.................Sivapriya Krishnan
Its been a while since I blogged. I was urged by a few friends to write on the comaprative similarities and conrasts of the 70's and now , after I circulated a mail with some nostalgic memory recalls !
Much has been said about the older and the present generation, in terms of lifestyle, etc. What I want to write about pervades many more areas of compare and contrast.In doing so , I may also knock the older generation a little for always cribbing about the new and vice versa. Pardon me all ! For the ease of reading, let me name them as Gen Old and Gen Nxt.
The key question is how old is Gen Old?
Gen Old could be taken as people being born in the 50s,60s,70s. Gen Nxt could be the 80s,90, Millenium children. It is amazing to see how suddenly the 50-60-70 borns have suddenly become old compared to their latter counterparts!
The interesting aspect is that some of the 50-60-70 borns are massively catching up with the Gen Nxt, thus collapsing the generation gap. It is the 30-40, borns who are struggling to cope or adjust one way or the other, as they have to battle with remnant memories of the older era and the sweeping changes of the modern era and constantly find their space in this milieu !
Gen Old and Gen Nxt have as many similarities as there are contrasts I guess. This essentially is premised on the fact that humans are the same whichever generation. The contrasts lie in the manner, the spirit, the approach,the expressions, the tools used etc. The contrast also lies in the fact that today everything is blown up and brought to light in front of a larger audience ,thanks to RTI and Media explosion! The fact that technolgoy in all forms has invaded our lives, making us visibly different from our older counterparts.
One major area I see is in the area of marriage and relationships. Gen Old had its equal share of arranged marriages, love marriages and broken marriages as much as Gen Nxt. All of us hear this familiar refrain : "those days we lived like that, we did things like that, we didnt have so many divorces etc", all with a tone of righteous indignation! But scratch the surface, all our families would have stories of inter caste marriages, runaway brides and bridegrooms , separated or estranged couples, adulterous relationships and so on. The difference lies in the way we treat the subject now and the way they treated it then.
Bigamy, polygamy, adultery, divorces were all couched and shrouded under the heavy garb of "secrecy", only spoken about in hushed tones, as a matter of silent gossip and the affected parties accepted many a torture as fait accompli.Inter caste couples wee almost ostracised from the families and had to fend for themselves ! Today we have court room dramas, 24x7 exposures, everybody talks and accepts or rejects it openly and moves on with the next thing on hand.
The next area I would like to compare is the way we dress, the gadgets that we use and the way we talk.
In dressing there still seems to be a divide. The Gen Nxt has gone far away compared to the Gen Old, as it is rather difficult for all and sundry Gen Old to catch up with tank tops, leggings and backless blouses. So the major saviours are the 'salwarkameez',jeans, parallels, tshirts and the ubiquitous "kurtas and the kurtis" , the so called "Indo- Western" dresses, that come in handy for these oldies, to atleast catch up with the new. However it is still possible to see, atleast in South India, an old lady in 9 yards, alongwith her daughter in saree and her grand daughter in mini skirts all in a Pizza joint!!
As for the gadgets, almost all our motor skills have been re written ! If the Gen Old rejected the grinding stones, stoves and buckets, our Gen Nxt have even re written these further by doing away with even these.Packed food, microwaves, washer - driers , more so even unwashed jeans for days together would do !
If the Gen Old were averse to spectacles, hearing aids and other attachments in the body, Gen Nxt wears these as fashion statements! Lean specs, coloured contact lenses, blue tooth, ear phones, iphones, pendrives, laptop bags all adorn the bodies of the Gen Nxt and the Gen Old also have not been spared from these (as they have to catch up ! There are saris being sold with pouches and pockets !!
Posting a letter, gave way to telegrams, gave way to telephones and std calls, gave way to couriers, gave way to emails, have now given way to SMS, MMS and IMs. Gen Old and Gen NXt all are and have to be well versed in all these, as then you are likely to be " ex- communicated "
While taslking Gen Old still believes in milder usage of expletives , and fight shy of using them freely, maybe with an odd word here or there in public. Whereas the Gen Nxt thrives on expletives, undelectable four letterd words, splashed all through their dialogues, in such hurried tones, that the 's' word and the 'f' word alone remain in memory ,with the rest of the statement lost in noise.
English is still used as English by the Gen Old , while u r up & Gr8 Bcoz,u r Gen Nxt.!!!
SPK
Sunday, March 28, 2010
Monday, March 15, 2010
Assumption , Presumption and Expectation
I recall a couple of conversations with a few friends the other day.
Sample 1 : "So and so actress had a baby" said one.
"She is not married, is she" said another.
"Yes" replied the first.
" How come then .. " asked the second.
