21 years- that is how old I am! And in these 21 years, I have met many people. They all are unique- they all have different sets of qualities in them. Perhaps our creator is a master of permutation and combination. Because, no two persons have the exact same set of qualities. Even in ‘soul sisters/brothers’, there is BOUND to be some difference, however insignificant the differentiating quality may be. Based on observations of these qualities, I have made a list of 21 of them which, when I see in people, either appreciate or disapprove of or ignore it.
(P.S. No offence to the ladies, or the gentlemen for that matter, I’ve used the masculine gender only so as to not ruin the flow by mentioning ‘he/she’ everywhere I can)
¨ THE ORDERING ONE
This man doesn’t do most things himself. Someone else is made to switch on the fan/get water from another room/answer the doorbell. If he is a superior in office, then God save the subordinates and the secretary! At the least, I hope I don’t ever get such a boss.
¨ THE SLEEPING BEAST
This man’s life ambition is to sleep. He is early to bed, late to rise and catches naps in-between whenever possible. Being with such a person is downright boring…unless you’d want to sleep too!
¨ THE PRETENTIOUS KNOW-IT-ALL
Ask him anything, he knows all about it. Include him in a conversation and his display of knowledge will, at first, amaze you. But sooner or later you will realise that the person actually knows little, just pretends to know. Converse with him after this realisation and you won’t be able to stand it much longer.
¨ THE JEALOUS ONE
This quality needs no introduction. It is possessed by at least one character of almost every story penned down by writers. In my observations, however, I have seen that, many a time, the jealous people are ones who are highly commendable themselves! Therefore, why jealousy has a place in the hearts of such people is still a mystery to me.
¨ THE OVER-CURIOUS ONE
If you ever feel like doing something privately, however pure the reasons of your privacy may be, beware of him! Too many questions and too much interest in others’ lives make many wary of him. A bit of curiosity is a good thing. It may even come in handy in certain situations. But poking your nose in others’ business may annoy them and create trouble for you.
¨ THE ONE WITH A DISTINCT LAUGH
Ok, this is not strictly an ‘inner quality’ like the others, but nevertheless one’s laugh is one’s own. This person has a very distinctive laugh. A witch-like ‘mwahahahaha’ or an ear-splitting laugh will horrify you while successive short ‘hehe’s will have you in splits. The point is, his laughter draws the attention of everyone around.
¨ THE FUN LOVER
He is an easy going guy. No matter what the situation, he likes to have fun with others around. He is usually a jolly and an energetic person. Introverts excluded, everyone actually likes his presence.
¨ THE REMEMBERER
In 19xx, you set fire to the bedroom. In 19xx, you climbed a tree and your dad had to bring you down. You don’t remember any of these, but he does! And (perhaps) vividly too! It is fun to listen to the stories of you and your cousins’ childhood. But you’d disapprove if he told your in-laws how you had peed on the bed sheet at the age of 13!
¨ THE SILENT ONE
He is present in every conversation but you’ll never feel his presence. Reason: he’s always listening, never participating in the conversation.
¨ THE TALKATIVE ONE
If there was a silent one, there obviously must be a talkative one too! He dominates every possible conversation with useful and useless talk. He may like to hear the sound of his voice. But others may not feel the same way.
¨ THE RELIGIOUS ONE
Simply put, he is an ardent fan of God’s work!
¨ THE OBSESSIVE ONE
It is good to be concerned about one’s weight, examination marks, money and so on. Buying clothes, books and other things are also activities that very ordinary. It is extraordinary, however, if he obsesses about one or more of these (or other) things.
¨ THE SHOPPER
He, well, shops! You may not get his attention. You may not get any advice or help from him. But when shopping is your word, he’s there for both- help and advice! Now, he has your complete attention.
¨ THE STUDIOUS ONE
“It’s a family get-together! Where are you?” “I’m at home, studying!”
“Will you not come to my birthday party?” “No dear, I have to study.”
When he rises from his books, it is the time for celebration! Since he studies all day, is he the topper? No, not necessarily.
¨ THE PHOTOGRAPHER
Armed with a camera, he attends every gathering and clicks loads of pictures. He will make everyone’s new Facebook DP possible. After the awesome photo session, search through his camera and you won’t find any pictures of himself. Insist on clicking his picture and he will refuse. He prefers to be the photographer for the photo shoot, not the model.
¨ THE LION
Intimidating as hell, his presence makes you run for cover. You meekly agree to him. You’d never dare be in his bad books. And of course, you’d rather stay away from him as much as possible.
¨ THE FOREIGNER (NOT LITERALLY THOUGH)
He isn’t a foreigner in any way. But he has the ‘andaaz’ of one. Lived abroad or not, he has ‘foreign’ items in his home and his best conversations are those about foreign countries. Ask him where he bought that beautiful cup set from and, with pride, he’ll reply “It’s from (XYZ country).” Or “It’s a gift from my relative who lives in (XYZ country).”
¨ THE BOAST-Y ONE
He is happy to talk about himself- he achieved ABCDEF, he possesses GHIJKLMNOP qualities, he is very talented and his talents consist of QRSTUVWXYZ . Maybe you’ll survive the first time, but the next time you won’t. Even the man who, out of good manners, lends an ear to anyone who asks for it, will not lend his ears to this one.
¨ THE PNPC MASTER
Bengalis use an abbreviation- PNPC. The full form is Poro-Ninda-Poro-Chorcha. In English, it translates to ‘gossip and criticism of others’. Now there is no need for explaining the quality this man possesses. Are you like-minded? Please do indulge in some PNPC with him!
¨ THE TIMES OF INDIA
The mission of any newspaper is to make its readers aware of what is going on in the world around them. He has the same mission. Anything new happening in someone’s life and everybody else knows! Who’s leaked the news about her break-up? His family problems? He did.
¨ THE ADORABLE BABY
I’ve deliberately kept this as the last quality in my article. The reason is simple: he is so sweet and adorable; you yearn to pull his cheeks and coochie-coo him! Mind you, he may not be your two-year old neighbour; he might be your classmate!
When I sat down to write this, these were the 21 qualities that come to my mind first. There are so many others. If I were to write a book on them, I’d beat ‘Marienbed My Love’ to be the longest book ever written!