Pritam's Blog
A Cheap Game
I was probably 7-8 years old. My aunt, who was 9 years older than me, and I would play a game we called The Insult Game… The idea was to come up with a topic and then insult each other.
For example, one day the topic was “Father”, meaning we would be insulting each other’s dad; in my case I would be insulting my great uncle.
So, I started, “Your dad holds just a BA degree. My dad is an MA…”
And she said, “But my dad earns more. Khikhikhi.”
“Well, that’s because he has been working for such a long time…He is so senior…”
In the next round, I said, “My dad is so handsome. Yours has a big tummy…”
And she said, “That’s because your dad is young and my dad is 50+. Look at this photo of my dad when he was young. He looks more handsome than your dad.”
“Oh please, this photo is not clear. Also it’s black and white. It’s not showing your dad’s features clearly…”
I remember how one of my relatives reacted when he discovered that we played such a cheap game. He yelled at us.
After he was gone, my aunt told me, “Don’t take him seriously. He is too idealistic. Trust me, the real world doesn’t work that way. Everybody out there will try to belittle you; they will even go to the extent of abusing you. And sometimes, they will resort to violence to show you your place… It is better to be prepared for that. It is good to have experience on how to insult another. And trust me, there is nothing wrong in insulting people, especially if they deserve it…Especially if they are the ones who started it. Tit for Tat!”
We barely played that game again.
I do not know why I remembered this today. But I do realise that this “cheap” game was probably one of the most educational games I had ever played. And I realise that despite the distance I have with my crazy family now (including that aunt), there is no denying that they have taught me so many things…