Breaking the 'Judging Antenna '

12 June 2013, my first day at Anand Vidya Vihar, Harinagar Society, Gotri, Vadodara marked the beginning of my journey of schooling in this city of Gujarat. "Have I packed all my books?", "Will I be able to make friends?", "O God! What will happen today?" These thoughts were participating in a Formula 1 race in my mind when I entered the classroom of 3B. I was introduced to the class by my class teacher Ms. Anamika Mishra and I could feel 30 pairs of eyes boring a hole through my body. I actually jumped with fright when one of my classmates said "Hello" to me. Anamika ma'am asked me to take a seat besides Rudra Shah - a quiet girl with long, beautiful hair. I said to myself,  "Radha,  you need to muster courage and talk to this girl; you never know, you might forge a friendship here!" Before my mouth could execute this plan crafted by my mind,  Rudra said,"You are not wearing an appropriate uniform. You are not supposed to wear a tie during summer.  Though you are a new student, you must adhere to the rules of this school." Bam! There went down the ship of friendship! I was utterly shocked at Rudra's rudeness. As a new student, I was already a fraidy mouse, and now, this girl had brought me on the verge of being a crybaby.  I mean, who reprimands a new student for lack of discipline on her very first day at school? At that moment, I solemnly swore,  not to make friends with, or even talk to this rude girl - Rudra Shah.  

7 years later, as we laugh on our first meeting,  sitting before me, is the same Rudra, who is now my 'जिगरी दोस्त' ( solemn oath in vain, huh?). Over the course of time,  we've become more like sisters - we dance together, play together, study together, joke together,  well, practically,  we're inseparable.  Today, when I ask myself, how in the world did  this happen, the answer stands forth - Rudra and I never let our initial judgements guide us. We didn't let our first interaction become the basis of our future interactions.  If I had carried on with my stupid oath of not talking to Rudra,  we would never have reached a stage where we could have telepathic and 'इशारोंवाला' conversation.  At this point, I remember Sridevi's dialogue in English Vinglish,  when she asks Meera not to be judgemental in life, because if we prejudge people to be bad on the basis of their actions, appearance,  wealth, status , religion and many such parameters,  we would never be able to appreciate the goodness that lies within them.  I think, breaking all our "judging antennae" and dusting off all our assumptions  is the easiest and the most trustworthy way of creating and maintaining relations. Always remember that, the quote 'Never judge a book by its cover' stands true; and you may never know, when your judging antenna  breaks and your worst enemy turns out to be your best friend!

Thank you for reading this blog. I'm open to your feedback ( please mention your name along with your feedback). We'll meet soon with a next blog.  

Bbye

Until next time