A good loud swear is like a roaring ringing sneeze - leaves a wake of distressed neighbours, but relieves you like nothing else can, at that precise moment. Everytime I let one out, I feel lighter. I feel happier for having dumped my load of unhappiness instead of lugging it around.
I see that my assertions are hardly convincing. So here are some situations for you. Tell me what words come to your mouth before anything else in response...
- Your Wintel machine hangs on you just when you are wrapping up a long email. Of course MS didn't save the draft for you
- Put on your best party dress, step out in the breezy, minty, fresh from rain night and SPLAT! A car just passed by and one of it's wheels happened to slice through the nearby puddle
- You have sliced or hooked your last 5 shots at the driving range. A hottie in the shortest of shorts walks up 2 mats from you. You barely have the time to admire her legs and whack - she drives a perfect 160 yards
So next time you feel like it, just let it rip...
Must add a disclaimer here though - don't swear loudly in Hindi! Some languages lend themselves naturally to swearing - Hindi is NOT one of them. A crass word in Hindi is just that - crass. You won't get any emotional support or understanding if you let out a loud BC, MC or other such dignified phrases. Having said that, I must also add that I find it really funny to observe the hypocrisy that most modern Indian women seem to display these days - it's fine to say fuck, asshole, bitch, whatever in English, but don't you dare utter a gaali in Hindi. It's just not acceptable!
But then I have seen exceptions to this too. In b-school you will see gals swearing in Hindi with as much venom or emotion as a guy can muster in the same situation. Rumour has it that girls outdo the guys by a fair margin and flair in this dept at the annual competition between XLRI and IIM-C. Now there's a reason to clear CAT or XAT!
And if you thought swearing is just about hate or anger, listen to this anthem...