Dear Readers, you may notice the dates of the Blog do not match the Flash Post dates which are in real time. The blog was written in 2009 and saw the light of day 6 months back when my younger daughter discovered it and decided to bring it to you here.
Tragedy Queen | Flash Post 411

Tragedy Queen | Flash Post 411

Button, you mean Meena Kumari?

Can I ask you a personal question?

Of course you can. Ask me anything.

How do you shed such copious amounts of tears at the drop of a hat? I have watched you for years now and it seems to be getting worse. You cry when you read about a pet that’s been thrown out on to the streets. You cry when Messi attacks a butterfly, you cry when you chat with your sister about childhood memories and your long-departed parents, you cry when you have an argument with your daughters, you cry when your Labrador finds it difficult to get up as she is getting older, you cry over the pets who have passed away and over strays who’ve gone missing from time to time. You cry when someone says a few harsh words to you, you cry when you conjure up conspiracy theories of the hurdles generations after you will face because of the imagined bleak universe you are leaving behind. Were you to watch A Beautiful Mind for the millionth time, you’d still cry. You even cry when you hear Richard Clayderman play the Hungarian Sonata on the piano.

I cry when I am happy. I cry knowing that my daughters have grown up into strong-minded individuals, honest to the core and capable of handling any situation. I cry when I see the first strand of grey hair on my daughter’s scalp, I still cry for one of my Boxers who had to be put to sleep because of gastric torsion. I cried into my pillow for days when another daughter announced that she wanted to go and live by herself.  I shed tears while talking with my psychologist about my father because I failed to be a good daughter. I cry when I look back and see the journey both Dost and I have covered from the time I was a young and naive girl of 17 till today when I am 67 and still learning the ropes of life from him. Sometimes, I don’t even understand why I cry!

I see that all the stuff you cry over are emotional.

And, yes, I cry when I eat spicy food!

You’re trying hard to be funny but I can see your eyes brimming with tears as we speak.

Come and give me a hug. Button.

You put our very own tragedy queen, Meena Kumari, to shame. Had you been in the movies, you could have bagged some of those roles.

I have tried not to cry but the harder I try, I cry even more.

Is crying a sign of weakness?

On the contrary, crying or feeling your emotions is not a sign of weakness. You have to be strong to cry.

Is there an interesting fact about crying you’d like to share with us?

Everyone starts life with that first cry.