In the past few days, due to a recent illness, I have had time to think. Of course, I did not waste the time thinking about anything productive. Which brings me to a question I always never ask people- why do human beings lock lips, why do we kiss, why do we smooch? I can no longer safely say a man and a woman these days, society has challenged me to the tilt. How did rubbing out slithery wet lips, as opposed to rubbing alternate shoulders, standing on each others toes or clapping hands, become a sign of affection and love? Again, society will question me at that as well.
My first doubt takes me way back to Adam and Eve, sitting in a garden, the world's privacy central. Another very pertinent question lets me have the liberty of time travelling into Europe during the black plague. Its not wrong to assume that kissing, of all contact strategies, should have been eradicated first as a mean of transmtitting the dangerously clever Y. pestis which took even the untouchable rats for ride.
Kissing is a sign of several emotions - love, affection (yes, they are very seperate), respect, good luck and even vendetta (guys, I know you would understand. Again, as a simple note of clarity, I have never kissed a guy over vendetta. And I dont plan to start as well, any time soon) Mothers kiss sons, political leaders kiss each other, and the more blatant and perceivable- adolescents cant stop thinking about it.
Let me repeat the definition of kiss from the old trusted wiki- Kissing is the act of pressing one's lips to the lips of another person. But this was just obligatory for a douche blog. Being an Indian, lets see how far we would go in the records of History. We date as back as 1500 BC, and I can easily say we have been pioneers in our own right! We invent the zero and we show the world how to kiss. There is no direct mention of the word 'kissing' but a mention of 'taking moisture from the other's lips' I believe that can be counted as kissing. Again, at the risk of venturing into uncharted territory, I would mention the Kama Sutra, a book that covers kissing as an act of passion.
In ancient Greece, we see mentions of kissing in Homer's Odyssey and other works. He himself is reported to have been kissed by his slaves when he returned home after his voyage. These are some examples of kissing for respect, as opposed to love. King Priam kissed Achille's hands for his heroic feat of bringing back his boy's body.
The Romans are attributed with the action of attempting spread of kissing through military conquests. Considering its Rome, its pretty believable that this could have been the sole reason for their conquests. The Old Testament refers to kissing several times, I would not know the exact number, but Christians, please help me out here ? Its all educational.
In the Medieval Ages, kissing was seen as an action of trust. The King's subjects would kiss the King's ring, hand or even the ground in front of his feet, to show his trust and respect. Knights would get a kiss from the person they saved, once a year, as thanks.
How to world turned to the symbol of the letter X for kissing- It was in the medieval ages, when people who knew now how to write, would make an X mark and kiss the mark as a sign of sealing and commitment .In fact, it was during the industrial revolution, that kissing transformed into the hand-shake, something every person goes through (bad and good, the terrifying and the soothing) every day.
By 1872, Charles Darwin theorized that given the diversity and popularity of kissing and related behaviors around the world, humans must possess an innate desire to connect this way. As he surmised, kissing is rooted in our evolutionary past, but significantly influenced by unique social norms and customs. The more we kiss, the better chances of survival!
It is always good to have a reason ready just in case you ever need one. And if you have lived in Mumbai, I believe you would easily have required such reasons a lot!
Here, I have just touched a small nerve of this vibrant issue- ' Kissing, why? really? when?' The the beauty of this noble gesture is however seen from the range of emotions it signifies-
a mother kisses a son/ daughter to show pure and unbridled affection and love
political leaders kiss each other as a sign of acceptance and respect
kissing is well rooted in religious scripts and religious traditions
and finally, the kissing we know best - the spring time, when adolescence kicks in and out of us
to kiss is to love and respect
to acknowledge, to accept
to see to it you make the person in front of you smile
go ahead take a moment to kiss some one you love today
and show them you care
so goes a poem by some one who can never understand what a kiss and why a kiss, but definitely understands the world can not do without this undoubtedly confounding human behavior that we all live our lives upon :)
ed lithium
