What a little bit of undeserving praise can do!!

Today, I'll share a very valuable experience of what a little bit of flattery and undeserving praise, accompanied with a push to perform in the same field, can do to a person. The effects of what in Bengali colloquial terms we call 'bar khaoa'!!

The other day I was chatting with a friend on the net. Now, it so happened, that this very person had in some other time made some positive remarks about my blog writings. Anyways, in the course of chatting, I was prompted by this person to write up a kind of sarcastic narrative consisting of two lovers walking with balloons in their hands. (!!!) Now, my logic and rationale told me that even if I can probably produce decent documentary articles which would pass the language exams comfortably, I had never been any good in creating imaginative stories. (Not that I haven't tried!) But the mind is very vulnerable and weak against feelings of being praised (sometime 'seeing' praise even when there is none!) and in thoughts of doing something great where you never have accomplished.

So - out of simple 'bar khaoa' (lacking of proper English substitute, I'm resorting to this Bengali term) - both from myself and from the other person, I set myself upon this daunting task of conjuring up such a piece. Without further ado, I'll just paste below what resulted, and leave to the readers to conclude how devastating effects of undeserving praises, can be and how silly can it make one appear!!

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The sun was setting along the Princep-Ghat of Kolkata, but it was just rising in the lives of two young man and woman walking along the path alongside the river. In their late twenties, they were just blossoming into the realm of sweet romance like fresh rose buds. (Red rose, for the more inquisitive!) What a sight did they make - the two walking side by side, with a red heart-shaped balloon in their hands - only those who beheld would understand. The ardent Romeo, dressed in red shiny pants and white high-collared shirts with two thin red stripes running down the chest, bore in his lips what he was sure to be a thousand watt smile. Our dear Juliet was dressed in a fluorescent pink saree and blood-red blouse, looked as intriguing and daring.

Each bore in his and her hand a big red heart-shaped balloon flying high and proudly soaring up into the sky, symbolising their new-found eternal love, rooted firmly in their hands, yet soaring up to great heights. On their way, a small child of about 4 years, by some mischievous plot of fate, had by chance taken a liking to those large balloons and even had the ill-bred audacity to ask for those. But of course, not to be swayed by such negative diversions, our beguiling pair had moved on even without sparing a glance for the ill-bred nuisance. Each had bought the other the balloon they carried, and had written the name of the loved one on the balloon before handing it over. But they had made a little mistake - I'm sure in the height of passion - such that ultimately each bore in his/her hand the balloon given by the other person which resulted in each carrying the balloon of his/her own name. But such small inconsequential follies are surely to be overlooked in the height and display of such passionate moments.

Such was the understanding among the two, that no one ever heard a single word being uttered. They kept walking, looking up to their balloons in a dazed way, (their necks must have ached, I'm sure, but they had the pleasure of absorbing this small pain for the sake of their love), and in intervals of about 30 seconds, they would look down to each other, smile to each other, and flutter their eyelashes at the exact same time with a synchronisation that would baffle the physicists and which - my reader - is only possible from the love they shared for each other.
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Phew!! That was it!! The first few sentences might be passable (or at least I flatter myself by thinking so), but the later portions.... well, who cares!!