The Art of Bluffing
Not Recently and Not in English!:
by Aditha Dissanayake
How often have you come back from a party or social gathering feeling
you are too stupid to be alive, How often have you lamented to yourself
Everyone was talking about books or movies or Mahagedara/Praveena, and
you just sat there as if you had just landed from the moon.
You haven't seen any of the teledramas on the so called two golden
hours, or Spiderman III or read a single Harry Potter. How stupid can
you be.
Stop. Don't despair. Here are some tips which would help you to bluff
your way through any conversation, however stupid you might feel.
If someone comes up to you while you are trying to balance a glass of
wine and a paper plate filled with snacks at a cocktail and asks you
after having talked about the weather and how many so-and-sos had left
one party to join another, whether you have read A Cause Untrue, The Tin
Drum or Ulysess, tell him 'Not recently'. Of course you may never even
have heard of these books till now, but why let him know?
If he proceeds to quote from the Mahabaratha and asks if you have
read it, tell him, 'Not in English'. This would make him think you are
an erudite scholar who has not only read the Mahabaratha, but, without
settling for a mere translation read it, in its original text. You are
guaranteed he would eagerly change the subject after hearing such an
answer.
As it always does in almost every social gathering a time will come
when someone will ask you to comment on a book, film or play you know
nothing about. When this happens here are some descriptive terms given
by Tim Clark in 'How to appear to know more than you really do', that
might come handy. Tell them 'I prefer the earlier works.
They are more pristine' (Few people know that one meaning of Pristine
is (earlier) or tell them 'I prefer the later works, they are more
mature'.
If the conversation turns to a teledrama ask 'Ah, isn't that the one
where the parents oppose the union of two young lovers' Or Isn't that
the one where a dead man turns up and says he never died. If its about a
political program nod your head and say 'Ahh I watched that.
Isn't that the discussion where everyone lost their tempers and
called each other names If its about a Hindi movie tell them yes. Isn't
that the one in which Sharuk Khan jerks his head upwards and sideways
and bursts into tears every five minutes while Ayshwarya Ray gazes at
everything around her with the same expression on her face, no matter
what the situation.
If its about an English movie tell them yes you remember watching it
because it was about a brutal killing, where a dedicated but eccentric
detective discovers the murderer seconds before the movie ends. Chances
are, even if you manage to get through these questions, at some point in
the conversation someone is bound to turn to you and ask What do you
think.
You can't honestly tell the gathering that you don't know, because
you had not been listening. You can't tell them that while they were
talking you had been trying to recall whether you switched off the iron
or locked the back door before you left home. When this happens try to
get away by answering the question by shaking your head from side to
side and saying sagely 'It all depends'.
But, if all else fail and someone accuses you for bluffing, don't
panic. Do what the Old Farmers Almanac Book of Everyday Advice suggests
you to do. Take some food in to your mouth and chew it thoughtfully as
if you are formulating a reply. Then take a deep breath and point to
your throat.
Rush out of the dining room and make chocking sounds. Return calmly
to the horrified gathering and say 'I am all right, now. If performed
persuasively this would make everyone forget the question they had asked
you and make them congratulate you for having recovered from your bout
of choking.
Much easier though, to quote the Danish physicist Niels Bohr, who
said. There are trivial truths and the great truths. The opposite of a
trivial truth is plainly false. The opposite of a great truth is also
true. Having said that, while your questioners try to figure out what
you just said, excuse yourself and make a graceful exit.
[email protected] |