India is the country of youths. It has been reported in numerous reports and articles that India has the largest population of youngsters in the world. Is this a good thing for us? Definitely yes. However, this is more of a marketing strategy wherein the lucrative product descriptions have certain terms and conditions attached to them. Unless you don’t follow them, you won’t be able to reap the benefits.I was never a fan of non-fiction. I always loved the freedom that fictional stories provide. No hardbound rules, no restrictions, and delightful reading – these were the qualities I adored in the works of fiction. However, lately I read a book – The Elephant Paradigm by Ramchandra Guha. His essays forced me to change my opinion about non-fiction books. I later realized what had troubled me when it came to non-fiction. It was the harsh reality and the critical way of writing which those literary works flaunted. But, now I’ve learnt to embrace those facts, and hence now I like them. So in this article I’ve tried to critically analyze the current situation of the youth in our country. I know I’m no literary genius, so there are bound to be mistakes and some notions that you might not agree with. Just bear with me, I’ll clarify my opinions in the best way I can. However, tards don’t come with a warranty seal, thus no comments for them.

When I was about to enter my teenage years, I was very excited. I would read articles that focused on the advantages of being a teen, the responsibilities they’re endowed with, the physical and mental changes that they go through. I was so happy about the fact that after a few years I would be an adult and won’t be looked upon as a kid. This meant a lot to me. The way to adulthood was through adolescence. I was prepared, and at some point I actually thought that being an adolescent would change the way my elders looked at me. It happened but not in the way I imagined.

1. Almost every adult that I met at family gatherings had only one thing to say – “OMG! You’ve a moustache now. You’re a grown up now. Let’s get you married!” In the beginning, it was funny. Ha ha, I’ll be married, have a beautiful wife, kids ha ha! But, when someone has to go through this over 100 times, the concept of having wife and kids is unpleasant. You even think of renouncing the world. No matter how much someone tries, they cannot escape this.
2. When I met folks of my age, most of them had the same question for me – “Bandi h? (Do you have a girlfriend?)” And when I said no, they had the perfect reply for me – “You should study less, have some fun, bro. Girls don’t like nerds.” Seriously? Do girls like dumb guys? My parents always encouraged me to study and now this guy just told me that it is no good!

These two incidents occurred so many times that at one point I had to conclude that the sole aim of being an adult was to have kids. Social responsibilities, studies, or being a responsible citizen were all secondary. I had to make peace with this. I believed that one day a teacher would come up to us and teach us ‘How to be an adult?’ Somewhere between this confusion, I graduated high school with great marks. I opted for science since I liked it. In the next two years all I heard was – “Aim for IIT. That’s life.” I was glad since there was more to life than being a father. That was some relief.
If you’re a bit different than the rest of the crowd, people have a hard time dealing with you. Majority of youngsters indulge in partying, playing loud music, adopting “cool” terminology( yo, dope, kewl, etc .), follow the latest fashion trends, develop a philosophy about life after getting ditched, feel proud about the fact that they smoke and drink and do a lot of other “cool” stuff too. I don’t understand that if a majority does something, why do people consider it to be compulsory? Unless it does any good to me or to the society, I don’t feel the compulsion in doing it.

Seems legit?

The whole thing boils down to the concept of being “cool” and having “swag”. Being a “cool” person is so hyped that people can’t even distinguish between the good and the bad. As a matter of fact, things which majority of youngsters do just to be cool are simply stupid.

1. Playing loud Punjabi rap music in cars proves that your music system is capable of playing songs in loud volumes. It also proves that when the frequency of that rap music coincides with the natural frequency of your car’s side screen, it resonates. What’s cool about that? Had you been the one to discover it, then that would have been cool! Proving the already proved phenomena is idiotic.
2. Constant unnecessary usage of slang words while communicating proves that your knowledge about the language is weak. That’s a thing to avoid. I don’t understand what there is to flaunt about it?
3. Changing partners like clothes only proves that you’ve commitment issues.
4. Smoking cigarettes, making rings while doing so, standing by the wall and posing while smoking is considered cool. Getting drunk to an extent that you puke your stomach out is cool. I do not comprehend the reasons for either of the above.

Well, Hitler doesn’t look bad with Swag!

All I could infer from these activities is that being sane is a crime, and breaking rules is considered cool. After all it is our fault. We emphasize so much on being cool, that we forget that responsibilities come attached with adulthood. Freedom brings responsibility. Most people run away from it as if it were a flying cockroach.

When was the last time any of you did something for the society? Don’t you feel something should be done about it? If you’re thinking that I’m encouraging you to build another Google or to start a revolution, you’re plain wrong. Those who know me, know the fact that I never demand anything big if I demand something at all. Confused about what to do? Let me share an incident with you.

