I have often wondered about some of the sagacious sayings of great men who are no more on the scene. Taken singly, these sayings are full of wisdom and come to think of it, they are almost unassailable. But when juxtaposed with something and examined more closely, they often reveal facets that appear to be contradictory. It must, however, be conceded without losing anytime that we often quote them out of context which is why perhaps quite a few of them appear to have lost the sting. For instance, we are prone to quoting “ignorance is bliss” when in fact that was not what its author had to say. Just imagine the kind of meaning it gives and see the transformation when we quote it in full. “Where ignorance is bliss it’s folly to be wise”.

Be that as it may. We will examine only two proverbs here to see just how efficacious they are. These are as they are bequeathed to us. First of them is: First impression is the last impression. It is a very old saying and we often hear it in use. It sounds quite a catchy and useful proverb at that. But the problem arises when you analyse it. You may loudly wonder if it is really so and may well end up on the other side of the hedge. The first impression about the world is usually fantastic. What a pity that the impression is so fleeting and deceitful. But just imagine if it were really so.

Ask a small boy who goes to the school for the first time. The principal of the school meets him with a smiling face and with a lollipop in his hand. What is the first impression of the child about the school and the principal? The child is happy and returns with a favourable impression firmly entrenched in his mind. Subsequently, however, he finds the smile has vanished and the hand that held out a lollipop then now wields a stick instead. Indeed, his impression has changed. Anyway, who cares so much for the impression of a child?

In our own cases, we often quarrel with sundry people in our first encounter—flinging mud and what not on one another. Yet, quite a few of them end up as best friends. Surely, if the first impression were the last impression, friendship could not have resulted. So, in fact, impressions do change and they change rather fast. We see this every day in our films where heroines having poor first impression about our heroes ultimately melting into their arms.