The subtle swag of the humble brag

In a culture of show-and-tell - and then show and tell the show-and-tell - conspicuous arrogance has had a great run. Salman Khan with his shirt off has got his fair share of cheers from the front stalls. But the tide is turning. The new swag that's trending is old-school humility - with a lemon twist. Humility is the unassuming stall that often gets overlooked by being, well, unassuming. But in its new incarnation, you put it unobtrusively out there - haughtiness minus the need to go to town with it.

When someone is overtly arrogant, it's like a peacock flaunting its feathers. It's loud, showy and, after a point, just a bird taking up too much space. But when someone is humble - or, comes across as humble - it's like a cat lounging in the sun: understated, its serene confidence on quiet display. It's the gentle nod of a gourmet chef eating a child's clumsy attempt at spaghetti. Its arrogance so refined, so distilled, that it becomes attractive. So, the next time you're tempted to strut your stuff, and make the same mistake that Dharmaputra Yudhisthir made - of bragging about his virtues to the point of coming across not as righteous but self-righteous - remember, nothing says 'I'm better than you' like a well-placed 'I'm no better than anyone.' And, for starters, practise not talking about yourself, especially in the third person.