Shakespeare wrote about men and women in every detail and our epics also did the same long ago. But new characters are surfacing, not second-guessed by anyone before. Leave alone movies and comics that produced new characters to grab the attention of kids and new buyers to sell their wares linked to the characters they portrayed. Writers from the mainstream are now coming out with stories dotted with weird characters who are neither heroes nor distractors, leave alone Puck-like characters.
I met with varied characters. But only after my father’s death, I began ’judging’ people. During his time, he filled my psyche with his queer avatars that changed by the day. He played myriad characters beyond Shakespeare’s comprehension or on the lighter side, that of Wodehouse. But his basic nature was always genuine and benign. On the converse, I appeared to him maybe like Don Quixote fighting with windmills, and he thought he was one of those giants.
Sometimes it may surprise how those people come into existence. This is despite their supposedly queer characters being good or bad. Some of my bosses looked stranger than fiction—blame it on role play. They may or may not be so at home.
Then one day, a character who is relatively strange enters life in the form of a loving partner. Suddenly that person becomes one’s alter ego. The feeling will be mutual between partners. Their minds read as under like I saw them written somewhere: "I'm totally into you."; "I love you from the bottom of my heart."; "I'm yours."You complete me."; ”We're meant/perfect for each other."; "We have good chemistry."; "I'm mad about you”; etc. Later on, the script may not read the same or stay unchanged. The manifestation of characters depends on the given circumstances. People who are under the scanner might behave differently. Ex: Legislators and characters in TV game shows like Big Brother or Bigg Boss.
In our culture particularly, we accept all kinds of characters perhaps by taking a leaf out of our epics, for instance, Dasha avatar. Our tolerance levels are high to be legendary, thanks to our sacred texts. Nothing is odd for us; there might be godliness in every avatar or treasure under every stone. Among the poorest of the poor, we see Narayana, our supreme god. Our Vasudhaika Kutumbam is an inclusive concept replete with legions of characters.
In our nation, if one jumps the queue, that may not look odd, but only an opportunity for some other ’lucky’ guys to follow suit. If one dresses differently as in a torn pair of pants, it is okay. If someone oddly asked me a personal question, it is a godsend invitation to let the world know the other side of my story. It's the same thing with characters known for bribe-taking/ giving, borrowing reading material without asking, intruding on time and space, freeloading-- not speaking of overloading everywhere. And the list is inexhaustible. All have their own cogent defenses. The characters above might even include yours truly Forgive-and- forget is also our national character besides the mainstay characteristic of considering two wrongs as one right. Our general political views mirror this. We tend to return to power our failed political leaders in the next elections.
All said, we have amongst us some wonderful people. We also have nice family characters sticking with us through thick and thin. This characteristic trait is hardly found elsewhere in the world. Our national/personal time and effort are theirs for the asking. We also have an abundance of do-gooders close at hand, in our neighborhood and extended families. They guide us from cradle to grave. They even invite us and offer something to eat and drink, besides, of course, free counsel.
Finally, I dare say that our common man takes in everybody easily more than anyone else. I agree that perceptions differ from person to person as they are rooted in the region, language -diction and accent included, culture, class, education, vocation, color, sex, age, upbringing, and exposure among others.
After much reflection, I decided to be in the shoes of others, at least for a second every day. Prejudging is an instinctive trait that hurts badly. Going all the way and looking from the others’ perspective helps one to realize that the other person is merely one amongst us and not from Mars.
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