I happened to bump into a friend the other day, who after enquiring after my health, the weather, the latest restaurant etc, proclaimed very loudly – “I am fat and I resemble a potato”.
Taken aback slightly I quickly assured her that she was nothing closer to a potato and in fact told her that she possessed an hourglass figure which any woman would be happy to have.
And I wasn’t being diplomatic either. She was indeed slim, svelte and super good looking, despite being partial to the essence of life – food.
She continued to complain that she has been indulging in all kinds of food and may very well burst one of these days.
Just then, she got long admiring stares from a couple of passersby and she noticed. She became a bit thoughtful but again reiterated that she would offer herself as a potato for my next meal.
Then we parted, me telling her not to get to size zero and she making a face at me.
But she did get me thinking. So having settled comfortably with a glass of beer, three packets of chips and a bowlful of peanuts I let the mind ponder on this subject.
I must admit that I failed miserably. I just couldn’t figure it out literally.
Probably Sigmund Freud may have the answer. But I did not want to waste my time pouring a few hours on the cerebral stuff when a good beer and oily chips were just beginning to make an impact on the body.
Brushing it off as a mysterious illusion or something for the time being, the mind dwelt on how lovely the new brand of chips tasted.
However, I could not sleep that night as those words “I am fat”, played out in the mind repeatedly.
The next day I decided to do something about it and turned Sherlock Holmes. I met a psychiatrist friend of mine and over a lunch consisting of fried chicken strips, mash potatoes and spicy potato wedges, I broached on this disturbing fact.
Tucking into a couple of wedges with great relish, he expounded. He said women face a lot pressure through various mediums.
They take keen interest in beauty products or slimming adverts. They see beautiful models, all slim and shiny, posing for full effect. They also regularly see pictures of their favourite actors with slim figures and feel a pang, even if their own figure is good.
Social media also promotes slim, faultless figures and a lot of body shaming also happens. The word slim is driven into the head, daily and relentlessly.
So when a woman sees herself in the mirror and if there are any imperfections, then it becomes an obsession. He went into more details but I had got the gist.
No wonder that when I complemented this girl I know that she had worn an excellent dress, she immediately shot back – “it makes me look fat, doesn’t it?”. And she was close to size zero, mind you.
“No, no. You are not fat at all,” I said but it did not convince her. She is now planning to give that dress away to the maid and buy a new one.
Then I met the previous girl again. Being in a good mood, I jokingly told her that I am running short of potatoes.
I am sorry to report that I am still smarting from a very skilful blow to the belly. And she was a strong woman too.
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