After seven seasons and  two further episodes, the streets of Seven Kingdoms feel like home . I felt smoke in my nose for years after they burnt down Winterfell . I have dreaded the scourge of Nightwalkers and  the onset of Winters for quite long  . In every woman I  come across, I search for Cersei of my dreams . I have tried to identify dragons in ferocious dogs , and dire-wolves in benevolent ones . I suspect the Imp’s brain is mapped like mine .Like me , he keeps words for his mistresses and never minces them  .I just wish Tyrion was atleast as tall as  I am.

 

GoT is my universe ,although it exists only in millions of minds .  With the vehemence and total assuredness of a religious zealot , I consider any non-viewer a misguided ,uninitiated kafir ,a potential convert.

“You just have to make him walk through the streets of King’s Landing.”

“ Watch one episode and you shall be hooked.”

Co-religionists have a common vision of heaven , hell and life on earth. For someone who believes in Seven Kingdoms or the Marvel Universe , a person showing no enthusiasm for ‘his world ’ can be quite perplexing. On the other hand, non-believers must also find such vehement belief in a fantasy quite amusing .This is like a brotherhood ,you are either like us ,or mocking at us.

 

Every now and then ,one comes across such peacocks on social media who post comments like “ tried watching it,could not complete even one episode”, “ the show commodifies women !”, “ I just hate GoT but dunno why !”, “ The world is going gaga over Season 8.I could not care less”, “ I hope the GoT crowd shall allow me to live after this”.  Most respectable ones make ‘expert’ comments about GoT’s poor production values,and confused writing. These souls  are basically screaming for attention. One can only be a part of a large group if he is a GoT buff. But one can draw some attention by decrying the show.This is not a question of taste.I have seen many of these  uncles liking Akshay Kumar films,and many such aunties endorsing Ekta Kapoor serials.

 

The running time is quite quite long in  the case of GoT. This is a palpable excuse to avoid watching it . But baiters and cribbers fish hard to find innovating excuses . “Too much politics”, averred a friend. All he can talk about during conversations is Modi versus Rahul . “Too much sex and violence,” protested a dame, who found Fifty Shades of Grey unputdownable.

 

Different versions of this vanity exist. During such mania ,two kinds  of people grab most eyeballs. One who swear by a craze ,and become leaders among masses , or others who  refuse to join the hoards .

“People watch  Netflix and Prime ,I prefer to read.”

“I caught Endgame on Day One,Two,Three,and I am someone who shall analyse it critically and attribute philosophical explanations as to why Tony Stark did why he did what he did .”

Aim is the same. Attention is the name of the game.

 

Earlier there used to be  LOTR (Lord of the Rings) .Now there is GOT. The former was more fantasy, less politics. For someone who grew up  on the legends of the Mahabharata,LOTR turned out to be  closer to Ramayana. The Evil (Sauron)  had to be located and destroyed. The brave would join forces ,find evil and put it down . George R.R.Martin’s creatures of life and death have managed to fill  that void . I had not read any of his Fire and Ice Books ,and did not even hop onto the TV Series bandwagon till quite late . By then Papa Lannister had already been slain. I binge-watched . I could not have stayed  alive otherwise.

 

Social media was not a monster when LOTR got released. But GoT craze has been fed and fuelled by various fan groups . LOTR characters thrived in solitary  imaginations – not every action of Gandalf ,Gollum and Legolas was discussed by fervent fans on chats. But Arya and Sansa  Stark or Ser Brianna are constantly under public eye . Jon Snow is someone who keeps coming back from the dead ,and has almost been adjectivised . The Imp is one reason why dwarfs get a tad more respect today ,afterall they might be witty and intelligent ! Social media has sewed these characters into the canvas of our lives .

 

That one  doesnt have time or patience to wait for sequels,seasons and prequels is a very valid explanation. One might be averse of fantasy, I can buy that.But why broadcast it over Facebook . Not loving epics is not the exact opposite  emotion as loving them . Being crazy about Sci-fi ,or Superhero Universe calls for  sharing your emotion . But if you don’t like sex or food, why be under self-generated pressure to announce and the justify it on social media ?

Gandhi watched Raja Harishchandra is newsworthy.  Gandhi didn’t care for Alam Ara is a vacuous comment . Edwina was Mountbatten’ s wife is relevant. Clarifying  that Edwina was not Nehru’s wife is rather lame.

 

One might not even believe in Nightwalkers,or Dragons. Or Thanos and Thor. But one does enjoy  love and  sex ,intrigue ,power play ,flight of fancy  and make-believe. Which is why we love real politics ,because politicians spin tales and we buy yarns of dreams. These are reasons enough to spare us our ‘coolness’ about not watching it.Its a great product,the loss is yours.FUVM.

 

Rather than compulsive contrarians,i would call these specimen simple attention-seekers.Since they are not hogging limelight fabricating conspiracy theories , discussing endgame scenerios or attributing deeper meanings to mundane goings-on, they might as well get noticed for abstinence. This makes them feel classy. There is also a mystical quality about such denial. Their life must have something really interesting enough for them to give cold shoulder to GoT,LOTR,Marvel and Harry Potter.

 

Heavens shall not fall if one don’t get engrossed in these Universes ? How many of us have actually read our holy books ? How many Jihadis have actually read Quran to kill in its name ? Or for that matter , how many of Islamist apologists have , even as they spring up to absolve the Book ? Hardly anyone reads Bible,Gita, Vedas anymore . In offices, files are signed without being read . People have not seen Godfather or Gandhi or LOTR ,but have lived  the same miserable ,unhappy ,worm-like lives like those who saw them did . These ‘suspension of disbelief’  projects are just products in the market. Good if you use them ,damned if you don’t.

 

But one gem of an excuse I have heard over the years for not watching GoT is that the person is stocking up good things in life,to be savoured post-retirement.

Rest all is baloney.