Smile is the chosen vehicle for all ambiguities
Smiling, at first glance, appears to be a straightforward expression universally recognized as a sign of friendliness, joy or pleasure. However, beneath its surface lies a complex and often contradictory terrain of meanings. In that context someone recently floated the following four lines in his social media content which caught my attention and sought my agreement as well.
Jin-he gussa aata hai aksar wo loag sache hote hain
Mene jhootun ko din raat muskurate’ huve dekha hai
Seekh raha huun insane ko padhne ka hunar
Suna hai chehre pe kitabon se zyada likha hota hai
Unlike other facial expressions such as anger, frowns or scowls, which are generally unambiguous, smiles can be voluntary or involuntary, sincere or strategic. In my life about 14 years ago I got to meet my best friend by the scheme of a smile. While being together in a friends group she could see that my eyes were drawing a blank while smiling. It was a brilliant observation from a brilliant friend who seems well deserved to hold a doctorate in engineering.
A genuine smile, often called the Duchenne smile, involves both the lips and the eyes and reflects authentic positive emotions. However, not all smiles arise from joy. People may smile when they are actually anxious, embarrassed, ashamed, or even when they are lying. This emotional fluidity gives the smile an ambiguous character, which makes it uniquely versatile and ripe for misinterpretation. Its meaning must always be interpreted within a contextual backdrop.
Paul Ekman, a renowned psychologist who is known for his research on facial expressions, has cataloged over a dozen different types of smiles, including polite smiles, fake smiles, miserable smiles, and even contemptuous ones. This diversity reinforces the notion that a smile can carry conflicting meanings serving as a mask, a defense mechanism, or a subtle form of resistance. In other words, smile is a communicative wildcard, hiding more than it reveals.
Social norms often compel individuals to smile, regardless of their internal emotional state. For example, service workers are expected to greet customers with a smile, whether they feel cheerful or not. This “emotional labor,” as sociologist Arlie Hochschild describes it, illustrates how the smile can become a tool of social performance used more to meet expectations than to convey genuine feeling. It communicates friendliness and cooperation but can also be used to placate, dis-empower, or manipulate.
In diplomacy and politics, smiles are carefully calibrated gestures. World leaders often smile during photo-shoots, even during adversaries, to project civility and calm.
Smiles are also tied to power dynamics, especially in hierarchical or gendered interactions. Studies have shown that women are more likely to smile in social settings than men, often as a way of appearing agreeable. A typical daughter-in-law in the capital city of Srinagar is expected to arrange, manage and manifest huge events of family get together which may last till 3:00 at night and get up at 4:00 again to see the routine without missing a smile on her face and a vacuum cleaner in her arms.
Cultural differences further complicate the meaning of smiles. In some cultures, such as in the United States, smiling is seen as a sign of openness and trustworthiness. In others countries, like Russia or Japan, frequent smiling may be perceived as insincere or even foolish. The smile, therefore, does not have a universal interpretation; rather, it functions within a cultural framework that assigns specific values and assumptions to it.
This variability makes the smile a symbol that can bridge or deepen misunderstandings. It functions like a language with multiple dialects conveying warmth, mockery, discomfort, or deference depending on context. Thus, it serves as a “vehicle” not just of communication, but of cultural encoding, carrying messages that are often only partially decipherable.
Smiles are usually not drawn straight and are mostly shown by curved lines even in the emojis. There are no straightforward inferences of smiles. Someone torn with tragedy can be gracefully smiling in the same way as someone born with bounty. But precious are those smiles which show up with whatever shortcomings in the life. In poetry, they are graciously addressed as
Tum itna jo muskura rahe ho
kya gum hai jis ko chhupa rahe ho
As a mark of identification, the smiles that mask the miseries have no exuberant eyes but only the exhausted faces. Such people are resilient though not rigid, strong though not necessarily successful, principled though not necessarily progressing in life. Their smiles just reflect the contentment of their nourished souls in the degenerated bodies.
On the other side, those who are genuinely happy should keep smiling for having received all the blessings of this world such as a reasonable level of education, a decent job, a measured amount of inheritance, a beautiful spouse, a son, a daughter, a good house to live, a nice car to move, a good health and the support of their siblings, the warmth of their friends and the prayers of their parents.
There are positive energies all around these lucky legends who live a full life with little strife on this earth. While living in such a state of ease, it is no difficult for them to project the ideas of simplicity, humility, decency, elegance, kindness, softness, honesty, integrity, intellect, words, wisdom, dialogue and diction on the public podcasts and social media handles. However, better than broadcasting, they should spend time in thanksgiving to the Lord of their Heavens. The same principles do not work in the same way for all the people. That is why smiles are different and so are their subtleties.
Dr. Qudsia Gani, Assistant Professor and Head, Dept. of Physics, GDC Pattan