To which the first one quickly retorted with " what has marriage got to do with having a baby?". For a split second the entire conversation came to a standstill and minds churned with this thought , and slowly all laughed and agreed that marriage and baby are not linked after all !!
Sample 2 : yet another friend told me that " so and so had a ten year courtship you know !"
I immediately asked , "was it with the same person who is her husband now?"
She seemed shocked and replied to me as though I am raising an obviously irrelevant piece of question. Slowly she realised that it is not obvious and that there is a scope to further probe the same.
Sample 3 : I know the son and daughter of a senior musician , both of whom dont sing, though they like music and have a good ear for it.They are successful in their chosen spheres of life. Everytime someone meets them the conversation goes thus :
"you are so and so's child, dont you sing at all? how come?" or alternatively
" you are a great singers child, you must sing". " being a singers child it should be quite natural that you should be singing too ".
Why should it be natural only this way? Is it a mandate that a singer's child is a singer or a doctor's child is a doctor? What is so abnormal if the same profession did not interest the child as their father or mother?
Sample 4 : The other day my niece was seen out with her brother, by some friends. Immediately she was scolded for telling them that she is married ! to which my niece replied, she is but not to this man !! The shock in the faces around cannot be expressed by words. My iece slowly introduced her brother to all of them!
Is it a rule that any man , a woman is seen out with has t o be her husband? Cant he be a brother, cousin, colleague or just a friend ?
Why I am discussing this , is because, very often we assume , presume and then form opinions, build expectations and then thrust the same onto others.
Everytime and for every thing we use the same yardstick and pass judgements and if the other person were to not live upto our opinions or expectations, then we consider the other person as wrong , flawed, abnormal or failed !
In Sample 1, Is there a direct link to marriage and child birth? We all know that there is none, but yet our minds are so conditioned that we ask the same standard stuff.
In Sample 2, Why should a person marry only that person he or she courted for 10 years? It may or may not be the same person. Whey then do we always assume only one approach?
In Sample 3, Why should a singers child aslo sing? Cant she dance? Cant she be a corporate executive or a politician?
In Sample 4 , Why does the brain work only unidimensionally, as though if a man and woman were to be seen together, they have to be married to each other?
Little do we realise while talking that we may wound or hurt someone by what WE consider, best as morals or what we consider best as best ! The best of educated , so called logical minds, always jump to conclusive evidences based on pre conditioning of thoughts and ideas and shut the brain process of thinking laterally. If they find something contrary , its a shock, its a shame !!
The more we cease to assume, presume and expect, the better would be our society around us, as then we allow breathers for free flow of thoughts, ideas and actions. Then acceptance of people and actions also would be easier and happier.
Sample 1 : "So and so actress had a baby" said one.
"She is not married, is she" said another.
"Yes" replied the first.
" How come then .. " asked the second.
To which the first one quickly retorted with " what has marriage got to do with having a baby?". For a split second the entire conversation came to a standstill and minds churned with this thought , and slowly all laughed and agreed that marriage and baby are not linked after all !!
Sample 2 : yet another friend told me that " so and so had a ten year courtship you know !"
I immediately asked , "was it with the same person who is her husband now?"
She seemed shocked and replied to me as though I am raising an obviously irrelevant piece of question. Slowly she realised that it is not obvious and that there is a scope to further probe the same.
Sample 3 : I know the son and daughter of a senior musician , both of whom dont sing, though they like music and have a good ear for it.They are successful in their chosen spheres of life. Everytime someone meets them the conversation goes thus :
"you are so and so's child, dont you sing at all? how come?" or alternatively
" you are a great singers child, you must sing". " being a singers child it should be quite natural that you should be singing too ".
Why should it be natural only this way? Is it a mandate that a singer's child is a singer or a doctor's child is a doctor? What is so abnormal if the same profession did not interest the child as their father or mother?
Sample 4 : The other day my niece was seen out with her brother, by some friends. Immediately she was scolded for telling them that she is married ! to which my niece replied, she is but not to this man !! The shock in the faces around cannot be expressed by words. My iece slowly introduced her brother to all of them!
Is it a rule that any man , a woman is seen out with has t o be her husband? Cant he be a brother, cousin, colleague or just a friend ?
Why I am discussing this , is because, very often we assume , presume and then form opinions, build expectations and then thrust the same onto others.
Everytime and for every thing we use the same yardstick and pass judgements and if the other person were to not live upto our opinions or expectations, then we consider the other person as wrong , flawed, abnormal or failed !
In Sample 1, Is there a direct link to marriage and child birth? We all know that there is none, but yet our minds are so conditioned that we ask the same standard stuff.
