By Sam Trailerman
You remember that line, right? "Take It Easy Policy" - from that AR Rahman banger Urvashi Urvashi back in 1994. Prabhu Deva dancing like his bones was made of rubber and electricity, and we were all trying to copy that step in front of the mirror and almost dislocating our shoulders.
I didn't know it then, but that one line was actually life advice. Better than anything your uncle forwards on WhatsApp at 6 AM.
The whole philosophy is simple. Don't take life so bloody seriously. Relax da.
The song itself is full of such truths disguised as nonsense. One line says, if you're thin like a needle, you don't need a pharmacy. And he's right. If you're eating properly, moving your body a little, not treating your stomach like a dustbin for all the fried, oily, extra-cheese stuff - you won't have to stand in line at the pharmacy counting out pills like it's your second job.
But do we listen? No.
We worry about what’s on our breakfast plate, lunch plate, dinner plate. Is this organic? Is that gluten-free? Is this keto-friendly? My friend, just eat. Eat sensibly. Have a Take It Easy Policy on the plate also.
Because as they say, you are what you eat. If you eat garbage for thirty years, don't be surprised when your body starts behaving like a garbage truck.
And there is another line in that song that hits you only when you cross fifty. It roughly says - what’s the point of enjoying at 60 if you didn’t enjoy at 20?
At 20, your body forgives everything. You can eat roadside fried chicken at 11 PM, drink three sugary drinks, sleep at 3 AM and still wake up fresh enough to run a marathon. At 60? Your body keeps receipts.
Cross 60 and your immune system is no longer the bouncer it once was. It has retired. It’s sitting in a plastic chair outside, half-asleep. One slightly suspicious piece of sambal, one prawn that looked at you funny, and boom - gut infection.
And that is where the real drama begins.
First you go to the nearby clinic, thinking a simple medicine will fix it. The doctor there looks at you, looks at your age on the IC, and his face changes. "Uncle, better we do some tests."
Tests. That innocent word.
Suddenly you are on a conveyor belt. Blood test. Urine test. Kidney test. Liver test. Tests you didn’t even know existed. Then the big guns come out. Colonoscopy. Endoscopy. That’s where they very politely tell you they will insert a camera into places where even sunlight has never reached, just to see what’s going on inside.
Oh, and let's not forget the MRI. They slide you into that noisy, claustrophobic coffin-machine that sounds like a construction site having a fight. Magnetic Resonance Imaging, they call it. Fancy way of saying; let’s take a very expensive photo of your insides to see if some tiny gremlins are inside having a birthday party.
By the time all the reports come out, you have a file thicker than your house loan agreement.
Then comes the final level - the referral to the big General Hospital. A senior surgeon, flanked by two junior surgeons, all staring at your reports like they are discussing a cricket match strategy. They will huddle, nod seriously, and decide whether you need to be wheeled onto the operating table or whether they will spare you for now.
And there you are, lying on that bed, thinking - all this for one extra plate of Nasi Kandar?
This same Take It Easy Policy works for the heart too.
You fall in love. You get rejected. The world says, "First cut is the deepest." Songs are written, poets cry, your friends give you long lectures about self-love.
I say - first cut, second cut, whatever. Have a strong espresso, pop a painkiller if you still can’t and go to sleep, maybe a shot of double vodka lemonade might do the trick. Take It Easy Policy.
Because life, whether it's your stomach, your heart, or that boss who sends emails at 10 PM, is not meant to be carried on your head like a bucket of water.
Put it down. Take it easy.
Nganasegaran (tapessam@gmail.com) is a content creator under the Newswav Creator programme, where you get to express yourself, be a citizen journalist, and at the same time monetize your content & reach millions of users on Newswav. Log in to creator.newswav.com and become a Newswav Creator now!
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