What makes us human?

In an interesting dinner table conversation with my father, he asked, "Do you know what separates us, humans, from other beings?"

I thought there were quite a lot of things and not a lot of things. The power of choice and our ability to exercise that in everyday micro-decisions? Humans are picky choosers, not takers. Takers, we may still be bound by morals, norms, and laws. "Can you eat raw meat? Would you prefer eating salad without dressing, salt, pepper, or mustard..?" Raw meat, no; leaves, maybe?

Sharing sympathy? I disagree that humans are the only beings capable of displaying empathy. Choco, my pet, has, on more than one occasion, shown human-level sympathy when humans have failed to do so. He sympathises and expresses himself, but that does not make him fully human.

I held strong opinions about our ability to continue life ‘normally’ with reduced human interaction, even physically. I put myself to the test in a distant country, maintaining anonymity and devoid of much human-to-human interaction. Weeks and months passed without having touched human skin or experiencing tactile warmth.

From personal experience, I can tell you that I started craving human proximity, micro-conversations, and familiarity. Almost like a crackhead experiencing withdrawals, isolation did not settle well with me (I guess we now know that after the COVID-19 pandemic). I’d be jittery, restless, and anxious during "the test". "Have I forgotten how physical, face-to-face human interaction works?", I would ask myself this question multiple times a day. I felt primal, and the human tendencies in me barged in like Daya from CID.

I chose to return to my populous country and be around familiar and anonymous faces—people everywhere. So populous, brushing shoulders and skin with people is something routine now. "Aur bhaiya kaise ho?", the local press-wallah asked, smiling ear to ear. "What kind of coffee do you like?", asked a friend. "Hume laga aap hume London lekar jaoge, ab kaun lekar jayega?" (I thought you would take me to London; who else will?) Chandu Bhel-wallah rued. "I can finally speak my heart out to someone, now that you are here", said my former roommate and my permanent brother, whom I met after 4 long years. Just what I missed. I am so content!

With my shades on, I was staring into the monotony of the rotors of a concrete mixer. The rotors, I thought, represented the monotony of our lives and interactions. Running towards me with a plate of pooris, chana, and halwa and an infectious, innocent smile, a young boy, perhaps in his 10s, gently tapped my arm, saying, "Bhaiya, aapke liye prasad" (Brother, here’s some prasāda for you).

The monotony of life broke there. I guess that’s what makes us humans—our ability to break monotony at unexpected moments. Our ability to pass a smile and bring a smile to someone’s face by doing the bare minimum Why I say I love people who I don’t know and places I’ve never been to. Theres mystery and excitement in the unknown!

So, what do you think? What makes us human?