The Rule of the Old Thumb.

Through the story of human evolution (wont devolution be more apt?), more particularly that of the human hand, the thumb has always been the step-child. Ignored, mal-functioned, under-exercised, it didn't grow as tall and supple as the other four fingers did. Even in the generation when Complan made a tasty entry, and Horlicks a tasteless one, the nutrition seemed to ignore the thumb. All it did was fiddle (or was it Nero? or one of the two very famous contemporary Modis? Must be the older one, as the younger Modi uses his thumb to show it to the powers-that-are and takes his "commission" abroad. To the 'Cape-of-good-hope'!).

And so the sorry tale of the thumb continued. Till along came Golly(-good) Cell-phones. The text generation. Who need to be in touch, often without any context or pretext. And the thumb thumbed through to greater powers. It showed some fizz, beyond the call of a certain thunderous cola. "Thumbs Up! The text of yonder!" Thumb finally seems to be getting its rightful place of the yore. Its strength of anatomy was seen to be the strength of its character. It wasn't anymore the old warhorse, whose wars nobody seemed to remember. It had newer badges to flaunt, and everyone had a "told-you-so" look about them, whenever the topic of the thumb came up.

But the thumb knows better. It knows that these "Will-you-marry-me-Mr-Thumb" placards will last only till the text generation doesnt change to the touch one (Aren't they already that? Common, look around, they seem to be all over each other. PDA. Personal Display of Affection. Personal Digital Assistant). Or even worse, to an Oral one. Saying commands to the phone, rather than keying them in, or touching them in. So the thumb, wise man as it is, is keeping to himself. He hasn't yet sided with the other uptill-now-more-celebrated four. He has kept his place, unfazed. As he did keep his cool all this while. Never dazed. Nor amazed. Success doesnt gets to his head (He's the only celebrity in the fingers. Remember the earlier mentioned thunderous cola. He was their endorser. No other finger had the honor), and failure doesn't get to his heart.

It is that way with men of character always, isn't it? That's the rule of the thumb.

Oh! by the way, Bangalore is through to the final of that entertainment tournament. Riding largely on the strength of a certain Mr Dravid, and the experience of a certain Mr Kumble. Here begins the "Rule of the Thumb".