Does being tall really matter?

The think tall but I am small fact!

Ever since I was 10 years old this bug to be tall kept biting me. How unfair life could be- I who was the middle sibling remained less the 5 feet and the brothers on either side grew to be 5 ft 8 inches.
All that promises of sudden shoot in height to make me a decent 5ft 2” did not happen. Puberty came and went with no change, with the onset of my sixteenth birthday; I could feel my biological clock ticking away and again no change to my structure.

Well would I accept defeat-of course not! The Incre-men tonic regimen began (the giraffe on the cover an inspiration to contend with). No parallel bars were left idle, a swing or two after a huge leap to reach the bar and the inevitable assistance of the passer by was sought to help me down. Newspapers and magazines were scanned not for the “GROW RICH QUICK” articles but for the “GROW AND LOOK TALL QUICK” formulas. And find I did! GROW TALL IN 4 Weeks. It said send in your requisition for the plan that could change your life!! Limited entries. I put my limited savings together and sent the money order to the Delhi address specified.

The waiting had started! Every time the postman knocked I would rush to get at the door. The sudden change in attitude confused my simple thinking mom. Her face reflected her thoughts; from where did this energy surge come. Two weeks passed by and no mails addressed to me. And then the day dawned when the postman called out and said that “there is a a cover in the name of Laxmi Mani, no postage stamp has been affixed so with penalty she must pay Rs. 20/-. There was that book I was waiting for with the blurred Delhi address. Mom looked at me quizzically, has my daughter spilled her beans. I quickly grabbed the slim cover from the postman and gave my mom the you don’t know about this look and paid him the paltry amount which would open doors of my grow tall formula.

I went to a quiet corner away from the prying eyes of my younger brother who always was at that edge waiting for any opportunity to target me to be teased mercilessly and the same this girl must be crazy look from my mom. With bated breath I opened my Pandora’s Box. Was disappointed with the total lack of color and luster, but I do believe in the adage that do not judge a book by its cover and I continued with the grand opening ceremony.

Page one of my to be bible said to look tall think tall. Oh is it so, so shall be it. Like PC Sarkar’s magic all negative thoughts were out I told myself ”You are tall”. Now to page two: To look tall wear clothes with vertical stripes… horizontals make you look broad… uh uh…. And on and on it went. The crescendo of this wonderful book was wear 4 inches heels to gain 4 inches of height. The Delhiwala had made Bakra of another one, what a feather to his cap! Someone out there must be rolling in laughter…(uska sathya nash hoye!!) Any one would think in those lines!

Well the search continued but none that gave me the results I really wanted. Years came by and went, at the ripe age of 21 married a not so tall but think tall chartered accountant. The next generation has come and the same queries confound me. Couldn’t my boys have taken after their mamas (uncles) why me. Why couldn’t they be those hulky 6 footers!!!!!

Newspapers and magazines here I come!!! And did I find the right solution; in the corner of our daily newspaper a small color ad appeared on a bright Monday morning. The ad went like this:
“Is your height pushing your confidence down? Age gender no bar. Apply this cream on the heel of your foot everyday and wait for the results.” I read the ad and searched for the address. Well here we are another Delhi address. How come such brilliant ideas find their source only in Delhi! Anyway decided to sleep over it and take a decision the next morning.

Some where in the middle of the night I woke up with a start… I dreamed that I had applied the miracle cream and when I woke up to walk to the bath my toes and my heel were separated by quite a few inches in height. I quickly put on the light and did a thorough self exam..(Only of my feet buddy!) I gave a sigh of relief when the thought struck me, “Lax you have not written to those miracle makers yet.”

That is the lighter side of the so called small made people! But look at it dispassionately, most of us do go through a whole lot of insecurities till it dawns that this is something that very little can be done. Shoe shops do brisk business selling those high platforms, stilettos to the young adults. The health columns of newspapers and magazine frequently publish articles that bring out the harm caused by these little ladders. But why does one really go it for such contraptions???
Well for one most think that they are great confidence boosters, one does not feel looked down upon! Some say clothes look much better on a tall person. Is not that the reason most people who model clothes are a minimum 5’6’’ and the mantra is taller the better!!(more out of reach)
Where do you think the bias really started?? Coming from a tambram family a lot of tamizh proverbs floated around in conversations at home. One of the heard ones were “Kallan a nambinal nambu kullanai nambathai” which meant you can trust a thief but not a short person!
In kannada we hear of the nik name kulla but how often do we hear the name nik name uddha!

I think it is the primary duty of every parent to see that their child feels good about himself/herself. Children must be taught to accept themselves as what they are, especially the physical attributes as those are things that we have little control on, once that is done confidence automatically develops and other things follow.

Tall or short the life’s challenges are the same, we must meet it head on!