Sania was reading a book and got interrupted when the doorbell rang. She opened the door and greeted Anirban, her husband.
“Tea or Coffee?” she asked.
“Let’s have tea. I will freshen up in 5 minutes.” he replied.
Sania started crooning and went to the kitchen with a smile on her face. The evening was lit. Sania was liking the calm, pleasant, positive evening. Anirban joined for tea and they started talking about their day.
“Before I forget, we have been invited for dinner today by Aakash and Amrita.” Anirban said.
“Ok”, said Sania.
Suddenly, the vibe of the day changed for her. She started feeling a bit jittery.
Aakash is Anirban’s colleague and Amrita his wife. The couple likes dining out and road trips for exploring new places. Sania used to be excited to meet them initially. However, she realised that every time she met them, there was something that made her uncomfortable. It was the couple’s cynicism about everything and everyone. Every discussion led to them ending into judging someone, criticising someone or just gossiping about someone. Sania didn’t quite like that vibe. She also felt guilty of being a part of it, even though she never contributed. She would just smile and, she felt that by even smiling she encouraged those conversations.
Finally, they met for the dinner. Sania appreciated the preparations and before she realised, the couple started talking about their bad dinner experiences at another colleagues’ house. This was the beginning. Soon, they were talking about someone’s looks or mocking someone’s tragedies. They asked Sania if she had some gossip to share. When she said, she didn’t have any, they started pushing her to share something.
“Come on! There would be something spicy that you know. How about the Department Head’s wife? You met her last week.”
“Ok. Tell us about Department Head. Don’t you think he is too lean? Looks malnourished. Doesn’t he?”
Sania couldn’t take it anymore.
She said, “To be honest, I wonder if I have ever come across anyone who looks perfect in all aspects and has a perfect life all the time. And somehow, I have come to understand it’s our deviations from the standards of a perfect look or a perfect life that make us unique, that make us stand out and that make us beautiful. People with broken hearts, people with broken teeth and people with broken lives have stories to tell. They are adventurous, courageous and are living life to the fullest. For me, broken is beautiful. So, to answer your question, I have met only beautiful people with beautiful lives. In my view, these people deserve only respect and appreciation. I have promised myself to not judge or criticise them.”
Not that anyone understood what she was trying to say. However, Sania started feeling better once she expressed this.
The Japanese art form Kintsugi is built on the idea of strength and beauty in imperfection. When a ceramic object breaks, the broken pieces are carefully mended by artisans and the golden repairs are visible — yet somehow beautiful.
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