Day 3: 8 Fears

Every person would like to be a Superman, be very strong and have no fears. I am no Superwoman. It's funny how easily I could come up with a list of 8 fears and my list still wasn't done. I do however believe, that sometimes fears are necessary, they drive a person to overcome those and move ahead. Some of mine are pretty rational and some have absolutely no rationale at all ! But here goes.

1. Fear of Cockroaches (Katsaridaphobia)
They bring out the best dancer in me. Literally. Especially the flying ones. Ever seen the movie Mr. India where Sridevi and Anil Kapoor run helter-skelter because of a co-co-co-cockroach? I can totally relate to that. In India, if I spotted a cockroach in a room somewhere on the floor I would be on the bed faster than a marathoner. Dad and my sister would be the ones running behind it with a newspaper or a broom and most times my devilish sister after having killed it, would still bring it close to me to scare me more ! A friend once told me, "Tera size kya, uska size kya, dar usko lagna chahiye ya tujhe" but for me, its impossible to stay calm once I spot one !!!!

2. Fear of Bats (Chiroptophobia)
No, not the cricket ones. The flying ones which hang upside down on trees and you can see their evil eyes gleaming red even in moonless nights. Absolutely terrify me. When we stayed in a lower floor, one accidently entered our house and was unable to initially find its way out and flew all over the place. I have been terror-stricken ever since. The very sound of its flapping wings can scare me to bits.

3. Of Alzheimers
Striking me or a loved one. It pains me to think of what would happen if someone close to me fails to remember people and/or events. If I ever get affected, I wouldn't know how that would be, but the ones close to me would suffer. But more painful would be if someone close to me gets affected. I don't ever want anyone to go through that, forget people, events, your loved ones - unable to do simple daily chores, go someplace and be afraid that you might not remember where you are. Memories are something to be cherished, never forgotten.

4.  Becoming Invisible (Athazagoraphobia)
I have an identity. Before marriage, I was my father's name as my last name, now my husband's last name. But I am still Deepa. I have a beautiful family - both mine by birth and that of my in-laws, good friends, a good education, a job, a reputation, some respect that I have in someway built for myself. Sure, there would be people who may dislike me too. But I do know deep in my heart that the number of people I can call "friends" are way more than those I cannot. What if one day, I just don't matter to anyone anymore?

5. Of going bald ! (Phalacrophobia)
Hehe, this one's funny and a pretty recent fear. My first winter in the US, I lost half the volume of my hair because of the cold weather and hence the hot water. And ever since, its been a downhill battle. Now its a daily struggle ! 7 years in the uber-cold place have taken its toll on my poor hair. Looking forward to move out of here, if not for anything else, atleast for the sake of my leftover hair. Hopefully, this fear won't materialize.

6. Of being burnt (Pyrophobia)
Fire is a huge fear for me. Just a quick burn is a different thing. But I have had nightmares of being engulfed in flames and staying alive post that event with a scarred face, hands etc. I am not an outwardly appearance person. But somehow, the thought sends shivers down my spine.

7. Of Both Natural and Man-Made Disasters.
Are the natual disasters occurring all around the world not sufficient that man has to go around spreading terror? The recent events of the Bombay Blasts are just another example. I don't want people to be resilient. My fear is that Mumbaiites would become so "resilient" that it becomes a daily occurrence and we get used to it. What perverse pleasure would someone derive by taking the lives of innocents? He would have to be born wired wrong to think of doing something like that. I am not a very religious person, my relationship with God has been very volatile, does not mean I am an atheist, but I have a very strong belief in the power of Mother Nature. No matter what we do, we will never be able to truly conquer her and maybe that is how it should be. Man should always fear Nature.

8. Of a Nuclear War/Attack anywhere on Earth
Most nations are now going nuclear and any one single incident can trigger a chain reaction. Nations would be at war with each other. There will be much bloodshed. Mankind cannot afford that. Millions of lives would be lost. Rebuilding lives would take forever. And the tremors of the impact would be felt for generations to come. Use of nuclear power maybe helpful in a lot of areas, but building nuclear weapons for warfare has to be man's worst invention till date. Not to mention, darned cockroaches can even survive a nuclear explosion. Irritating creatures !


I would love to hear your views!