We may not be pretentious, but unfortunately, all of us get trapped in situations, where we have to gulp our anger, conceal our emotions and show our delight with a mile-long smile. We pick up few of these crazy circumstances, where people had to deliver the most perfect (fake) smile ever.
Okay, so first she dumped you. She then showed off her ‘MBA from Leads fiancée'. As if that wasn’t enough, she also invited you to her big day (coz we are friends now). We better not comment on her indifference, but the 'common gang’ asked you act cool, and attend the wedding. We totally sympathise with you, especially, when you had to wear that ‘I am happy for you’ smile, Mr Modern-day Devdas.
The handing over of your pink slip seemed like a secret mission of RAW. You profusely thank your HR department for that: it saved you from humiliation. Your colleagues decide to throw a lavish farewell party. You are so not up for it and yet have to attend it. And the CEO, who scripted your execution too is present. We do realise that this smile is one of the hardest to fake. Your only consolation; the CEO too had to fake one, for courtesy sake.
So Mr lover, you called it upon yourself. You wanted to take her out for a shopping date. Perhaps, in your head, you had a budget, but Madam misjudged your financial worth. She aimed for an expensive designer dress and showed it to you lovingly for approval, and more importantly for payment. The earlier romantic dates had already cost you a bomb, and as a result, your credit card got blocked. But not something that you could tell. Right? Not even with your expression. All you wanted to do is run out of the mall and never look back. This super quandary cost you the fakest smile of your life.
You confide in your friend and tell him how you have been saving for the last few months to buy your dream car. It’s not even a month and he calls you to step out for a drive. Lo and behold, it’s the car you so wanted. Jealousy is oozing out from your heart but you have to hide it with not just a smile but a big broad happy one. You did not say it loud, but did you not feel like puncturing his tyres? Instead, you were sitting next to him, while he pressed the accelerator.
There is a wedding in the family and your Kanpurwala relatives are here. And so are some hush-hush conversations. Before you get a hang of what’s going on; you are suddenly asked to get dressed formally with a specific instruction to ‘wear a suit’. You are not so dumb, and precisely know what’s coming ahead of you. Also, your boyfriend has already booked movie tickets for you. You are fuming inside and yet you know you can’t confront your parents because the Kanpurwalas are all over the place. Your traditional garb is out and your make-up in place. Add to it, you are forced to play the desi girl. Come in the match and his family, and it’s hate at first sight. But you can’t show! There is a storm raging in your heart but it’s is all behind those maroon-hued lips that are faking a smile to the hilt.
You know that the way to a man’s heart is through his stomach. But at times you do wish, there was some way to his basic brain. You whip up an excellent dish for dinner and he is hungry so you ask him to start first. You are just joining him in minutes and you do so. You take the ladle and plunge it into the vessel only to hit its bottom. Tada, it’s all gone and pat comes an explanation, ‘honey it was so good that I couldn’t resist it. You are the best in this world.’ Ummm your hunger is at its peak and so is your anger. But here comes the 'camouflage smile' and reply, ‘really love? I am so glad you liked it. How about the salad, want some more? Yo woman, can anybody read your mind?
Your cousin emulates you to the T. And surreptitiously, you so relish, all the worship that comes to you. He wants to be an engineer like you, talk like you, walk like you and also here comes the not-so-welcome admiration – he also wants your favourite shirt. Can you say no? No! So we can well imagine that moment when you pick your coveted shirt and hand it over to a hyper elated creature. This smile is drenched in regret and laced with annoyance. Or there's more?
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