IN the apartment downstairs a conversation was going on, which I couldn’t help overhear: I realized that Susan, one of the girls who lived as a paying guest with Mrs Kapoor, was in a foul mood this morning. She had promised her two roommates Geeta and Nirmala, the day before that she would stop smoking. She’d managed the day without a puff, but now she found herself irritable for lack of a cigarette.
“I think you girls are being too hard on her,” said Ashok, their friend and who stayed as a paying guest in the same building along with his two friends Sunil and Robert. “You should stop smoking in stages!” said Robert while Sunil nodded in agreement.
“No!” said Geeta, who’d managed to make Susan stop her smoking. “No?” asked Sunil, “What do you mean no? Look at your friend suffering!” They all looked at poor Susan as she struggled not to open a new pack. “There’s only one way to kick a bad habit,” said Geeta, “and that is to kick it hard, once and for all! There’s no other way!”
“You talking about smoking?” asked Sunil. “Smoking, drinking, whatever!” said Geeta, a lawyer who knew how to argue and had a sharp brain in her pretty head. “I think you’re right!” said Ashok slowly. “You had a bad habit you kicked?” asked Sunil.
“Yes I did,” said Ashok, “Pornography! I couldn’t stay away from porn and with it freely available on the net I got addicted to it night and day!” “But why would you want to kick it?” asked Robert with a grin, “I mean what’s wrong with looking at women?”
“When all you want to do, all the time is looking at them, when you can hardly work because the addiction is closing round you and making you incapable of producing your best in other areas, then you know it’s either the habit or you!” Susan looked up from her misery and asked, “And did you manage?”
“Yes I did!” said Ashok, “It was tough, but today I don’t look at porn at all and with my mind free I’m able to concentrate on my career, hobbies and enjoy life!” “Didn’t you enjoy life with porn?” asked Robert grinning.. “I did at the beginning, every habit is good at the beginning but it takes over!”
“There are millions today addicted to porn,” said Geeta. “There’s no other way than to give the habit a kick in the backside!” said Ashok, “no pun intended!” The others were relieved to see Susan smile, “Hey Ashok,” she said, “Maybe we’re buddies in our fight against addiction?”
“We all are!” sighed Geeta, “Some addiction or other, mine is sleep!” “Mine is food,” said Robert. “And what is yours Sunil?” asked Nirmala. “You!” said Sunil as they all laughed, “And it’s an addiction I’m not going to fight as yet!” I was thoughtful upstairs; yes addiction sure could come in the way of your greatest plans, if not checked in time.
