It was a day after Christmas. We had gone out with a group of friends to spend the weekend in a beach resort. It was a breezy winter evening; a slight snip in the air was a comfortable change from the sultry evenings of Mumbai.
The barbecue was well -laid out. Chunky pieces of chicken and the softness of the paneer was tantalizing our eager taste buds. While the husband and majority in the group emerged themselves to the drink and food, the ‘teetotalar ‘ in me had a fun time enjoying the antics of people around.
As the evening progressed, and alcohol flowed freely, the crowd changed from the sober to the playful. The otherwise serious group engaged in completely random chatter. Big boys (men) sang nursery rhymes while children danced to the beats of racy numbers. Yeah, I agree with you my friends, the world does look topsy-turvy.
I was startled to discover how parents nonchalantly observed their little ones as they behaved far beyond their age. Little girls acted cocky and initiated questions and answered queries in a language that was completely alien to our generation when we were their age. In my limited world now, I am rarely in such close proximity to toddlers for such length, and the evening made me realize that times have drastically changed. The generation gap is startling and quite beyond my comprehension.
An example of the behavior that had me gaping in wonder was a small kid, singing and dancing with the ‘bang on’ expression to the tunes of “mein talli ho gayi”…(to all who don’t understand the language, it translates into a racy number depiciting how drunk you are). The girl, all of 9, not only mouthed these songs, but made herself a perfect concoction of vodka and sprite, which knocked the senses out of me.
The poor husband, drunk by now, quickly sobered down by the brazen act of the kid. While we quietly brought it to the notice of the parents, their reaction to the incident made us look like stone-age relics. They could actually find humor in the incident and let go the child with the lightest tap on the shoulder.
Friends, times are different and I am long way off the road. I cherish the innocence of the past and the knowledge and information of today and earnestly hope that we can strike a balance that gets the best of both the worlds to the generations of tomorrow.
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