Tuesday, June 15, 2010

MATING CALLS


There are special moments during interaction between people of opposite sex which I would say ‘seals the deal’ for one party. What I mean to say is that at that very specific moment a spark is aroused, a fleeting experience which leaves the heart pounding, giving rise to what can be described biologically as lust or attraction or a mixture of both and romantically as love. The feeling is completely impulsive and no consideration is given to the demeanor, profession or any other trait of the person (these considerations come later). If we peer into those special moments, we will find that they can be very simple gestures intentional or unintentional- a smile producing dimple on a girl’s cheek, playing a fine tune on a guitar, an outsmarting joke, the pump of a fist; it could be anything. A girl could fall for a Rafael Nadal while he roars and pumps his fist after winning a point or a guy could fall for a girl for her sexy walk. Animals also use similar techniques to attract the opposite sex for the purpose of mating. The above mentioned gestures are physiologically no different than a peacock attracting her partner by spreading its wings and or a bird wooing his/her partner by his/her melodious voice. These activities are called mating calls.

The way these actions function is simple. They produce various hormones like testosterone/estrogen and other sex pheromones in the opposite sex leading to the feeling of lust and attraction. This is a commonly known phenomenon in animals including humans. In animals the process mostly ends with intercourse, but in humans, the social needs could lead to an examination of the entire scenario and then finally asking out the opposite party, with the hope that he/she could become your life partner. In most of the cases the attempt fails; primarily because reason comes to play. After all what starts with a twang could easily end with a twang.

The important thing to note is that although our actions are governed by reason and logic, our instincts for sure are still completely animal in nature. No wonder we at times behave as animals when unrestrained.