I almost feel jealous on seeing the multi tasking youngsters of today.I admire their abilities to handle any situation so effortlessly,seemingly unaffected by adversities.They look cool,they dress well,undaunted by the challenges they face everyday.There is no gender bias-the wife equally,if not more,qualified as her husband,holding prestigious jobs,driving their own vehicles to work,sharing household chores with her husband,Oh,to me all this is so romantic,out of a fantasy.I cannot forget the days when I took driving lessons from ,who else? my hubby,who got too jittery letting me drive his new (second hand)car,I got too offended by his remarks and stares, that I gave up my desire to drive my "own " vehicle.Could not look cool either ,with the daily chores seemingly unending and my two little ones driving me up the wall most of the time,
I belong to a generation when the fathers went to 9 to 5 jobs,mothers slogged in the kitchens and looked after the children.There were a few who tried to break this convention but they were exceptions.I wanted to do something different but did not want to break any convention,so ended up a mess.Not chic and sophisticated enough nor bow down to age old norms.Hence my jealousy at the youngsters-how I wish I had more favourable circumstances,how I wish I had done this? how I wish I had done that?
I belonged to a generation when children either walked to school or went by bus,rat race not known yet,returned home to frolic and then do a little home work ,a calm restful,delightful dinner with parents and reading a book at night.Yes,this was the time we all looked forward to.Parents made the decisions for us-higher studies,marriage.We totally trusted them to make the right choices,for they had many more fruitful years behind them.And then our lives moved on like a passenger train.No regrets till we saw these youngsters.Now I feel jealous of them for being so independent ,their free will,their confidence.
Mine was a generation when parents put in their best years toiling, to buy that piece of furniture,the second hand car, a roof over their heads. Their dreams sometimes turned nightmares when expenditure exceeded income.Youth was spent running after mirages.No time for romance,no time for fun,no time for leisurely holidays.Today's youth start their life earning what we could not even dream of ,all major expenditure well planned out,not so much dreaming but taking each step with caution and acumen.I did not,could not do that.And I am jealous of them for being so wise.
Yet I will not exchange the experiences that I have had for all the gold in this world.Going to school was fun,just running around and playing cricket with friends on the road was happiness,spending the evening listening to Binaca Geet mala was thrilling,the slow pace of life that allowed us to enjoy things around us,gave us a wisdom that no book could have given ,.I moved from that age ,through to this,from a single ,huge Radio in one corner of the house to present day Television ,when I constantly flip through channels and entertain myself .Ofcourse I read a book at night.My life has seen both ends,I have been very happy then and I not only enjoy life now but admire my youngsters and feel happy for them.(sometimes I do feel jealous too!!)
