This past weekend I had the opportunity to go to an Indian Music (Bollywood) concert. But the real experience for me was a day before, at the pre-concert dinner. That event was at a local Indian restaurant. It was an average sized hall, but with surprisingly few people. I went to over the bar and looked towards the stage. And I knew who the "star" on the stage was....instantly!
This guy had dark shades on, (it was about 9 30 pm and indoors!) And the attitude was typical of a 'spoilt brat'. And then in a few minutes, I guess it was time for him to leave. A cordon of about 12-15 young men appeared around our star and closeted him. Then they herded him out of the room, all the while forming a tight circle around him, pushing away imaginary crowds! And there was NOBODY within 20 feet of our star! It was quite a spectacle.....almost comical.
Later on in the evening, we were sitting around a table with a few close friends, waiting for the next star to show up. We discussed how people feed the ego of our stars, which is already humungous, and make it "Super- humungous". They all agreed with me. And then the next star showed up.... and in the next two seconds, everybody on my table disappeared! I found myself alone on the table, except for the entertaining company of my 3-yr-old godson!
I think all of us (including me) are a part of the reason why most of our stars have an air about them, some of it deserved, but mostly not! We belong to a culture where any connection, no matter how remote, to any celebrity gives the person a 'leg up' on his peers. For example, (read this slowly) knowing the "celebrity's sister's husband's cousin's neighbor" will get you a lot of "oohs" and 'aahs"!
And finally the concert itself-- the star with more humility was the one who rocked the crowd. She did not have an irritating attitude, was very friendly and her performance was par excellence! The other "star" with all the attitude -- was terrible. Now extrapolate that to the real world. People with an 'air' or 'attitude' about them.....are they just that? Just a lot of 'hot air' and no substance or sincerity?
"A humble, healthy attitude is contagious but don't wait to catch it from others. Be a carrier." ~ Jawaharlal Nehru
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