Anyone gotta light??

So, this is the way it is then. Every morning , afternoon, and evening.
Lunch breaks, snack breaks, after meetings, before meetings, any sorta free time.

Ciggarettes: A cylindrical roll of finely cut tobacco cured for smoking, considerably smaller than most cigars and usually wrapped in thin white paper... hmm.. thats what most parents, wives, girfriends (no offence to the fairer sex but the % of male smokers is kinda overpowering) would describe it as.

Ask a cigarette smoker this and he'll tell you why its the best thing man discovered. Now i, by no means want to propogate smoking, but its just the satisfaction that i see on these souls thats making me talk about this subject.

Now its always easy to spot a smoker. Theyre invariably in a bunch...like the bullies in hostel or a pack of harley riders. Always huddled up,thinking, laughing,cursing, blissfull in their small little world. Its as if the cigarette is an extention to their personalities. For once in their life's theyre all equal, at the same platform, irrespective of age, sex, designation. Not suprisingly its the only form of male bonding that i know off. You can find two completely different people , absolute opposites in thinking , appearences, prefernces but together because of that one peice of rolled paper.

And theyre different kinds...atleast where i work...

youll find the habitual smokers...the kind who think, talk, literally breathe smoke. these kinds can be easily identified from a distance. Theyl be the silent types, enjoying a smoke irrespective of the company, boss, juni..whatever. They are also the ones who get the most 'pissed' off when you ask them for a drag.

trust me..i know...

Then there are the ones who smoke outta boredom. Now these are the dangerous types. Theyll come to you, looking all innocent ,as if here only for a general chat or on some work.. and before you know it.. youre outside, doing what they know best.

And theyll keep doing it. Once youre in their radar, say bye bye to your cozy little chair, cause youre not gonna be sitting in it for long. The breaks become longer and slowly, yes slowly, returning back to one's chair becomes more of an obligation rather than a necessisity.

The third type are the "hang-on's". These guys dont smoke regulary..or SO they say.
They never really have the cash to buy a cigarette, and love replaying their favourite excuse: "Yaar, you know i dont smoke man!..i don wanna get into the habit, thats why id dont have a cigi".... Their practised (I've a gut feeling that they plan it well in advance) act comlpete, theyll sheepishly ask you for a drag. everytime.

If youre nice youll even give them a cigirette.
Thats as close to "digging your own grave" that you can get.

And then there's the issue of the "Charachters"...
Now you may actually confuse these ones with circus performers but they're not, theyre just weird or DIFFERENT (like they like to be known). Theyll have the most peculiar smoking styles ; some who move around only in circles when smoking..(that actually reminded me of a poodle the first time i saw it,but...ahem) ,then there are those who resemble steam engines; pacing "up and down", huffing and puffing...breaking occasionally for a release.... and
yes finally, my personal favorites; The "clint eastwoods"...These guys do the whole routine; From the wincing look to the peircing eyes...theyll even cook up a funny little accent...just for the impact...

Now our advertising community has done all to really propogate this felling of "manhood" thats associated with cigarettes. There've been the Akshay Kumars, hanging precariusly from trolley carts, jumping mid air to save a stranger's life, or scarf or something on those lines. After possibly breaking all laws of gravity that Mr. Newton wasted his lifetime on, our daredevil casually takes out a cigarette and comments "Hum Red and White peene wallo ki baat hi kuch aur hain"... Yes, Yes Mr Kumar you are the Indian Clint Eastwood, no questions about it.

But to their credit, there have been some "educational" campaigns too. Like the one made by the Cancer federation of India.
It showed the life cycle of a male, right from his school days to his end.
Whats intresting is that they picked on exactly the same point that all the commercial cigerretes brands were using; "Cigarettes = manhood" ( w/o the additional bonus of less gravitational pull).
From a jingle like " A cigerrete in my hand, i felt like a man" to the very impactful "Ciggerette in my hand , i was a dead man", the campaign did wonders in breaking that myth.

It did, really... I gotta go now...time for a break...My "hang-on" buddy's approaching.....

adios.