Oh! Colombo

I am sure all of us have met people who take great pride in their ancestry and tend to deafen those around them talking of their lineage that could be traced back to the great kings of this country. Yes we have.

I had met such a type many years ago and he was closeted too. Nothing was good enough for Mr. High and Mighty who had come back from a stint in the Middle East. He was always bragging about how he was related to many a great family but strangely he was never seen at any of the family functions. When asked, he used to come up with the excuse that there was a bit of family tension with that particular relation and due to that he was not able to attend the function even though they had called him a couple of times to persuade him to come over. He certainly knew about all these grand families even though they never knew of him. This individual used to always claim that he was in line to a great inheritance. When he was employed he used to leave the job shortly thereafter on the basis that his parents would have a right royal fit if they knew who his employees were and this façade used to go on. I who have no patience with such ridiculous nonsense never took to him and was happy that I distanced myself when he did try to befriend me many years ago.

Just this week a friend of mine was relating a story of a man who had come looking for a job in an NGO. She described the individual as being from high connections and that he was going through desperate times right now owing to legal wrangling over an inheritance. He had explained to her that he was looking for a job to tide him over until the court case was resolved. He also had one condition of his employment, which was that he would have to use an alias since it would not be good for his families’ reputation if they realized that he was working in an organization connected to anti-AIDS. Thanks to social media Mr. High and Mighty had been photographed. A quick look at the photograph and I realized that it was Mr. High and Mighty from the Middle East, just 30 years older. What I found amazing was that even in such desperate times he insisted on keeping up this charade.

One does feel sorry for desperate people but certainly not when they act with such arrogance. There are many a person in this village who acts as if they are “to the manor born” but are with absolutely no substance other than for their false arrogance and big talk. Sad but true.