Why did I stop drinking?

“Why did you stop drinking?”

I have been asked this question so many times that I have really got tired of answering it. And guess what, nobody even wants to know the answer. That’s just the way they react when you tell them that you stopped drinking. You know what I mean by reaction? When you hammer a nail, the nail gives out a sound: tunnng. That’s the reaction of a nail. Similarly, when I say I stopped drinking, tunnng comes the reaction, why?

Initially I tried the real reason: I stopped enjoying it. But that didn’t sound very cool to people. You know when you are in a party, listening to pop-shop kind of music and dancing (or rather throwing your legs in different directions) with a glass of Vodka in your hand, you don’t find it cool to hear that someone stopped enjoying drinking.

So, I tried other reasons: 1) I got physical problems and my body stopped taking the load of processing alcohol, 2) it’s bad for health, 3) it’s tamasic etc etc. None of them worked.

But looks like, finally, I have found a reason that sounds cool. Not drinking is in, drinking is out! “I don’t drink” is the latest style statement, just like “I don’t keep a mobile”.

This seems to work. For reasons unknown to me, people find it cool and more in line with their likings. Suddenly from an overly un-cool person, I get slightly on the kewl side.

On a related note but in an unrelated field…

I have kept a beard. I don’t know why. I think the real reason is that I just got lazy at shaving and obviously that means I would get a beard in a couple of days. May be I even wanted to grow a beard (who knows?).

Anyway, again, I had to answer people why there was a beard on my face. Nobody liked me to be honest about it. If I say I was being lazy, they wouldn’t believe me. So, finally, I have hit upon a reason that people seem to like a lot (and suddenly they grow appreciative of my beard). I tell them: “It is Abhishek Bacchan style. I really liked the rough look that he sports with his beard. So, I thought I might also give it a try. How do you find it?”

If someone asks you a question, that doesn’t mean that one also wants to hear an answer. Question is many times a social reaction arising from the percieved neccessity to have a conversation.

“A bore is a person who when asked how he is, actually tells you!”