A month back I was waiting for the local train at the railway station. Two ladies were sitting beside me on the bench and were eating chips. After they had savored them, they threw the packet in the most careless manner and resumed chitchatting. It was an unpleasant sight. The amount of time women devote in cleaning their houses is commendable, but it was shameful to watch them indulge in such negligence. What was more surprising is that no one batted an eye as if it was only the job of the cleaning department. However, I gradually picked the empty packet, went to the dustbin and dropped it. Then I went back to my seat and politely requested them not to repeat this again. Their eyes reflected embarrassment. Maybe they had learned the lesson. Had someone recorded this whole incident, it might have become viral on YouTube as a “social experiment”. And most of us would have shared and liked it, however, only a few would have done something similar.

Neither did I do anything revolutionary, nor did I portray some kind of heroism. I just did what a normal responsible adult should have. This line may resemble some Bollywood movie dialogue, but it is true. We always wait for a big opportunity to knock on our door, but in doing so we lose numerous smaller ones which could have easily become the stepping stones of something grand.

Boycott crappy TV serial, promote good media content. Watch good meaningful movies on theatres. Stop watching typical Bollywood masala movies. Read good books. Read Chetan Bhagat’s books if you like but slowly elevate your level. Don’t stick to it. Never stop at one thing. Explore more. Stop peeing on the walls. If you see people doing that tap on their shoulders and say “Bravo! Uncle”. Then clap for him. Maybe he’ll understand the sarcasm. (One of my friend came up with this idea and I admit that I was hesitant to follow it, but it is really effective). Reprimand people who spit on the streets. Stop staring girls. There is a healthy way to look at people. Don’t stare at them as if you’re searching for their soul. The girl will not transform into some Vogue magazine’s model if you keep staring at her. Stop misusing your privileges.

Develop some hobby. Start cooking. Cook something good. And by the way, girls love guys who cook. So if you’re trying to impress someone, try doing this. And if, by chance, the girl is more interested in hiring you as her cook than to get in a relationship with you, take it as a compliment. Don’t lament upon it. It is easy to get offended, but difficult to understand. Love food, it’ll love you back every time. Learn something new. Be interesting. Read newspapers, magazines, novels and short stories. Just read, read and read. Watch super heroe movies. Promote Indian comics, Indian superheroes. There is so much to do in so less time. How can you waste it on stupid stuff?

Our elders usually say that “youngsters today are confused.” Earlier, I didn’t agree with them, but now I do. We all are confused sperms (Pun intended.) We are confused because we are so eager to change things that we tend to forget what they originally mean. Take, for example, YOLO (You Only Live Once). This was meant to encourage people to do something good. To make them realize that we’ve only one life, make it meaningful. However, what did we really do? Take selfies of weird stuff, do stupid things to post with #YOLO hashtag. YOLO has become the ultimate excuse for anything and everything that is mindless.

I wish I could do this…

We hear the words ‘freedom’ and “rights” a lot these days. Everyone is fighting for their respective “rights”. There’s nothing wrong in it. How many of us know that our Constitution mentions 11 fundamental duties apart from fundamental rights? Being a citizen of India everyone asks for their rights, but do they care to fulfill any of the duties? I think the makers of our Constitution did a terrible mistake by making these duties unenforceable. We misuse our rights and privileges a lot. Take the example of the privileges given to women in the Delhi metro. There are reserved seats for women in the general coach. That seat is a “privilege”, not a “right”. I’ve seen young women arguing for seats with the elderly, only because they were sitting on the seat reserved for women. Try to argue with those women, and you’ll be declared a male chauvinist. I don’t know whether I am a feminist or not. All I know is that at the root level we are humans, and every human has compassion and kindness. Offer the seat to anyone who is needy, irrespective of him/her being a senior citizen, pregnant woman, child or even a young man.

There’s lot more to say. But, simply pointing out things won’t do any good. Try and not be stupid. Give respect to all. These abstract qualities are free and all our governments have been kind enough not to levy a tax on them. Everyone wants to witness change without changing oneself. How is this possible? Rome was not built in a day. Take care of the small ones and big changes will follow. We blame the society for everything, but we forget that WE make the society. Good people are hard to find because we all fear to expose the goodness inside us. Being stupid is the new cool. Why? Well, question yourself.

P.S. In case you felt I’ve stereotyped anything, let me clarify that I’ve only mentioned the wrong doings of people in this article because I wanted to point out the negative attributes of ourselves. I do acknowledge the fact that not everyone is stupid, egoistic, and a chauvinist. Many of my acquaintances are responsible citizens. Think before getting offended. Peace.