Hello Uncle :(

This happened somewhere in 2009-10.

My boss [a lady], my male colleague, who looks much younger than me, but of almost same age and I were visiting to a school for one of our research projects.

I just asked a kid about the address, he gave directions calling me as uncle. Hearing this my colleague laughed, but thank God, that kid also called my colleague, as uncle and told him to take the left and not right. I was a bit relieved.

Post listening to this “Uncle” thing, whatever one feels, I too felt the same. We left the place, I tried hard not to show it on my face.

I was not angry as such [I am lying here], but felt a bit offended that I have been called as ‘uncle’. I had good crop on my head then, though it just started to recede a bit.

My mind suddenly went to that hair-color ad, used to come on television long back. How someone calls a white hair guy as uncle, and he felt sad.

That time, I thought to myself, what’s wrong in calling someone uncle or aunt, as I always used to call it that time. [ads do make a mark on us]

But the above ‘address’ incident struck me very hard and I want to salute to the insights team of that particular brand. Such a strong and powerful insight.

Now I am married and have a kid as well. My son’s friends and other kids in the society call me uncle, but I never felt what I felt when that chap called me uncle.

Then there were many such instances, each one adding a blow to my existing wound. But now I got numb to it. I won’t mind it now.

But not to forget, this looking old has its own benefits. You get a by-default respect, priority of getting seat in a crowded bus or train.

Someone gets out of lift, to accommodate you. But, each and every such instance gets literally unbearable.

So, why it offended me that time, or for that matter to any man, woman when called as Uncle or Aunt.

Is that because of a feeling or guilt that one is getting old? Or we almost forget that we are aging and still live in that bubble of youth, thinking we still have it in us.

We get so engrossed in our daily life, routine, no one is able to draw a line between childhood, youth, “UNCLE” age and finally the old age.

There may be a guilt, because we are not able to put up self in fit and fine condition, which others in the same age are keeping themselves. Obviously, then there will be such instances of calling one as Bro and other as Uncle.

It may be because we are losing on time and whatever time spent here, haven’t achieved much or still don’t know what to achieve.

In that, someone calling us uncle [or don’t know when they will start calling grandpa] constantly remind us that it’s the time, you haven’t yet started. Don’t know.

Have you ever been called as Uncle/Aunt? How did you feel when heard it first time? Would like to know your experiences.