No , I am not writing on one of India's largest minorities, not on their rights and wrongs , not on Celina Jaitley, not about their irritating habits. I am writing on an observation. I'd be lying if I say this is my recent observation. I have observed this phenomenon right since my childhood, right since I was old enough to understand that, quote unquote my mom, 'they are not us' . But well I blog NOW. So I am writing now.
Thrice I have interacted with a eunuch.
Instance One: I was 9. Travelling in the Jayantijayanta to where else. The eunuch comes, shaking her not so slender waist and creating a wave of sorts in the train compartment. You know men behave very oddly when they spot a eunuch. There are three types of behaviour. Someday I'd love to study this properly.
Macho Man1: This guy is the cheapest of all the three varieties. He flirts with a eunuch. Can you beat that? The eunuch touches every other guy and toddler she spots. But this guy is impossible. He takes this touching business a level ahead and gives it back to the eunuch. A taste of her own technique. They interact , chat and gossip with the eunuchs. I don't know If they are also eunuchs in disguise but all seems well between the eunuch and this guy. She winks at him asking for money. He winks back and says 'nahi deta jaa, kya karlegi' . This is good invitation. She sits next to him [Funny but there's always space enough in the train seat to accomodate a eunuch. Ha] The coy eunuch [attempted gesture] sways her manly hands painted with blood red beauty, misses his cheek but emotion conveyed. Then we play the 'lets-see-who- gives-in-first' game. Cheap guy . Cheap tricks. Eunuch. Oh, so eunuch. This goes about for some time till either a] the cheap guy's mother , wife complains that he is wasting time and he should rather spend it taking care of munna who is pee-happy on her lap. b] the eunuch gets bored fully understanding that the cheap guy is just passing time and has no intentions of taking this flirt game ahead or paying her anything. And that is how cheap macho man1 reacts.
Macho Man 2: He is so shy, my god. Bachao iss aadmi ko , koi. The moment he sees the eunuch , he fidgets, he forgets, he wants to pee, he wants to drive shyam and chintu to the top seat and radha his wife better get herself busy with staring out of the window or snoozing off etc etc. This guy is quite a nerd. He might act all coy if the eunuch takes interest in him. Secretly he likes this attention and well, he may never confirm to it. But he doesn't want anyone to know that he likes it. The eunuch likes this guy. He gives in when you ask him money, you know. He is not much of a trouble, likes attention , will give money, look at her[the eunuch] in shy awe and will not waste her time unnecessarily like that cheap flirt. But , macho man 2 is also the one who is religious, thinks he can rinse off all his sins by taking bath in the ganga, won't cross a road if he sees the cat crossing his way, and will consider giving money to the eunuch a good habit that he saw his father, granduncle [whom he liked a lot , by the way] doing it and will also except Shyam and Chintu to follow. He is also the one who thinks the eunuch's blessings will go a long way in making his son a big man, getting him admission in engineering colleges and then finally in having a baby -SON who will take the family's progeny ahead. This is our Macho man 2.
Macho Man 3: Salla smarty. I like this guy man, I like him a lot. He doesn't care a fuck about the eunuch. He is way too obsessed with his life , consumed in its poisons to look the other way and care about a blessing or curse. Hehe.. This guy irks the eunuch coz he hardly seems to react to her gestures , moves , etc etc. He is also the guy who is almost always on a bike, wears glares and well he is quite a catch. The eunuch wants to like this guy. If in the train , this guy is as usual busy and wont pay heed to the eunuch's call. He is also the ONLY guy the eunuch gives up on. That's Macho man 3 and thank you so much for all those best wishes. I know I am really good at this.
Now coming back to the main topic, shit I almost reached Italy. Sorry for all this unnecessary descriptions in between.
My one of many observations on eunuch is this that they don't trouble woman who are reading or have any piece of literature in their hands. Well , if you already know this I am sorry for wasting so much time. I was never scared of eunuchs but I couldn't digest their presence. Why should I give you money? For fear of being cursed by you? How do I even know that you are the real incarnation of the ardhanarishwar bestowing in you powers of both a man and woman? How do I believe that the world will come to an end if you decide that it should? I don't know any of this. If someone can help me understand this I will be really happy. I respect them as a fellow human being but I refuse to take it ahead from there. No one can force me to do this , not even a curse. The day I do really get the logic , then probably I would write on Macho woman 1,2, and 3 and more.
I saw almost all women in the train giving her money. But I didn't .
During one of my train journeys, I was casually reading the newspaper, I heard the familiar clap. But me being me, hardly flinched. I continued reading or rather staring into the newspaper. She came close to me, asked every body in the train to give money, clapped thrice, touched the girl's head sitting next to me but she didn't even notice me. The first time this happened I was with my mom in the train , my mom did give her money and I dismissed her not noticing me as an one - off thing. After that several incidents and several years have passed and every time I have spotted a eunuch coming towards me I have used this technique. There have been days when I didn't have any paper in my hand , but I would have a pen and would casually pretend like I was scribbling something in my hand or wave it in the air pointedly looking at something. This has worked. Of course now I have crossed that age to be fascinated with this and have become more or less like macho man 3 but this observation is a very big part of me. It instilled in me that I don't have to fear or convince myself of anyones's power to bow down to him/her.
Its a nice feeling you know. Everyone gives money to the eunuch , I don't..
P.S: This is a very excited entry. I am sure you must have guessed it .
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