Shit just happens. But chutiyapa strikes.

I simply cannot get over the image of Sarita Devi in tears. And I am not even going by the reports in media. I saw the bout myself on TV. I am no boxing aficionado. Hell, I haven’t even seen a proper boxing ring in my life. But whatever little of the sport that I have followed on television, I can at least make out who is winning and who is losing. Unless it’s an evenly balanced fight. Laishram Sarita Devi was the winner of this bout hands down. Alas, the referee raised the Korean’s hand after the end of the match, leaving Sarita Devi shattered.

“Today, it seems I wasted two years of my life. I stayed away from my baby and my husband for two years just to concentrate on boxing. My resolve is broken…I don’t think I will be able to return to the ring soon”, said a devastated Sarita Devi. The resolve, dedication, and skill of this fighter woman got washed out in a singular moment of ‘Chutiyapa’.

Chutiyapa is not to be confused with ‘shit happens’. While shit just stinks for some time, chutiyapa can have more far-reaching consequences. Chutiyapa is something that shakes the foundations of your value system. It strikes at the basic tenets around which you have been living your life. Logic and reason can explain neither of it. But shit absolves itself by tagging along the suffix ‘happens’. While chutiyapa shows no mercy or has no intention of hiding its intentions. Chutiyapa doesn’t happen. It strikes in cold blood.

I am reminded of a scene from the movie Aamir, where the villain/terrorist has kidnapped the protagonist’s family and is now coercing him to do as he says. It goes like this:

Protagonist (Aamir): “aadmi apni taqdeer khud likhta hai………”

Baddie: “acha…….toh is waqt kaun likh raha hai tumhari taqdeer?”

So be it your profession or your personal life, there would always be some things that would give the concept of fairness the middle figure and ruin your life. Or at least a part of it. These are random acts of chutiyapa, which are completely out of your control. You simply can’t do anything about it. When chutiyapa strikes, you can only stand there and wonder what just happened. Because as long as there are chutiyas (like the three judges, who chose to give their judgment with their eyes firmly shut), this world will have more of such chutiyapa.

(And just as I write this, news is coming in that Sarita Devi might be banned for not accepting the bronze medal. That’s Chutiyapa 2 : Sanity 0)