Angst of the wired up generation
The Average Teenager’s Manual, fact of life #162, I get ready to wake up to the side-effects of the generation gap for the next 10 years. We hesitatingly face it, bear and tackle it, only to face it all over again the very next day. But this gap sticks out like a sore thumb before our every plan of action.
Every now and then we stumble upon sheer genius or stand on the brink of our private revolution when the generation behind us pulls us by our life cord (read: iPod earphones), stubbornly declaring our discovery to be absurd, and the genius in us an outcast.
We realise we are fighting a lost battle since the fact remains that our happiness becomes more invariably proportional to that of our parents with each passing year, and all we can ask in utter despair is, "Will they ever be able to understand our loyalty to the iPhone, PS3, Radiohead, hip-hop and KFC? Will they, ever, understand us?" The answer to that, my fellow peers, is a surprising, yes. They understand, more than anyone else.
We forget in our plight the golden years of our grey-haired inmates, who have been witnesses to the age of the hippie movement, Woodstock, Pink Floyd, John Travolta, Beatles, the age of sex, drugs and rock n’ roll. We might stand for peace, but little do we realise they "gave peace a chance".
For those of you wondering why your father had shaggy hair and rose-tinted glasses in his decaying college photographs, this may just get you thinking. This may even get you thinking about your grandfather’s flaring nostrils, a fresh by-product of post-independence India. But do we see our folks complaining? Perhaps this is where the key to suppress the age old clash lies.
Every generation with all its eccentricities is bipolar in nature, and it’s just got to be taken with a pinch of salt. Our parents did and they turned out quite alright, so the least we can do is give ourselves the benefit of doubt. Let’s give peace a chance.
The writer is a student of English (Hons),
Sri Venkateswara College, Delhi University
Kritika Kushwaha
College Student
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