A Glimpse Of Indian
Youth
Just like any other day I was waiting at the usual place
under the shade of trees to pick up my son’s school bus. There are two colleges
near my regular waiting place. Hence the road is busy with students who pop out
of their classes more frequently. A couple of shops on the opposite side of the
road make a great business by catering to the needs of these students. Almost every
day I find a group of students from the colleges sitting under two huge trees
and merrily whiling away time with their friends. Busily munching the packed
foods and leaving the filth behind. Some days I find them proudly flaunting
their so called girl- friends. Other days I find them plagued by the amount of
the empty calories they are adding up due to the junk foods and the cold beverages.
Some of the boys leisurely loiter around the place and happily puff up a chain
of cigarettes passed on by friends. I strongly abhor this place cursing my fate
for being a victim of passive smoking.
Sometimes girls do occupy the same spots eagerly waiting for
their male friends. They use this time for some adventure and take free bike riding
lessons from their male counterparts. Most of them, voluntarily offer their
expertise as it is time to display their penchant for bikes and their dynamic
feats too.
Everyday a new story unfolds before me. I too wait for it
eagerly as I get my dose of free entertainment for a span of 10-15min. These
guys do remind of my college days and sometimes when I strongly rebuke their
actions within myself. Perhaps my thinking is paralysed by middle aged syndrome
as I started deriving a derisive pleasure in making value judgements on people
around me. At times I do envy them as
our college days were much different and also we could never freak out so
easily. But watching them regularly is a real fun as youth are full of energy
and enthusiasm. They have the drive but at times are directionless. After
watching them all these days I had an impression that they are carefree,
light-hearted and beguile. I always found them so casual and cool.
But suddenly yesterday I was pleasantly surprised when I
could see the place very clean devoid of smoke rings from a distance. I thought
it was really unusual of them to be so. As I approached my usual spot little
earlier than other days, I could over hear a loud and animated discussion. When
I tried to concentrate on their talk, I discovered it was something related to
our country. All the boys sported a grave look and were intently debating about
the Indo-Pak relationships in the wake of Sarabjit’s death.
I was surprised by the ease with which a guy in the group started
discussing about Kashmiri-Muslims, their allegiances, dwindling numbers of Kashmiri
Pandits, implications of the Article 370. The hardships and resistance faced by
the armed forces in Kashmir, incidence of the wars between India and Pakistan
and further more the implications and consequences of the same in light of
India’s diplomatic strategies. They were hugely debating about the biased
opinions of the politicians. I was startled when another guy in the group
started quoting some facts from various articles and book written by Indian
historian Ramachandra Guha. I was bowled by their enthusiasm and knowledge of
the current affairs. I never imagined that this group of youngsters could discuss
and have well formatted opinions on serious issues. I always thought them to be
more concerned about the IPL matches, latest movies and the remunerations paid
to the cricketers during auction or the new movies under construction or ready
for launch. Truly, they have warranted me to change my attitude towards them and
to restrain from judging them by their playful behaviour. Before I could enjoy
their discussion any more, the bus blew the horn and my little one jumped out
of the bus with arms flung open inviting me to have a tight hug..........
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