While most people would consider being tall a boon, bestowed by the almighty himself on a select few, people who have achieved this putative ‘elevated’ state of being would beg to differ. While the vertically challenged curse their fate and their height, same is the case with those on the other end of the spectrum.

Among the various discriminations inflicted by society on its members, the discrimination based on height, or as I call it, ‘the vertical bias’ seems to be the most unintentional of them all, when applied to the tall. Although the vertical bias works both ways, against the short it is more psychological – related to the mindset of the people – whereas against the tall it is subtle and unimplied, thus making it harder to deal with. From personal experience, let me talk about the wide-spread bias against the tall.Popular perception is that people with an above average height are the luckiest of all. But the truth is, being tall is a pain in the proverbial backside. As you grow taller gravity tries to pull you down harder and that takes a toll on your body. There are many more problems faced by tall people.Imagine a day in the life of an average (above average actually) six-footer. The bias starts in the morning itself. You wake up and find your feet dangling in the air, for the bed is simply not long enough. As you curse the carpenter, he takes immediate revenge in the form of the door frame he fabricated, and on which you bang your head, conveniently forgetting to duck in the early morning daze.

Then, on the way to college in the bus, you discover that your legs do not fit into the leg space designed for ordinary mortals. Thus you are banished to the seats at the back where both your comfort and your spine are at the mercy of the rickety suspension, and the driver’s skills – both of which, unfortunately, do not inspire much confidence. Similarly, it is virtually impossible to fit your body into most of the small sized cars with ludicrously minuscule leg space.

Wherever you go, you are besieged by enquiries of strangers about your height, which, admittedly flattering at first, become increasingly frustrating. But these are nothing compared to the comments and opinions of your so called well wishers, which range from annoying to downright irritating. Like this one, “You must not grow any taller, your parents may have difficulty in the future.” (I never got around understanding that one, maybe you can help me.)

While the bias against the tall may mostly be unintentional, society must still make an effort to upgrade its standards. It must understand that with passing generations, the average height of the population has also increased. It must understand that this phenomenon of increasing height is evolutionary,that it is an unavoidable fact, and thus it must upgrade the standards of the public infrastructure so that a sizable chunk of the population does not have to perpetually live as misfits.

On a different note, although the lives of the tall may certainly be uncomfortable, there are many consolations. The most comforting being the inexplicable attraction of girls towards taller guys. Life’s not that bad after all…