ON OBESITY
D. Ranga Rao
In the beginning things were large. In
ancient times all objects including man were of generous proportions. Take any
monument in the world worth its name that has stood the test of time you will
note that it is characterised by its dominating dimensions. The desert wonders,
the Pyramids of Egypt; the marble marvel, the Taj of India; the Statue of
Liberty of America, the Peace Statue of Japan are all large structures. You
will agree with me, dear reader that life’s perfection is observed in the
largeness of things.
It is no exaggeration when I say that there
is a definite grace in being large sized that is, in being obese. Obesity, like
virtue is a gift from the gods. Not all are obese or can be. One cannot grow
obese, however much one tries, if one is not ordained to be so. Dear reader, if
you are one of the blessed few who are obese, remain so happily. Be proud and
merry for being obese. Never try to slim down into a reed. It amounts to
sacrilege. It must have been in a depressed state of mind that the poet blurted
out that perfection can be seen in small proportions.
Language, the vehicle of expression, has
nothing but contempt for the non-obese. Look at the words ‘lean’, ‘lank’,
‘thin’, ‘small’ etc...They are all monosyllabic mice of hungry words. Now look
at these words ‘rotund’, ‘plump’, ‘stout’, ‘obese’. Pronounce them. They fill
your mouth and heart with gladness. They carry an imperial dignity about them.
They make you feel big. Incidentally, the word ‘big’, dear reader, though a
monosyllable itself, has an inexplicable bigness about it as its cousin ‘fat’
has a jolly fatness about it.
Plump people are jovial people. There is
happiness in their eyes, love in their looks, peace in their hearts, gentleness
in their thoughts and laughter in their presence. Villany is not in their
veins, treachery is not in their souls. Every pore of these pious beings exudes
friendliness and kinship. These jolly jellies are pleasant as plump puddings.
They are the minstrels of mirth, rogues that revel in merriment. These living
lumps of rolling flesh are soft as down, sweet as sugar and good as gold.
Remember, dear reader, obese people make
dependable friends, lively companions, understanding spouses, loving parents,
affectionate masters, reliable servants, good teachers and dutious disciples.
They are the very picture of contentment. Stable and staid, solid and
sure, they know that it is better to be slow
and steady than run and ruin. It is in such qualities as these that their
temptation to overeat are offset and balanced. The obese people give to life a
mass and a volume, a meaning and a fulness, a breadth of vision and a sense of
well-being with their darling dimensions.
The fun and frolic of Falstaff would have
fallen flat had he not been a ‘ton of a man’, generous in proportions and fond
of sack and sugar. The men of his goodly race are masters of wit and humour.
‘Full of wise saws and modern instances’ the people of his ilk are ever young
in spirit. They drive away gloom and usher in gladness. ‘Larding the lean
earth’ with their fair round bellies and cheesy cheeks they poke fun at others
and can receive jibes in good humour. They know that their flesh is their
frailty and so wisely advocate that ‘discretion is the better part of valour’.
The secret of their success lies in their weakness. That is their strength.
Lean men never make any impact on the world.
If any, it is negative. They are noted for qualities that are to be despised.
The bard of Stratford-on-Avon has warned us already. “Yond Cassius has a lean
and hungry look. He thinks too much, such men are dangerous”. And again “he
loves no music as thou dost, Antony, he seldom smiles…such men as he be never
at heart’s ease whilst they behold a greater than themselves; and therefore are
they dangerous”.
Dear reader, if there should be prosperity,
peace, plenty and happiness in the world, we should encourage obesity. Medical
men have a sacred duty in this regard to humanity. They should discourage the
use of potions that reduce men and women into wiry and vily beings. The State
should recognise the significance and importance of obesity and strike medals
and issue stamps in honour of these stout hearts. The wittiest, the wisest and
the kindest of mankind have been these big bums and buxom belles. Let us give
them power, make them Prime Ministers and Presidents. Then peace will prevail
in the world. Mr. Pumpkin and Lady Pumpkin, bursting at seems, with their brood
of bonny babies are the crying need of the hour if mankind should survive and keep
going.