Interestingness, yes, it’s a real word. The first I came across this word was while watching the BBC show QI which was then hosted by the incomparable Stephen Fry. It was he who used this word to describe the theme of the show. He is quite fond of making up words and that is what I thought he had done. But I have subsequently found out that it is actually a valid word in the English language and not just a neologism made on television.
The reason I find this word so fascinating and attractive is that it is, by its very self, interesting. It is not a word I had heard before, and, as a student of English Literature, I’ve heard a lot of weird new words. It interested me. It did so because we have as a society given up on interests (except when it comes to fixed deposits, perhaps). Most of us don’t read. When we listen to music we just listen to what everyone else is listening to. And, even with TV series, we just watch some simply so we have something to talk about.
No one really has an interest anymore, something that makes them interesting. It seems to me that the main motivation for gaining knowledge has become academic success or promotions – both measured by parameters that in no way account for personality. Therefore, while this “Sharmaji ka beta” phenomenon has exponentially increased marks and salaries, it has made us duller and duller as human beings.
We know how to read and write, but we don’t read poetry. We know all about the solar system, but we don’t look up at the sky. We have always wanted to, but never learnt a musical instrument. We know algebra and calculus, but we don’t know how an Ancient Greek man calculated the circumference of the Earth with just a stick.
I could go on. (Well, to be honest, I’ve run out for now.)
What is worse, we have come to accept this dullness. Indeed, we celebrate it. We see all those other things as distractions, as wastage of time. But whose time are you really wasting: yours or that of someone who is simply waiting to exploit you? We spend all our time and effort and direct all our energy towards getting that perfect job that will give us glorious work-life balance and enough of a salary to really enjoy our lives.
But how many of us actually get such jobs? And by the time we do, we have already wasted our youth and no longer have the desire to develop interests. Indeed, most of us despise those who do. If you have a colleague who is over 30 and suddenly developed an interest in gardening, say, you would ridicule them and poke fun at them. Not because you think what they are doing is a joke, but because you feel you could also be doing something similar but you don’t have the desire anymore. It's just easier to make everyone to be as miserable as you are. It’s okay. It’s not your fault. This is what has been drilled into you since childhood. You have chased Sharmaji ka beta’s shadow all your life only to realise he doesn’t exist, like some twisted, evil Santa Claus. (Oops! Spoiler alert!)
This website is my insurance against such a fate. You may well say that this is a very selfish enterprise. However, because I am a nice guy, I want to drag you along for the ride. Even if you’re kicking and screaming and desperately clinging on to your dullness, I’d like to take you with me into a world that is slightly more interesting.
[Just because this was pointed out to me while I was writing this article: yes, there are certainly a lot of people who do have interests they are passionate about; this is not about them, and yes, whether you accept it or not - and I'm happy to argue with you on this if you're so inclined - these people are in the minority.]
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