Time to look into our Inside Edge

Conditioning matters. Building a right narrative in the early age matters.

What are we if not for our conditioning or upbringing? And why does it matter so much?

Kids play and if the kid doesn’t mix up well or fit into an environment, one jumps into conclusion that he or she hasn’t brought up well or question his or her conditioning. Everytime a person does some wrong action, it is led to believe that the person has not brought up well or rather in a right atmosphere. Some pity themselves for the wrong actions while some play the victim card. Victim to our upbringings.

We are all slaves to our upbringing. Upbringing works closely to our minds so we can equal our slavery to our minds which is to some extent true isn’t it? Our mind plays a big role in the way we conduct or perform an action.

Right upbringing is rewarding whereas wrong upbringing will backfire one and create misery in one’s life in the long run.

How?

I was watching Inside Edge – a web series in Amazon Prime and there was a situation played by the two actors in which conditioning took a center stage. I really felt there was a strong story there that should be told. Maybe I saw more to it and resolved to show my readers too. 

The characters discussed below are portrayed by the actors Amit Sial and Siddhant Chaturvedi.

(Siddhant Chaturvedi as Prashant and  Amit Sial as Devendra Mishra)

 The two don’t share a friendly relationship and are hostile towards each other so much that Devendra continuously annoys and goes rough on Prashant. Infact, his hurling tirade of abuses and loathing becomes a reason to a crime that Prashant doesn’t want to be part of. This happens towards the end of the first season of the series and director gives a cliffhanger ending to the situation making the viewers wait.

Come season two, Devendra haunts Prashant not only throwing nightmares but also during his every waking moment. At one point he becomes a sole reason for Prashant’s deteriorating scores in the tournaments. Prashant cries, loses his sanity and indulges in rash driving.

In one episode towards the end of season two, they are locked up in a prison, together and having no other for company, they are forced to blurt out the anguish and frustration on one another. The bubble bursts. Devendra breaks out. Lost to smithereens, he vents out his frustration on his conditioning. The way caste system refused to hide its ugly head in his growing years and how society and his own family played a major role in framing and shaping his unhealthy mindset. Having said that, he hits a nail by saying that this conditioning has occupied a strong hold in his mind and will take long time to depart his mind and soul.

After a few dialogues and monologues, tables turn, nerves of the two calm, and they are seen sharing water from the same bottle. The scene of animosity fades and friendship starts to sprout between the two.

Here we should not forget that this is a web series. Reel life! Here we will often see the tables turn. Foes become friends, petty squabbles become a foundation to deep bonding, ruffling feathers will provide a new hope of friendship by leaving past behind and so on. But real life is different. The conditioning will stay for real. The acrid taste will never leave. The negative element in the conditioning will wrap us in its ugly shell. The table of it will dug its heels deep into the ground and they will never change their positions. The hatred will never fade away but it will get stuck to the individual and will haunt for their lifetime.

In his book ‘With love from hills’, Ruskin Bond quotes “The moments or situations of childhood are the one which lingers with us forever”, which is so true to the point.

If Inside Edge talks about changing dynamics in a relationship, one thing which I find relatable that even amidst the acting, the truth peeps out. The truth always find its own way of making its presence felt.

The scene further unfolds by actor quipping  “Whom I should blame or to whom I should apologize. Those memories stay with me and never chose to take a backseat even if I have come so far.“

Here, I would not blame Devendra for being so harsh on Prashant even though there were times I wanted to rip him into pieces. Given his place (acting abilities apart), he was right. His sensibilities and world view are shaped by his society and people he grew up with. Had been a change in the worldview of those people, he would have been a different person. A reasonable and compassionate human being.

At the outset, uprooting a right conditioning inside our child is totally on us. We have a choice to sow the seeds of negativity or positivity in a child’s mind. We definitely do have a choice but our choices trace back to our conditioning. How we condition our child will say how we are conditioned! We should sit back, introspect, observe our actions and reactions to the situations and then we should unlearn our conditioning and that is when a real change will encircle us. The churning within us give rise to new birth of our new self. Once the change draws us closer, the new mindset will make ourselves fit to condition or shape our children to a better, well-informed and happy individual.