Tuesday, June 16, 2009

World gets blurry without them

My Grandmother is over eighty and still doesn’t need glasses. Drinks right out of the bottle.
- Henny Youngman (1906 - 1998)

I have been wearing glasses (not the whiskey ones) since I was in class IX. As proof I even have a mark on the bridge of my nose. My glasses have now become an indispensable part of my life. My mother, when she wakes up in the morning, first thing, she folds her hands and prays to god. My morning begins with a hunt for my glasses; else I won’t be able to see God.

As a kid, I have always wished for glasses. I was awestruck with those big sunglasses Karishma Kapoor and Divya Bharati would wear, making it a style statement. When I put my desire of buying similar sunglasses, my mom bluntly refused saying that I was too young for Fashion. (I wonder what the right age is for Fashion). That is when it struck me that spectacles are no different from sunglasses.

Anyways, so after years of rigorous practice, watching TV in the dark, studying with my book almost touching my nose, etc. Finally in IXth standard, during our medical check up, I was unable to read the alphabets on doctors’ screen. Even though I had mugged up the order of alphabets, being the honest person that I am, I was true to myself and the doctor and finally was declared half blind.

My parents were then called to school by my class teacher.

“Please, get her glasses… I don’t think she can see what I write on the black board” she told my mother.

I interfered, “Madam, will I be able to read after I start wearing glasses?”

“Sure Deepali. Why not?” My teacher was very encouraging.

“Because my mother thinks one needs to learn ABCD… before one can start reading.”

Anyway, like I was saying… the first time I landed at an Optician for my pair of glasses, my father looked at a few spectacles, placed a fewer still on my nose and looked at me from far and near… and then handed me a pair that were NOT so cool. They were big, round, Grandpa Type spectacles which would cover my entire face. Sure I wanted those BIG sunglasses, but the time gap from when I prayed for them and now was tremendous and they were out of fashion. I told this to my dad, but according to him “Fashion moves in a cycle, and after a couple of years, these spectacles will be in style again”. So I was supposed to wait for that time with this bulky asset on my nose.

If you are somebody who has spent a good amount of time with bad eyes but no spectacles, you will agree that the world becomes a lot more colorful and clearer with glasses on the bridge of your nose. I could see everything now. So much so, I could see right through peoples’ character. During our exam, I could see Mahesh, my desk-mate, copying word-to-word of what I wrote. Earlier I always thought he was just being nice and trying to see, if I had copied the question correctly from black board.

Spectacles help build a person’s character. I learnt this fact when I had to go on stage and give a speech in school. I decided to go on without my spectacles, so I couldn’t see people making faces and boo hooting me. That’s when everybody thought that I was a very confident person and it boosted up my morale.

It’s been 10 years now (a few years of contact lenses in between) that my eyes have been through good and bad times. And after so many years of different frames, I have again shifted back to my first type, “Grandpa Type”. But a lot more classier.

5 comments:

Deepaish pall said...

Well they look beautiful on you dj. nice post i still thank god i havent had a chance of wearing glasses as such. plus you know i think glasses give dual looks to a person it has happened with me so many time sometimes you are unable to recogonize a person without glasses.

good one keep up the good work!!

Lucifer said...

ahhh those glasses...thou i think they look rather cool...i think ppl take me more seriously...my boss actually cant make out if m starin at d laptop screen or workin so they helped me get a hike last yr :D

rajoojamwal said...

I told u fashion takes a complete circle and here u r back with grand pa type of specks. U should be grateful to me for getting u those in the first place. Nice blog. Keep it up.

Deepali Jamwal said...

@Deepaish: Now I wish I didn't have glassee.

@Mayz: Thanks for visiting. That's another way of looking at it... lol

@Dad: I AM grateful to you... For lot many more things.

Srikanth said...

Speaking of glasses... I got mine when I was in third standard....

One lense was frosted and I couldn't see a thing from it and the other was so thick it was what we called "soda buddi".. haha!! took me only a few days to throw them in the gutter...