Give the Cat A Bad Name...

Beliefs -- regardless of whether they are ours or other people's -- can make us behave in some really weird ways at times. And yes, all superstitions are ALSO nothing but beliefs, including the one about a black cat crossing your path.

So what exactly happens when a black cat DOES cross your path? What is the truth behind this common Indian superstition?

Let me share with you a personal life story.

This happened back in August 2010, when I lived in Patna. I used to HATE shopping in those days. In fact, I still tend to avoid it for as long as possible, but, with all the online shopping options available now, I don't dread it the way I used to earlier.

Anyway, the day of the incident, as luck would have it, I had to go out for THAT VERY ORDEAL in the evening! [gulppp]

Thankfully, a friend came to my rescue by agreeing to go with me. (I could never do it alone back then, you know!)

So this friend - she used to stay in the same building as me - I was on the 2nd floor, she was on the 1st. She called me on the intercom, at a quarter to four in the evening, and asked me how much longer I needed. I said 15 minutes. So she told me that she would be ready and that I should just ring her doorbell on my way down. I said fine and hung up.

And then I got ready, locked the balcony doors, made a mental checklist of what all I needed, checked the money in my purse, flung it on my shoulder, walked out of my flat, locked the door behind me, and took the stairs down... still running the checklist in my mind.

The moment I reached the landing on the ground floor, and was about to turn left to make my way to the main gate of our building, this little cat decided to cross my way.

I smiled crookedly, thinking - "Haah! The cat that has adopted our building as its home isn't black, it's brown. So, I don't need to worry about this!"

And I turned around, and managed to catch a glimpse of the cat just a fraction of a second before it went out of my visibility range. Guess what! It WAS a BLACK cat after all!

I stopped dead in my track. They say that it's unlucky if a black cat crosses your path, and that you should turn back and retrace your steps. But I'm not a superstitious person, you know. I don't believe in all these things. Never have. But obviously the cat wouldn't have any way of knowing this, right?

Besides, do these superstitions NOT apply to non-believers? I had no idea. So I wasn't quite sure what to do next.

I looked around, trying to figure out if anyone ELSE had seen the cat crossing my path. I figured if someone HAD seen the incident, then probably THEIR superstitions would apply, in which case, I would probably have to go back. But, if nobody had seen this happening, other than me, then perhaps I could just sneak out quickly and get done with my shopping!

And then it hit me...

SHOPPING!

MY FRIEND !!!

I was supposed to ring her doorbell on my way down! Oops!

(Now you have to understand that ALL OF THIS flashed through my mind in like barely a second, okay!)

And THEN I realized that the poor black kitty wasn't bringing anyone any bad luck. On the contrary, it actually did me a favor by crossing my path at THAT precise moment. For had it not done so, I would have coolly walked out of the building, still juggling mentally with my shopping list, while my friend would have been left waiting for me to show up!

LOL!

So, now you see how much validity there is in this Indian superstition of black cat crossing our path to bring bad luck? (As if it doesn't have anything better to do with all its nine lives!)

And before you ask - NO, I did not retrace my steps to go back for my friend, I simply gave her a call on her cellphone and asked her to come down! 😁

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