than a thousand hungry employees in a shot. Its a sight standing at one corner of this huge dome looking at the buzz every day. Also, it is indeed a struggle to find three vacant seats and then rush to capture it before any one else's claim. Having successfully tolerated this routine, colleague who always brings some interest to the boring office lunches with his comments, questions and observations, passed a casual comment, "'look at that guy, is he really wearing Armani'?. I looked and thought- obviously not. Meanwhile, he cam up with his second cutting edge observation. "No, can't be, i mean look at his 'campus' shoes". Basically this colleague of mine is a very nice guy, so immediately out of guilt he said, "look how we have become, in our childhood did we cared for such things? Why do we care now?". I thought may be because we have grown up. We have become sophisticated. We are no more that child who reciprocates any ones and everyones love with a smile. We now need a reason to smile, to like and further love someone. The spontaneity of that love reflected in a child's smile has vanished. The child has no need to get impressed to give you a smile. We, the grown-up's need to be impressed. On contrary, we get cynical about a strangers smile.

As we grow up, we start looking around for the best. The best clothes, the best shoes, the best watch, the best girl. Thats keep us ticking, gives us some inspiration to get up and move in the world of which we got bored long back. We start taking pleasure in the best, pursuing the best.

This, if stays in its original form is still a defend-able thing what we call pursuit of excellence. Slowly this habit finds an extension in getting associated with the excellence and then with the excellent and then with what that excellent is wearing or driving.

In our desperate search of excellence and excellent, we start making snap judgement. Excellent drives BMW becomes BMW hmm.. must be excellent.

You can't just be. Like you were born. Just to be. Not to prove. If you start just being, at times you are ridiculed, or for sure not given due importance. But that is justified. Its a give and take world. You can not always expect to be at receiving end without being asked for something in return.

I feel like puking when i hear someone saying, 'how can you like her, you didn't see the kind of footwear she was wearing'? or 'You saw his clothes? didn't look like an IIM pass out'. Someone wants to flaunt her pursuit of excellence by going for a brand or not is completely her choice.

Having said all that, I know I 'grow up' a bit every time I get myself a smart phone or a branded shoe. Or rather every time, I succumb to the requirements of the world to pose myself as a 'grown up'. A grown up, in pursuit of excellence, in pursuit of the best, perfectly studded with perfect brands.