In Sample 2, Why should a person marry only that person he or she courted for 10 years? It may or may not be the same person. Whey then do we always assume only one approach?
In Sample 3, Why should a singers child aslo sing? Cant she dance? Cant she be a corporate executive or a politician?
In Sample 4 , Why does the brain work only unidimensionally, as though if a man and woman were to be seen together, they have to be married to each other?
Little do we realise while talking that we may wound or hurt someone by what WE consider, best as morals or what we consider best as best ! The best of educated , so called logical minds, always jump to conclusive evidences based on pre conditioning of thoughts and ideas and shut the brain process of thinking laterally. If they find something contrary , its a shock, its a shame !!
The more we cease to assume, presume and expect, the better would be our society around us, as then we allow breathers for free flow of thoughts, ideas and actions. Then acceptance of people and actions also would be easier and happier.
Monday, March 1, 2010
Budget 2010 and " AAM AADMI"
.............................. By Sivapriya Krishnan
The finance Minister Mr. Pranab Mukherjee and the rest of the hoi polloi sitting in discussion with Prannoy Roy, the other day at the NDTV Budget discussion,were raving about the excellent fiscal measures and the pivotal role that the government is playing in agriculture, FDI etc etc. Alongside Pranabji also said that the budget has been made keeping in mind the " AAM AADMI".
In defining this "aam aadmi" the government and the economic hoi polloi definitely seem to have a disconnect with actual ground reality. Who in their view is this person? Looks like they are still in the hunt for this so called "mythical underdog" !!
AAM AADMI is the not the one below or just above the poverty line, as the government still thinks. AAM AADMI is not just the one still on the road, daily wage earners and the like.
AAMAADMI's are also People travelling by two wheelers or small and medium cars, people who work 24x7 for their roti , kapda, makaan and EMI ( for House and vehicles ) , save for their sons education, save for their daughters education and prestigious affair called marriage ( these girls give a double hit!!), be they "blue collared" or "white collared" , each according to his merit and desire, ..... are all
"aam aadmi.(s)" ..... ' the janata' !!
This aamaadmi has no great political or socialite clout, still believes in rooted middle class family values, earns his holidays and does not get the time to use it, uses his skill and qualification to do his job, is in the constant fear of being thrown out of his job at any point in time, also gets thrown out at times and seeks fresh jobs, sinks into loans for house or has to pay hefty advances and rentals for a cubhole of a house , pays EMI's for ACs, fridge, microwave , washing machine , battles with heavy medical bills for the family and extended family ........ ooPhs .... but yet , he or she goes about the task like a true "Karma Yogi" with the hope of seeing light at the end of the dark tunnel which grows and grows ........!
Dal from 30-70-120 rs., oil from 60-190 rs., sugar from 15- 25- 50 rs., petrol well above 60rs., onions from 8- 15- 24 rs., potatoes well above 30rs., tomatoes 25-30rs., all in a span of a year and a half, Mr.Finance and Prime Minister ;
: are these not some basic indicators of the injury done to the aamaadmi's pocket or is it some strange bullet from no where?
To top this list, from this budget onwards, the prices of all consumer household durables have gone up. Cars are costlier, petrol even more costlier, food costliest, thereby creating that spiralling web of inflation around this "aamaadmi" as a noose around his neck, who is already into a debt trap, in which he/she can neither live peacefully nor die peacefully !!! ( akin to the Don Loin's joke of liquid oxygen !! -liquid use' jeene nahin dega, oxygen use' marne nahin dega).
These days even death is very costly, considering the cost of a funeral and the rites thereof !!
And here we have our esteemeed PM making statements on pricing in the hallowed portals of world meets and summits like the one below :
.....................................................................................
Quote : made by The PM, from todays papers:
Any increase in prices does hurt some section of people, but we have to take a long term view. We cannot save people from inflation if we follow all along populist fiscal policies,' Manmohan Singh said. He was speaking to the media Monday on board the special aircraft that brought him back to New Delhi from his three-day official visit to Saudi Arabia.
'The direct effect of the increase in fuel prices on wholesale prices will be no more than 0.4 percent,' he said.
'There is some escalation (in prices) but my hope is that now that the new rabi (winter) crop coming into the market, prices that have caused a great degree of concern like those of wheat, sugar, oilseeds, pulses will see some moderation and that the economy has the capacity to absorb this hike in oil prices without setting in motion any inflationary spiral.'
........................................................................................................................................................................
With all agricultural tax holidays, subsidies and so on, we only see more marginalisaion of farmers and farmer suicides !! Farm land is slowly vanishing and turning into industrial estates. Farmers' sons dont farm; they choose to work as cheap daily or contractual labour for the Hyundais, Nokias and the SaintGobains of the country !! We shamelessly import grains and sugar to feed our own Indian souls. So much for a country which claims to be 70-80% agricultural !!
