FEAR

Fear- an emotion experienced in anticipation of some specific pain or danger (usually accompanied by a desire to flee or fight).

To be true, we all have our own fears to deal with. Some face it every day, while some encounter them once in a while. Some of them can be overcome, but some persist for the rest of our lives. I remember I had a fear of addressing people from the stage. I have gone blank a couple of times, but now I have overcome, by gradually practising it. But, fear of getting an electric shock still gives me torrid times. These are fears that the mind has perceived and they will continue to stay there until we fight them out. Similarly, there are fears that are planted in our head. (For induced fear I would like you to watch a video called Little Albert. Although it was an inhumane experiment, psychologists believe it as a breakthrough).

Let’s say, when we were young we were all taught not to play with the gas stove or we might get burnt. Our mothers have enacted that to us, or to most of us. That fear had resided in our mind unless we figured it out that was not entirely true. As time passed by, we came to a comprehension that if we are careful we will not suffer burns from a gas stove.

This was just an example which is actually unimportant. This fear was placed in our head so that we could be safe. Whereas, some fears are introduced to us by people we don’t know. I remember, when I was young, my father always brought home Colgate toothpaste for all of us. The plain and simple white coloured toothpaste. Our entire family used that until we saw an advertisement from Pepsodent. They pointed it out that most of us suffer from bleeding gum problems. The next I found out that it was true. Blood did ooze out from my gums. The more I saw the ad the more I was tensed. So, after a huge debate I convinced my father that Pepsodent-G gum care was the best toothpaste and we needed it for the safety of our gums.

6 months down the line, the blood was still oozing from the gums and I thought as far as it doesn’t pain, its fine. After some time, I saw another ad- this time it was my favourite cricketer Sachin Tendulkar endorsing the brand. The toothpaste was talking about its relentless twelve hour fight against the bacteria and we had to brush twice a day to keep our teeth healthy. So my father and I had another debate, but this time I was unsuccessful to convince him that Colgate Total was better. He instead reverted to the traditional ‘Laal Dant Manjan’ for himself. So, I was left with my last resort- to convince my brother that we needed a change in the department of dental care. He agreed, and we got our first Colgate Total toothpaste. Expensive than most of the other toothpastes and the work it did was same that of the normal Colgate. Few more years passed and then there were many kinds of problems that were aired on the TV- plaque, bacteria, gum problems, cavity and sensitivity. I don’t bleed through the gums now, and I have changed my toothpaste so many times that I don’t even remember which one did the magic. Or was it just the fear that was planted?

Then there was the case with shampoos. To be frank, when I was twelve years old I never used a shampoo. It’s only after the ads in the TV that people were suddenly educated. They found out the problems in their hair.  Thin hair, dandruff, breakage and baldness were the problems pictured to us. Every six months the product companies come up with some new revolution and tried selling their products.

The list goes on- from deodorant spray (frankly I haven’t seen one advertisement that shows the features of a deodorant, all they end up showing is a boy who ends up with girls) to cooking oil.

Fear is a big weapon that these companies use to sell their product. Take for example the detergents, all the detergents show ads cleaning the white shirts- none of them show cleaning a coloured clothing. With clothing I remember what the brand and media has done to us. If we buy a t shirt for 1500, we are proud. We will buy a pair of shoes for 2000, with our heads held high. But, when the time comes to donate a rupee to a beggar, we are overburdened by the weight of life and shoo them off. Same goes for mineral water, they are pure, and we should drink them. Don’t use the ear buds they are made from used hospital cotton, instead use Johnson and Johnson ear buds, it will cost you ten times more, but you will be safe.

Don’t drink sugarcane juice; the ice is bought from a morgue. Paint your nails and look glamorous or else no boy will approach you. Drink carbonated water to quench your thirst, but they don’t mention that it contains caffeine. Don’t wash your face with soap, apply face wash. If it is dry then apply moisturiser (of the same company of course). Use the great fair and lovely cream to be fairer and beautiful. Are they serious? They sell us cream which will make us fairer! Somebody has a conflict with their pigmentation. Wasn’t it natural the way God built you? These petty things have put fear in our hearts and it has become difficult to lead a simple life we use to live when we were young.

The media is jointly to be blamed for this- my father owns a general store, after the sensitivity problems were aired on the television by Sensodyne, the next day, every customer wanted Sensodyne. I have even seen parents buying fruits for their children. It’s a nice thought, fruits are source of vitamins, but the same family ends up dining at McDonalds, munching burgers and putting on fat.

Now I don’t say that you should not eat in McDonalds or restrain yourself from using branded high priced tooth pastes, or for that matter clothes. I am just saying that there is vast difference in being literate and educated. All of you who are reading this are literates, but are we educated? Sadly the answer is no on most of our parts. Do we fold the wrappers of eatables and place it in our pockets when we don’t see a dustbin? No! We throw it on the road. As long as our houses are clean to hell with the environment. This is the new attitude people are carrying.

We have convinced ourselves that education means reading and writing in English. Well, let me direct your attention towards China, very advanced and they use their own language everywhere. I see young children in the malls taking in English. I am impressed, young cheerful lads and lasses talking in beautiful English. Mothers tend to propagate this English attitude. But, when asked about their mother tongue, they hardly know a thing. This is also fear- fear of competing with the others at school.

Actually, the answer lies within you- will you educate yourself around the things that are thrown at you or simply squat and waste money, logic and brains buying things you don’t need? Meanwhile, I have changed my toothpaste to the simple Colgate and I use any shampoo that is available- because I need to wash my hair, I try not to use those which damage my hair and rest everything is fine. I don’t use deodorants because I don’t want girls falling for me (pun intended). I do eat sometimes at McDonalds and KFC and also buy branded clothes because I earn so much money I have to spend it somewhere. And whenever I see a beggar I take care to give him/her some amount so that they are happy.

“Let not fear consume you, let education fill your mind so that you consume your fears”

                                                                                                                        ~Mjkgupta.