The #Generation

The thought of this write-up came to me from the time I had this journey by train with a bunch of youngsters. I was traveling from my hometown to Mumbai. I was the only “Aunty” in the bogie with the #group. Yes! this is what they named their group as.

This was a group of students was from National Law University and was traveling to Mumbai for an internship. As I was dressed up in a traditional Rajasthani attire, I could sense that they had judged me as an illiterate woman traveling in an AC compartment.

Clearly reflecting “I-know-best“ and “couldn’t-care-less“attitude, it seemed that they all were knowing it all, strutting around with an arrogant swagger, demanding rather than requesting, knowing rather than seeking. Coupled with that was a patronising, dismissive attitude towards elders, who are judged by the sole criteria of how techno-savvy they are and found wanting, no matter how hard they try. If we scratch the surface we will find these children are as confused and directionless as we ever were at their age. They have more options, but more choice confounds the confusion. The exposure they have had has been to Western values and reality through the music they hear the movies and books they imbibe and the television they watch. And when you try to implement Western values in an Indian context, obviously there are bound to be problems.

I was lost in thoughts for a while and soon was called back by their loud laughs. I recollected my thoughts and realized I was thinking about those young people I work with. The comparison was unavoidable! Those who I work with are much sorted, very humble and keen to learn. I find them totally opposite to what was in front of my eyes. The dedication, zeal to work hard and the innovative quest of the knowledge followed by the curiosity is something that makes them stand out of the crowd. They respect what they have and want to achieve what they dream of. I will confess that I really feel motivated when they are around and I kind of enjoy being with them as I get to learn a lot from them. I am glad that I am at a workplace where I am accompanied by youngsters who wish to do more than just #ing.