Scene: Two friends, Aarav and Manoj, are hanging out at Aarav’s house in Chennai on a Saturday evening. Aarav is trimming his nails while chatting. Manoj watches him, horrified.
Manoj:
(eyes wide) Aarav! What are you doing?! It’s after sunset! Stop cutting your nails immediately!
Aarav:
(looks up, amused) Bro, I’m just trimming my nails. They were getting ridiculously long. What’s the emergency?
Manoj:
(hushed whisper) It’s bad luck, da! Cutting nails after sunset invites negativity! My grandmother always warned me. And trust me, whenever I did it, something bad happened.
Aarav:
(chuckles) Oh come on, Manoj. That’s just coincidence. Bad things happen whether you cut your nails at noon or midnight. You’re connecting two unrelated things because our brains love finding patterns.
Manoj:
(defensively) No, it’s real! One time in college, I trimmed my nails at night, and the next day, I flunked my Thermodynamics exam!
Aarav:
(laughing) Dude, you flunked because you didn’t study, not because of your perfectly shaped nails!
Manoj:
(sincerely) Still… elders always say these things for a reason. Maybe it’s not just about luck. Maybe there’s some cosmic energy we don’t understand.
Aarav:
(sets nail cutter down, getting into ‘teacher mode’) Okay, fair point about respecting elders. But you know where this rule actually started? In olden days, there was no electricity. Cutting nails or hair after dark meant you could accidentally hurt yourself — with knives or sharp tools — and infections were serious business. No antibiotics back then!
Manoj:
(tilts head, considering) Hmm… that does sound logical. But even now, with all our lights and gadgets, isn’t it just safer to avoid it? Why take a risk?
Aarav:
(grinning) Bro, if I followed that logic, I’d never cross the road, never eat street food, and definitely never text my ex. Some risks are just… part of life. And this? Tiny risk. Plus, nail clippers are pretty safe. You’re more likely to hurt yourself rushing to avoid an imaginary curse!
Manoj:
(smiling reluctantly) When you put it like that… it does sound a bit silly.
Aarav:
(picking up nail cutter dramatically) Behold, Manoj! The mighty, cursed nail clipper that shall doom me to bad Wi-Fi and missed buses!
Manoj:
(bursts out laughing) Okay, okay! Don’t mock the clipper! But seriously, Aarav, don’t you think some traditions protect us in ways we don’t fully grasp?
Aarav:
(nods) Absolutely. Some traditions have hidden wisdom. Like not eating too much before bed, or not sweeping the house after dark — maybe to prevent losing small valuables when there was no light. I’m not saying throw out all traditions. Just… let’s not blindly fear harmless stuff, no?
Manoj:
(half-joking) Next you’ll tell me black cats aren’t unlucky either.
Aarav:
(grinning) Only if they cross your path when you’re already running late.
Manoj:
(sighs dramatically) Fine. But if I have bad luck tomorrow, I’m blaming your evil nail clipper.
Aarav:
(teasing) Deal. And if nothing bad happens, you owe me a biryani.
Manoj:
(laughs) Done! But I’m still not cutting my nails after sunset, boss. Just in case.
Aarav:
(cheerfully) You do you, Manoj. Just don’t make me sit through another Thermodynamics exam story, okay?
[They both laugh and continue chatting about random things, the superstition still lingering, but now seen through a gentler, more playful lens.]
Science Vs Superstition 
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