Bachpan se Badapan

What interests the tweenagers (excuse the social media parlance) today? Not an easy one to answer for sure.  With mobiles as their raconteur coupled with selective listening skills it’s no longer easy to connect with them.  The only way to reach out to these young minds is to include phrases such as “Whatsapp?” “K” “FML”, “ROFL” in your vocabulary.  Talking to my 14-year-old niece the other day had me fumbling for words, as she excitedly discussed the lives of her icons Ronaldo, Messi, Serena and Maria Sharapova, found it so hard to relate to any of it.  This is such a far cry from the world of 80s’ when we used to sit with the entire family to watch B.R Chopra’s Ramayan, cry at Sita’s plight and guffaw at sitcoms such as “Yeh jo hain zindagi”. 

VCR tapes would be borrowed on meagre rentals and all and sundry would gather at a neighbourhood home to watch scary Ramsay movies, or play cricket in the backyard only to be chased away by the irate society secretary.  Breaking a piggy bank to buy audio cassettes was such a euphoric achievement.  An India Vs Pakistan match would call for intense action as sides would be drawn up and bets laid.  Kismi bars were every child and grownups delight, breaking into Antakshari at any given opportunity was perfectly normal, birthday parties at home were a royal treat with mommy’s special recipes to whet appetites.  As children we just needed reasons to be outdoors and had to be dragged home, albeit in an embarrassing way at times.  Tinkle, Amar chitra katha, and the like were our vacation companions and going to Lonavala was a matter of immense pride.  When friends would plan their holidays to visit their Nani’s home we would count days to their return.  Our treasure booty consisted of rare stamps and old coins defending them like a hawk from annoying siblings.    Getting a spin in the confines of a Maruti 800 was akin to a Mercedes ride back then.  Sheer nostalgia, Sigh!

Cut to the scenario today, where more is less, if children possess cell phones, the make and quality is a critical matter.  Tablets are not prescribed any longer but are smartly marketed as a must-have lest you stay far behind from the know it all brigade. Phablets (surely a Doc devised that one), smart gadgets, cloud computing rule the mindspace of a tweenager.  It is a preposterous crime to not hold a FB account.  Parks and outdoor spaces will soon enlist as historic monuments, as they are only visited by the elderly of the city.  Death of innocence is how I would like to term these phenomena.  I wonder if today, offspring come with pre-programmed minds thanks to our love for technology maybe their learning starts when they are a tiny cell in the womb.  They are averse to learning précis these days but are quick to adapt to the 140 character norm and for Pete's sake everything should be centred around “i” (with due respect to Jobs greatest misinvention).  With the past becoming history and future bright with technology wonders we just have to learn to LOL at situations, not OMG at turn of events and FML when you find it hard to cope but remember...there is always Hope ;) (just for the sake of rhyming).

What if…

What if life went exactly the way you wanted?  What if there was nothing called fear, rejection, depression, sadness and sorrow? What if you never felt heavy in your heart and tears did not exist? What if you had a remote control to change your circumstances? What if words such as “heartbreak” and “betrayal” did not exist? Sigh…for a second you did enter fantasy land, and heaved a sigh of comfort and absolute relief….but is it possible? Can we really turnaround our lives from challenging situations? Can we actually live the life of our dreams? I am no therapist neither a spiritual healer definitely not a magician…just another being who faces similar trials and tribulations in life.  But as I have experienced a gamut of emotions over many years of my existence, I do know we can have the life we want.  Once you plant this thought in your mind, there is no looking back, all you have to do is program your mind to react to what happens to you differently, yes you have the remote to your life and you may not be able to control what happens to you but you can control how you react to it.  Yes ok, heard this, done that, The Secret vouches for it, every site, publication, medium that propagates spirituality talks about it, Zen, Buddhism, and Art of living preach it, but do you believe it? 

Unfortunately, the bare truth is that your belief shapes your reality, if you see darkness how can there be light, if you only see sorrow, happiness is just an illusion, if you only see pain, joy is far far away.  Sounds preachy, to me too, absolute trash at times, we always wonder so easy for someone to advice, feels good for a minute, then we are back to our mundane lives facing the same set of struggles.  But at the core lies belief, we do not believe it, we rubbish it as we have become so comfortable reacting, behaving and living in a certain manner, robotic if I am say, in our conduct, we lack basic belief that yes it can happen, things can go the way I want them to, life can shape up as I will.  The path of affirmations is not easy, reverting to preset notions and age-old beliefs is a safer option, as it offers comfort to be in known territory, the unknown comes with no guarantee. 

But till you try how would you know?  Either you face troubles the way you have been facing or try acceptance, try changing your ATTITUDE, it makes all the difference.  If there is anyone in this world who can make you do any of this it is only YOU, the strings of happiness lie only in your hands. The almighty has moulded you in a way that only YOU can heal yourself, any problems, however complex, any situation however complicated only YOU possess the power to CHANGE it. Adversities wont stop, problems wont disappear, they will always be there to keep us human, but how you deal with them will make all the difference in your life. Phew, gyaan and more gyaan, but no harm trying, the worst is you will FAIL, at least you won’t regret never trying.  Anything that betters the quality of your life is worth a try, you might just succeed and your epitaph will read “AND HE/SHE LIVED and WOW”.

The writer is simbly HUMAN J

Lyrics of Tujhe Bula Diya...(Unedited Version)

The Missing para in the song....Tujhe Bhula diya (Anjaana Anjaani)...

Tu nahin toh in labon pe ek shikayat reh gayi hain,

Door hi jab karna tha toh paas kyu laya bata Khuda,

Khuda tujhe bhi toh pyaar hoga, khuda juda tera yaar hoga,

Khuda jaanega tu faanslon ka hain yeh dard kya...

BEAUTY Vs. BETTY

The raging debate between Blondes and Brunettes is an age old phenomena occasionally piqued by the curiosity of moral crusaders, eternally persisting to prove the fact that good triumphs all that is dark and menacing.  But I guess this time round the freckled boy Archie shocked the masses by ending his quest for an ideal match by choosing the snazzy, fickle, blonde, Ms. Lodge and dislodging the gal-next-door Betty Cooper.

A heart broken betty became an overnight diva(with the extinguished flame of course) for scores of average, good natured, women across continents, who felt cheated, hurt and betrayed at the turn of events, as chocolate boy chose beauty over brains.  The famous write up by Jessica Leigh Griffith Ode to the nice girls too failed to offer respite to all and sundry.  Opinion polls reflected countless guys applauding Archiekins for his choice of soul mate, not to mention lasses too in favour of this decision.

The revelation when closely viewed is a conscience call by an eligible bachelor, who believes that beauty is not really skin deep. A well groomed, Versace clad gal is more of an asset and a bonus if she comes with a bank balance which will help survive the worst recession.  We needn’t travel too far to find such men, cut to the bride hunters in small time metros, phoren-returned desis seeking the perfect bride material, happy with a size zero beauty, brains matching the zero quotient, treadmill treading, vegetarian, who has turned into a grass eating mammal for the love of animals (aww maneka would be so touched).

No amount of lucky charms, self-help books, and secret incantations offer any comfort to differently endowed women as against the onslaught of botox, implants and the like.  The fact remains, beauty captures eyeballs while substance is best stashed away to be visited on lonesome nights.  The battle for looks will continue till eternity but for all Betty sorority well-wishers, its important not to lose heart, in-fact you have one in this age of instant karma is a rarity, guys like Archies come and go, what’s important is stick to your beliefs with rock solid faith, and as the wise would say “the rest just follows”.