To K
K
was a friend of mine from school. Well, not a 'friend' friend. More of an
acquaintance really. To be precise, we played in the same football team.
We studied in the same class, but we had our own different friend circles and chitchat groups. The only time we were with each other was on the football field every Saturday, where we played for three hours under the sun, me in the front and him in the defending half.
I
wasn't an attacker per se; I was more of a passer, a playmaker. But there were
a few God-given moments when I used to find an empty net because the opposition
goalie had either succumbed to fatigue or was busy socialising with people, when
I would tap the ball in, score a goal, celebrate and savour the moment for
being the most important player on the ground for a few seconds.
Every
time I scored a goal, K always had this habit of running across the field from
our own half with his hands held high up in the air, shouting "GOAL"
at the top of his voice, jumping onto me, messing my sweaty hair with his
sweaty hands, pulling my cheeks and then slapping my back with the excitement
of a little baby. Sometimes he even used to shout our team name to the crowd
and ask them to cheer louder for us.
We
then used to return to the half-line together, with huge smiles on our faces.
Every
time we had to go for a drama gig, or we had to perform a skit for the school
function, he would come to us to wish us good luck. He remembered all our roles
by heart, and made sure that he had wished each and every one of us.
Whenever
I used to score well on a class test or do something that impressed the
teacher, he used to come and sit beside me and say -
"Bhai
aaj toh tune test me aag laga di!"
(I
used to communicate with most of my friends in Gujarati. I wrote this in Hindi
so that the reader would be able to comprehend)
And
then he would shout "Woohoo" at the top of his voice and shake me by
my shoulders and slap my back and give out a laugh like a really excited baby
and return to his seat.
The
concept of a "hype person" or a "hype friend" is not
something known to many. I can draw a pop culture parallel and list some
characters to explain to you what I mean, but I don't know if that would be
enough to sell my point -
Charles
Boyle (R) - Brooklyn 99
Cameron Tucker (R) - Modern Family
On the outside, a hype person may appear to be an annoying presence. He tends to be extremely loud (K is a boy and since this article is dedicated to him, I shall use the masculine pronoun throughout). He tends to be so over-indulgent in everything you say or do that it may seem like he is getting on your nerves. Even when he is jumping on you or shouting “CONGOOOOOOO” for something you did, he comes out as somewhat an irritating person rather than a normal well-wisher.
I
have a good meme template to visually represent what I mean –
Another
important character trait of a hype person is that he is so, so, sooooo....
extra. He has a Hindi TV soap opera-like reaction to every single thing that
happens around him. It is as if everything he sees is followed by the fall of a
pooja ki thaali and a “dhumtanananana” music running in the
background. In fact, when you talk to him, you realise that his life has a
complimentary background music running side by side. It is as if every single
thing he does has its own unique soundtrack, and all his actions, be it his
arms flinging around me for a jhappi or his hands reaching out to pull
my cheeks, are just him waltzing to his unique music.
But
why am I writing about K so much? I didn’t even know him well. And I have never
talked with him for more than five minutes.
Perhaps
that is exactly the reason why I remembered K today.
You
see, another quality of a hype person is that you don’t really appreciate his
presence while he is performing his shenanigans. Even after K used to shower me
with all his jhappis and cheek pulls and hair mess-ups, all I used to do
was to say “Thank you Bhai” a couple of times, and when it used to get
annoying, shush him and tell him that it’s not that big a deal and try (to no
avail) to calm him down.
And
yet, he never changed.
I
still remember my Class 10 Farewell Party (I changed school after 10th
grade). We all were teary-eyed and not ready to accept the bitter truth of
leaving each other forever. I had promised myself then that never in my life
would I ever attend another Farewell Party just because how sad and
heartbreaking the entire ordeal is, when K came to me with his usual
over-the-top persona and clung onto me, shouting “Sahil, apna 10th
khatam! Woohoooo!!!”
He
then went on praising my outfit and my shoes (which were my dad’s) for a
complete two minutes while I stood there nodding and rolling my eyes as he
continued his long sermon.
That
was the last time I spoke to K.
It’s
been almost five years since 10th grade, and I haven’t met anyone
else who would qualify as a hype person. Which again brings me to why I wrote
this long soliloquy.
People
today are so wound up in everything they do for themselves, that they fail to appreciate
the littlest of things in life. They fail to appreciate what others are good at,
with the justification that what others do doesn’t concern them because that is
not of their interest.
I
beg your pardon, but I’m pretty sure all of us have been placed in such a
scenario as depicted above at a certain point in our lives. You so badly want
someone to have the same level of enthusiasm or energy about a certain topic
that it just becomes a bummer when no one around you matches your intensity. Be
it a new painting you’ve drawn, or a new song you’ve recorded, or even a new TV
series you've just finished watching.
A
hype person is someone who fills this void of disappointment that develops
within you in such scenarios. Even if he has absolutely no knowledge of art, he
is bound to give you a WOW face when you show him a painting that you’ve spent
three days on. He is bound to take efforts and talk to you about that painting at
length even if he doesn’t paint himself.
Basically,
hype you for what you are good at.
He
is altogether just a bundle of joy and unconditional affection, who’s
importance isn't noticed until he's no more a part of your life.
Now
I suppose a few of you might be thinking this article conveys the message that in
order to validate your creativity or commend you for something you’ve achieved,
you need a hype person around you. If so, then I would like to tell you
that is hardly the case. This article is not at all about the need of a hype
person in our lives, but about the need of what a hype person does. Hype
persons are a rare find, but I believe that their purpose in our life is not who
they are to you, but what they mean to you. And you know what, it doesn't
hurt to take a page out of their book. They teach you to learn to appreciate
the small moments of pure satisfaction after you achieve something. There is
absolutely no need of actively looking for validation for what you do, if
you are your own hype person. Be your own hype person. Give out a
huge smile on your face after you finish a painting. Remind yourself how fun it
is to sing a new song before actually singing it.
And
if you’re really into extravagant celebrations, shout “Woohoo”. Yes, literally
scream WOOHOO at the top of your voice so that everyone in your house and
beyond know how crazy you are.
Be
your own Charles Boyle. Your own Erin. Your own Cameron Tucker.
Be
your own K.
And
never let that K inside you go. Because just like his presence is not realised
until after he's gone, you'll not realise how important this self-hyping nature
is until it goes away.
And
the next time you show something you’re really proud of and they say “cool” and
change the subject, don’t be bummed out. Keep reminding yourself about all the
effort that went into that skill, and tell yourself –
“You
are so fucking awesome dude! Let’s see what you can do next!”
No comments:
Post a Comment