Celebrities are wont to be in the public eye, whether they are doing public or private time. That’s the price we pay, says a superstar, for with accolades and recognition come awards and adulation. What could be more exhilarating than being recognised wherever you go? It opens doors, you know. The rub is that it also includes ‘whatever you do or say’, not to speak of complete erosion of privacy. The more time you spend in the limelight, the more you are performer, and somewhere, that thin line between performer and the natural self gets blurred. The ‘Who am I’ question is never able to break free of the mundane for even in the make-believe world of every day existence, you are trapped between identities.Invoking one’s claim to fame can sometimes have just the opposite effect of what you might expect. On the road (especially in India) when one vehicle rams into another, very often one hears the more aggressive party shouting: “Do you know who I am?” Or, “Is this your father’s road?” The daughter of a yesteryear star in Tollywood was caught broaching the speed limit. She was almost yesteryear herself, having lived an accomplished life as a skilful professional. The rookie cop flagged her down and asked her to lower her window. “Madam, you seem to be in a tearing hurry?” Well, said the flustered driver, “I am a busy professional and am getting late for an appointment.” The cop pulled out his voucher pad and began filling it out with the penalty amount after examining her driving license. This was taking too long. How dare he? “Do you know who I am?” she burst out, glaring at the cop. Pat came the reply, “No Madam.”She continued, “I am the daughter of Mr Xyz!” “And who may that be, Madam,” queried the cop politely, with nary a trace of recognition. The driver couldn’t believe it! How dare he not know who her father was! The story ends with the hefty fine being paid and cop and driver going their separate ways. But the episode punched a huge hole into the lady’s ego, bringing her down to earth with a thump.Another kind of thirst for ‘recognition;’ is the practice of appending a long line of degrees and diplomas behind your name or using prefixes and suffixes like Sir, Dr, Er, Esq and so on.  There is this medical doctor-couple I know who get most offended if they receive mail where they’re addressed by their full names but without the prefix of Dr. They go to the extent of not participating in a function or event if the ‘Dr’ is dropped from their names! And another who earned her doctorate in a subject she has no relationship with now but still likes to be called Dr Blah blah -- very tiresome indeed, carrying sandbags wherever you go, tied to your feet! What a drag.It all boils down to the ego, said my mother who was excited that I even discussed the subject. Why, aren’t you convent-educated girls familiar with the saying, ‘Pride goes before a fall?’ Now I never did get the right way of saying that – if pride goes, why should you fall? Shouldn’t you rise? When I looked it up, there were several variations, including, ‘Pride comes before a fall.’ Whatever; message received, over and out.