Angels & Demons

I met him about a week back, and that too quite by chance. It was my first time, and I wasn't sure what to expect. I certainly didn't expect liking him within 10 minutes of meeting him. But like him, I did. Of course I had my qualms, and rightly too. I mean – who ever likes a demon? A Demon!! Well, I did, and I still do, even though my association with him is long over. I am talking about Bartimaeus, Sakhr al-Jinni, the Serpent of Silver Plumes, N'gorso the Mighty, and my favorite – Rekhyt. And I met him in the triology, aptly titled, The Bartimaeous Triology, by Jonathan Stroud.

Bartimaeus proves throughout the three books that no one is good and no one is bad. We are all shades of grey – a little good and a little bad. Not one person I know can claim that he has never been bad, ever (except one, but then as I keep telling him, he's damn weird!) A Demon is supposed to be bad, right? Damn right, he is. All the stories we heard as kids about demons in hell who would roast you on a fire if u weren't a good girl (thanks to my teachers at Villa Theresa Convent School) had it imprinted in our brains that demons are bad. And in this book too, there are bad demons. And then there is Bartimaues. I'm not saying he was an absolute angel or really sweet or anything like that. In fact, if my mother ever heard me talking as sarcastically as he does, she would definitely think I was a demon! And he does his bit of bad and maybe even enjoys it too.

But inside that essence, underneath all those forms he took, there was something good. Even though he was a demon, he could be trusted. And that is what made me like him. Yes, he had a good (OK amazing) sense of humor; his sarcasm was top-of-the-order and he was cute (in a demonic kind of way!) But the real reason I liked him was that he was good, even though he was supposed to be bad.

We don't have to be what society expects us to be. We have to be what we want to be. It should necessarily be like this, but sadly it is necessarily the other way round. Expectations of what we are supposed to be and how we are supposed to behave run our lives. Agreed, that society has some rules to live in, like wearing clothes, and these should be followed. But doing something because it is expected of you, even though you don't want to? Like - "What will people think if I do this? I really want to but I cant!" Now that I don't agree with.

If you really want to do it that badly, then do it. Be prepared to face the consequences, and know well in advance what you are getting into. And if then, you still want to do it, then go right ahead! Don't care a damn what the world thinks or how pinky aunty will gossip about it to all other aunties of the building. She doesn't think before gossiping so as to "what will everyone think if I gossip so much?" Then why do you bother! As the people at Nike believe – Just Do It!

Ok – we went off on a tangent there – sorry. Back to Bartimaeus. If a so-called demon can find it within himself to be good to his master – someone who has enslaved him, I'm sure we all can. It doesn't take too much, and if you do it his way, it doesn't even hurt your ego! And if you have an image to maintain, as Bartimaeus (the other djinn would give him hell if they ever found out that he was nice to his master) you can be good discretely (or bad - depending on what you are right now!) Nathaniel didn't even know for a long time that Bartimaeus actually liked him (well kind-off!)

Until next time…