Our capacity for introspection determines the kind of individuals we become. Our personal blunders and societal faux pas can shape us

I believe that we are a sum total of experiences. While most are pleasant, a few leave us red-faced at the very best. It is for us to make the choice to introspect and evolve into a better person. My wife and I gingerly stepped out of the confines of our home after the restrictions imposed during the difficult COVID times had been relatively relaxed.

We thought we had crossed the hurdle. Our optimism was misplaced. We observed many vigilantes hanging out on their balconies to catch the hapless walkers at any time of the day or night and call the PCR. The police would necessarily have to come since a complaint had been raised and then go back, irritated at the complainant. We were still terrified enough to wear a mask. However, a few had to be nudged.

My wife would good-naturedly point at her mask as a request to those not wearing one. We encountered a young lady walking with no mask, not even one dangling around her ears. The sensibilities of my wife aroused, she stopped the lady and requested her to comply with the regulations. My wife was rudely brushed aside. The lady stopped us during the next round, to let us know that she was a doctor who spent long hours in the hospital with a mask on, and her lungs needed fresh air, uninterrupted by a mask.

Unaware of a different set of rules for medical professionals, I inquired from a few doctor friends. They were unequivocal in their judgement, the lady in question is an idiot.We have all been guilty of an occasional faux pas at some time or the other. I attended a literature festival at a university, a few days before the lockdown, to speak about my book.

I made a point that communication amongst people should never stop, even if it means communicating on social media, be it Facebook, Instagram or Tinder. The audience erupted in loud laughter and I preened with pride at my oratory skills. My jubilation was short-lived. I found out over the net during the train back that Tinder was a dating platform. I may choose to call this a blunder, but the simple fact is that it was stupid of me to speak of something about which I did not know.

This foot-in-the-mouth syndrome is nothing new, particularly amongst a certain section of society, who are supposed to be beacons of the good and should be upholding values. A minister in one of the states defended the decision of a medical college to ask the female candidates to declare their virginity in the admission form because, “Virgin, as per the dictionary, means an unmarried and pure girl. So, all these words are not objectionable.”

A senior leader observed that electricity must be provided in all villages so that people spend more time watching television than procreating. Another leader mentioned that crimes against women are happening in urban India and not in the villages since we are losing our culture in the cities. The anecdotes narrated above may appear disjointed at a cursory glance. The common thread I detect is the misplaced value system of authority: ‘My word is supreme.’

Nothing gives one the right to dispense half-baked wisdom, not follow the rules, or make discriminatory statements.

Our experiences should evolve us. Brazilian educator and philosopher, Paulo Freire, has said aptly, “No one is born fully-formed: it is through self-experience in the world that we become what we are.”

(The author is an electrical engineer with the Indian Railways and conducts classes in creative writing; views are personal)