Chp 57. Addiction

Addiction. Been there done that.

Its amazing how we never realize how attach we become to a particular thing that we do regular until it’s too late. And I am not just talking about drugs or alcohol or any other habits your folks warned you to stay away from. Stuff that normal human beings do. Simple harmless stuff. Harmless until one day you realize you cannot live without that substance.

Look at me for example. From the very moment that I wake up in the morning, there are two things I HAVE to take otherwise I will go completely crazy. And I am not talking about morning glory. Two very harmless substances that’s available everywhere. One is consumed by every single person in this World, the other by almost every single person in this World.

Water and Coffee. Dear Lord, I just cannot imagine what will happen if there is no water to drink the moment I wake up. Ever since I can remember, the first thing I do as soon as I open my eyes is reach for my water bottle and gulp down atleast 3-4 glasses. When I was a mere kid, my mom used to force me to drink water as soon as I wake up, telling me it will purify my digestive and circulatory system or something like that. Even after they packed me off to a boarding school, she used to call me up every now n then and ask if I am regularly drinking water in the morning. I did that every single day in school and then college. And now, I just cannot start my day without drinking water. If there is no water around to drink when I wake up, my throat becomes parched dry, my head spins around, my vision gives away and I swear I can feel my BP rise drastically. Why can't I be like other normal folks who, if there is no water around to drink when they wake up, can easily go on with their life? Me, my life stops abruptly.

Another early morning addiction of mine is coffee. I guess you can call me a hardcore coffee drinker. Pretty strange actually coz I am a Mizo and Mizos in general are tea fanatics, not coffee. Blame it on my South-Indian upbringing. I just cannot live without coffee. Period. If there is no coffee to drink in the morning, I can feel this really uncomfortable throbbing down my throat, like an uncontrollable spasm pumping and pumping me until that first sip of Heavenly coffee flows down my throat. Only then does the pain stops. Ask me anything about coffee and I will fire back a quick reply. Bean sprouts, arabica, chicory, robusta, estates in Tamilnadu hill stations which cultivates the best coffee, price ranges of all coffee products in the Indian Market, Irish coffee ingredients, you name it. Coffee is my area of expertise. By the way, a brief advertisement. Coffee lovers of Bangalore, please do check out Kalmane Koffee. It’s in Forum, Koramangala, right next to the entrance from the Car Parking on the 2nd floor, opposite that miniature car model shop and Jockeys if I am not mistaken. That place is amazing, selling a huge variety of blends with exotic names like Bluegrass, Cantata, Harmony, Ethiopian, Sidamo, Rich Columbian and Mysore Nuggets. Place is owned by a very close friend of mine Dhiraj Prabhu, real estate developer n entrepreneur running his dad's company Skyline Construction, blood-brother from school days, my Local Guardian while I was in IIM, and a devoted born-again Christian.

Nicotine: Another addiction of mine. I smoke close to 15 ciggies a day. Dad and I never discussed this but mom keeps on nagging n nagging me to quit because she herself used to be a chain smoker once (her nick-name those days was “train engine”) until she caught my eldest sister puffing away years ago. It was then that she realized this was not the example she ought to show, and quit abruptly. Dad on the other hand, still smokes like a chimney, and I guess that’s one of the reasons why he has never fatherly-advised me to stop smoking. My room is the only room in our house where smoking is not prohibited. And my three elder sisters never let this opportunity pass. I'll be playing a game on my comp and one of my sisters would usually come and sit with me and light up a ciggie. And if mom or dad suddenly enters my room, she would slyly place the ciggie on my hand. And my mom would be like, how can you sit with him in his stuffy room with all these smoke, don't you know passive smoking is injurious to health? LoLx. But I am slowly cutting down. Eve once sent me an sms. “I know I don't want you to change for my sake, but please remember that if you live longer, we can love each other longer.” Sweeeeeet . That has indeed been a great motivation for me to try quitting. Right now I am trying to keep it at 10 ciggies a day. By next month, reduce to 5. And eventually, nilch.

The problem with smoking is that, after most of us picked up the habit of smoking, one place where we always smoke is in the loo while we're crapping. One reason is to subdue the smell and another reason is, it just feels so damn good to smoke “under pressure” Hence, every time we crap, we smoke. This became such a strong habit that, there are actually times when I'm happily smoking and suddenly feel like crapping And this really looks bad, especially when I'm with my gurl in a cozy posh restaurant or on my way to Church.

Apart from all that, there are various other stuff I am addicted to. One of the first things that come to my mind is “Puchhkas”. But then, I’ve already dedicated an entire post to Puchhkas so enough of that for now. KFC Zinger burger? Well, honestly, I think that is just a passing phase, although it does feel a lot like addiction. There had been many incidents in the past where me and my frens would drive for hours just to devour a zinger burger at the local KFC joint. How can one tell the difference between an addiction and a passing craze? This is how I figure it out. Masked gun men armed with AK-47s grabs me by the hair and gives me an option. My life or KFC burger. I would definitely go for my life. But if the choice is between my life and the juiciest, tamarind and jhaal and chaat masala dressed, mouth watering scrumptious puchhkas, I fear I might go for the latter!

Flirting is another thing I feel most people are addicted to, if they have been doing it many times before. As for me, I seriously feel flirting is embedded deep within my genes by now. By flirting, I am not necessarily talking about casual sex talks, that leads to brief necking n pecking, that in turn leads to uncensored action under the bed sheet (or on the back seat of your car or in the bathroom of a night club, which ever you prefer). Clean flirtatious fun. When I broke up with “N”, I was on the worst rebound of my lifetime. Flirted like a wild beast on heat, yet afraid of any commitments that came along my way. Now that I am once again sane, and in a very serious committed relationship, I still find it a bit hard to let go of old habits. I mean, I don’t cheat on my girl. No way Jose. But there are times when I am hanging out with my girl’s girlfriends and suddenly I am like teasing them flirtatiously, like a brief compliment or a dirty joke sandwiched in the conversation… They are all harmless ofcourse, but sometimes I wonder why I do it. When Eve n I started becoming serious, a very close fren of mine in B’lore “M” who is now in Mizoram told me, “Once a flirt, always a flirt”. I argued with her saying I know myself well and that I will never hurt Eve. It was then that she told me something that will forever stick to my head. “Flirting need not be necessarily about cheating. You have the habit of replying to every god-damned thing that others say in your own sweet but smart-assed way. That’s one of the reasons why people love to hang out with you coz you make them laugh. And you understand women really well compared to most guys, which makes you say all the right things at the right time.” Ok ok I am blowing my own trumpet way beyond the legal limit. But I swear those were her exact words. Gentleman promise! (ok, I don’t know what that means. It’s what my girlfriend taught me recently, and it’s supposed to mean something like a promise guys should never break. Never heard of that term before. I think its some North-Indian lingo coz after all she’s from Delhi) its like how Chandler Bing finds it really hard to let go of an occasion to let a smart comment pass.

Apart from all these, I think there are a couple of other things I am really addicted to. But let’s save that for another day. I am dying to hear what all you viewers are addicted to. Could be anything right from a cartoon network channel to a hindi kasauti soap. Do let me know so that we can have a good discussion regarding it. Ciao.