Shantam Paapam

Disclaimer: Read no more than the title of this article if you have better things to do in life. Well, if you haven’t, there is always scope for some gibber gabber!

Quick questions!!! 

Did you any time sign up for a gym membership in January of some blah blah year and drop out before the month end? 

Did you at least once bake a mouth- watering delicacy and dig right in, oven fresh, and finish all of it by yourself? 

Did you in the past head out shopping for a bestie or loved one and come home bankrupt with a guilt-ful of giftie for yourself? 

Fret not dear sinner. Behold the (imaginary) sight of audience rising up slow-clapping, shaking their heads wiping tears off their eyes. Let us unite in the desperate prayer of some shantam paapam! 

When I heard this ticklishh word for the first time, (ticklishh because it sort of made me giggle for a whole minute), I found the meaning as asking for forgiveness of all the wicked deeds. That is when I knew I was going to third world after life: neither heaven, nor hell. I would go to shantam paapam dimension full of crazy-grinning-folks, bagful of mischiefs up their sleeves and innocent faces you wouldn’t want to fall for! 

If you find yourself smiling right now, something tells me you are full of creep stories and evil laughs. 

What fun it is to cheat in uno and target the would-be winner, what fun to break mom’s porcelain vase and blame the clueless house pet, what fun to try cracking open phone passwords and scaring the hell out of your partner’s life and what fun to try make up skills on your bestie’s face, making her look out of this world (literally)! Why not conjure not-so-evil tasks and plans and trouble your loved ones for them to have an energetic day? May I suggest some board games on weekends, a hand at a difficult recipe for the hungry eaters to gulp down and not notice the burned aroma, some un-melodious karaoke to add in the silence of your home and some girls’ night out full of absolute gossip. 

Years ago and now to some extent, I would run horror movie marathons and keep the entire house illuminated for months together, forbidding house mates to switch off lights. I also have a clear memory of applying lipstick in grade 1 and wiping it off on daddy’s fresh shirt only to spark a Mahabharata at home. I also remember playing tug of war with my doggie and the unexpected popping out of his tooth which almost had me disowned. 

The deal is, most of us forget that bits of mischief or light- hearted jokes can kick start our day. We get in the daily grind of logging in at work, parking in the right spaces, completing the repetitive and tedious deadlines, checking feeds on social networking sites repetitively or rushing through silent dinners to get in bed only to log in again, staring at the glowing screen in our pitch-dark rooms. Let’s draw the curtains and open some windows of glee.

If I have successfully triggered some evil corner of your brain, remember the third dimension has a lot of room for us! 
#ShantamPaapam