As the industrialist Mr.Narayanamoorthy the other day told NDTV , India shining will only be on that day, when every Indian has access to decent living , affordable food , education, medical facilities and jobs well his or her worth. Do we see this shining star in the near horizon?
U know what? Toy Balloons will cost less this year !! Anybody for a joy ride with gas balloons ? ........?
The finance Minister Mr. Pranab Mukherjee and the rest of the hoi polloi sitting in discussion with Prannoy Roy, the other day at the NDTV Budget discussion,were raving about the excellent fiscal measures and the pivotal role that the government is playing in agriculture, FDI etc etc. Alongside Pranabji also said that the budget has been made keeping in mind the " AAM AADMI".
In defining this "aam aadmi" the government and the economic hoi polloi definitely seem to have a disconnect with actual ground reality. Who in their view is this person? Looks like they are still in the hunt for this so called "mythical underdog" !!
AAM AADMI is the not the one below or just above the poverty line, as the government still thinks. AAM AADMI is not just the one still on the road, daily wage earners and the like.
AAMAADMI's are also People travelling by two wheelers or small and medium cars, people who work 24x7 for their roti , kapda, makaan and EMI ( for House and vehicles ) , save for their sons education, save for their daughters education and prestigious affair called marriage ( these girls give a double hit!!), be they "blue collared" or "white collared" , each according to his merit and desire, ..... are all
"aam aadmi.(s)" ..... ' the janata' !!
This aamaadmi has no great political or socialite clout, still believes in rooted middle class family values, earns his holidays and does not get the time to use it, uses his skill and qualification to do his job, is in the constant fear of being thrown out of his job at any point in time, also gets thrown out at times and seeks fresh jobs, sinks into loans for house or has to pay hefty advances and rentals for a cubhole of a house , pays EMI's for ACs, fridge, microwave , washing machine , battles with heavy medical bills for the family and extended family ........ ooPhs .... but yet , he or she goes about the task like a true "Karma Yogi" with the hope of seeing light at the end of the dark tunnel which grows and grows ........!
Dal from 30-70-120 rs., oil from 60-190 rs., sugar from 15- 25- 50 rs., petrol well above 60rs., onions from 8- 15- 24 rs., potatoes well above 30rs., tomatoes 25-30rs., all in a span of a year and a half, Mr.Finance and Prime Minister ;
: are these not some basic indicators of the injury done to the aamaadmi's pocket or is it some strange bullet from no where?
To top this list, from this budget onwards, the prices of all consumer household durables have gone up. Cars are costlier, petrol even more costlier, food costliest, thereby creating that spiralling web of inflation around this "aamaadmi" as a noose around his neck, who is already into a debt trap, in which he/she can neither live peacefully nor die peacefully !!! ( akin to the Don Loin's joke of liquid oxygen !! -liquid use' jeene nahin dega, oxygen use' marne nahin dega).
These days even death is very costly, considering the cost of a funeral and the rites thereof !!
And here we have our esteemeed PM making statements on pricing in the hallowed portals of world meets and summits like the one below :
.....................................................................................
Quote : made by The PM, from todays papers:
Any increase in prices does hurt some section of people, but we have to take a long term view. We cannot save people from inflation if we follow all along populist fiscal policies,' Manmohan Singh said. He was speaking to the media Monday on board the special aircraft that brought him back to New Delhi from his three-day official visit to Saudi Arabia.
'The direct effect of the increase in fuel prices on wholesale prices will be no more than 0.4 percent,' he said.
'There is some escalation (in prices) but my hope is that now that the new rabi (winter) crop coming into the market, prices that have caused a great degree of concern like those of wheat, sugar, oilseeds, pulses will see some moderation and that the economy has the capacity to absorb this hike in oil prices without setting in motion any inflationary spiral.'
........................................................................................................................................................................
With all agricultural tax holidays, subsidies and so on, we only see more marginalisaion of farmers and farmer suicides !! Farm land is slowly vanishing and turning into industrial estates. Farmers' sons dont farm; they choose to work as cheap daily or contractual labour for the Hyundais, Nokias and the SaintGobains of the country !! We shamelessly import grains and sugar to feed our own Indian souls. So much for a country which claims to be 70-80% agricultural !!
As the industrialist Mr.Narayanamoorthy the other day told NDTV , India shining will only be on that day, when every Indian has access to decent living , affordable food , education, medical facilities and jobs well his or her worth. Do we see this shining star in the near horizon?
U know what? Toy Balloons will cost less this year !! Anybody for a joy ride with gas balloons ? ........?
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