Being a Man…

February 26, 2012March 25, 2020

What is it about being a man that fascinates you the most?

If you had asked me that question until about a few months ago, I, like any other self-proclaimed female chauvinist, would have thrust my chin in the air and replied vehemently, “NOTHING!”.

But as I grow older, (and probably wiser, that’s how I like to think about it!), I believe that there are certain things that God clearly has forgotten to bless us Women with.
(I am sure some die-hard feminists are going to disagree with me here, but WTH!)

And I am not even trying to mention some inconsequential stuff like how the men can treat the world as their urinal, or how easy it is for them to dress in the (almost) same pair of clothes everyday and nobody noticing the faux pas, or how their color palette only consists of whites, blacks, reds and yellows or how, no hormonal changes ever take place in their bodies post marriage, kid, blah, blah… <Contempt>

Men, I have observed, are blessed with oodles and oodles of optimism, and more so where a lady is involved. If they have set their heart on something (or someone), no matter how many kicks in the gut they receive, they never give up. Women, I feel, are big fools when it comes to love, while the guys’ mantra is “ladki ki naa mein haan h, aur haan to fir, haan h” (A girl’s No has a Yes hidden in it, and Yes is a Yes is a Yes)!

There has been many an instance when I have tried to placate some guy friends that the lady in question is clearly not interested and sometimes even rude enough to tell them that they were out of her league. But I have had the pleasure of attending this guy’s wedding with her lady and prayed hard for a short bout of amnesia to make him forget whatever s**t I tried telling him.;-))

And there is this thing about a guy’s perseverance. Girls will more often than not, fall for a guy with perseverance, money, looks, talent and in that order! Girls always feel some kind of a responsibility towards a man who’s been trying to woo her for a long time and sooner or later will be found to have given in. I guess it’s all due to our stupid mother hen instincts which make us feel us feel guilty about not being able to reciprocate their feelings. And most of the times, we confuse this affection with L-O-V-E.

The other thing that I really (Really!!!!!) envy in guys is how clearly their life is divided into black and white, while we girls struggle with almost 673 shades of grey!
Guys will always have chalked out things that they want to do and what not to do. While we girls will nervously keep shuffling feet and wringing our hands about the pros and cons of a decision we are going to make. Or how it will affect our near and dear ones. While the guys will go ahead, make the decision and either be successful at it or gain experience and move on.

And therefore, women are often left confused when their ardent-fans-cum-boyfriends turned husbands suddenly lose interest in them. It’s none of their fault. It’s just that the guys are wired that way. They wanted something. They got it and have now set their next target. I really think that this is something that has been handed down over from our ancestors where the men had to take quick decisions while hunting in the jungles. They did not have the luxury of mulling over. While the women were the nurturer of the family, taking care of everyone and 1000 years later, the situation is still the same!

In hindsight, it does feel like a blessing to be a woman.
But when I am getting late for the office, and still undecided about what to wear, or what gifts to buy for family and friends, the never ending confusions whether they would like it or not, the never ending guilt of spending more time in office than at home, or when I see my new jeans getting wasted because it no longer fits me because I-have-no-time-to-exercise, I really wish I could be a Man.