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Perspective
Food For Thought
by Attreyee
Roy Chowdhury
 I
often reflect on the past and, in doing so, I remember that at about the
age of 18, I asked myself a question, “What am I doing with my life?”
This question continues to haunt me. Until that moment, my life had been
full of discos, parties and friends. But with that question, all these
activities paled into insignificance. I was left with the shocking
realization that I, and most of my ilk, had spent a major part of our
lives showing off and bragging about things which really don’t matter.
As I explored this question, I began to probe my conscience and put my
thoughts into one reality, “posing”.
To all those who do not comprehend this verb, ‘posing’ is the act of
showing off or trying to impress. We all pose, perhaps we are unaware of
it but we do, the young generation more than ever.
Take smoking, for instance. It is a perfect act of posing. Have you ever
asked yourself, why am I smoking? The answer in my opinion is that we
smoke in order to maintain our status, image or, to put it bluntly, ego.
And, what about the other trends that have become part and parcel of
college life? I don’t know about the others but, to me, college has
become synonymous with chit-chat sessions, sipping tea in the canteen,
parading the latest as far as fashion is concerned, and, moreover, have
a “good” time. Lectures, incidentally, are something one attends in
order to maintain the required attendance. No wonder then that the most
intelligent member of either sex is not necessarily the most popular
one.
If you have the looks and a big bank balance, then flaunt it. That’s the
way it goes. The campus almost resembles the catwalk. Stilletoes,
mini-skirts, tights, Nikes, Reeboks and flashy earrings, have become the
order of the day. Instead of gracing the classrooms with one’s presence,
we hang around in the canteen exchanging the latest gossip as “who’s
going around with whom”, the latest discotheques and pubs in town, etc.
If you attend lectures, then you are labelled as “Miss Goody Two Shoes”.
If you don’t wear designer outfits, you are labelled a “drag”. And last
but not the least, if you happen to be single and fancy free (I mean not
having a boyfriend/girlfriend), then believe it or not, you are no
longer a part of the groovy or elite crowd.
Likewise, drinking too has become part and parcel of a youngsters’ life.
A broad spectrum of factors may be pinpointed in order to explain why
the young finds alcohol consumption so crucial and fashionable.
“Getting high” means different things to different drinkers; To the shy
awkward looking guy, knocking down a few whiskey pegs gives him the guts
to “let the devil inside’ perk up his courage to talk to the “pretty
woman”. To the aspiring young middle class, boozing at parties
increasingly equates them with la CRÈME de la CRÈME. For young girls, a
glass in hand makes them feel glamorous and all grown up. For several,
it is an opportunity to get tipsy and giggle, and this attract
attention.
Hence, we all pose, as I have said earlier, not only when it comes to
smoking and drinking but also in what we wear and our general
appearance.
Have you ever noticed while traveling in the bus in Mumbai that men and
women often look at one another in contempt? They inspect, dissect and
scrutinise each other from the shoes, working their way up the body to
the face and hair as if carrying out a post-mortem. It angers me greatly
that people put other people down because they feel they are more
attractive than their counterpart. Men enjoy humiliating and browbeating
others because it gives them a sense of power. In my view, the people of
this day and age exist for power.
Have you ever wondered why we feel much better in expensive outfits? For
instance, if you had the choice between two T-shirts, both identical,
except that one has “Yves St. Laurent” sewn on it, which one would you
choose and why? I think most people, given the choice, would take the
T-shirt with Yves St. Laurent on it?
Likewise, if you had to choose between two paintings, a Husain and a Van
Gogh, then in all probability, you would opt for the latter. This brings
us to another point worthy of consideration: “the slavish mentality of
the Indians”.
The craze for “Foreign Ka Maal” has diminished over the years,
but it is still there. We are willing to pay astronomical sums of money
for a Revlon Lipstick, Benetton T-shirts or Cartier sunglasses. Also it
is a known fact that the Benetton T-shirts available in India come from
their factory in India and not from Italy.
Likewise, holidays abroad are the “in thing” among the Glitterati. The
Riviera is the ultimate destination. According to a socialite, “Darling!
The beaches there are fabulous”, notwithstanding the fact that there
exists lots of beautiful beaches in our very own country.
Are we ever going to outgrow this kind of behaviour? Is it something
that will die with us? Will our search for maturity put an end to this?
I for one am hopeful, but not very sure because even the so-called
grown-ups indulge in it. Shouldn’t we be using our energies for things
more worthwhile? I shall end with a quote from someone unknown to me:
“All men’s troubles arise from the fact that we do not know what we are
and do not agree on what we want to be.”
December
3, 2006
Image under
license with Gettyimages.com
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Perspective
The Week of December 3, 2006
India's Security Environment: Turbulent and
Uncertain by Dr. Subhash Kapila
Sensible Security Strategies by Gaurang Bhatt, MD
Nepal: Raising Hopes of Normalcy by Col. Rahul
K. Bhonsle
Lawless and Vibrant: Criminal Union Cabinet
Ministers by V. Sundram
It is Not Women Who Declare War by Mehru Jaffer
Living Among Enemies by J. Ajithkumar
The Fate of Mankind: Is the World Heading
Towards War or Peace? by TA Ramesh
Impact of Globalization on Indian Culture
by V. Sundaram
A Rebel of Innocence by Ashwini Ahuja
Trip to Heaven by Arya Bhushan
When the Sun Sets by Dr. Manasi Dutt
Meenaxi by Dibyendu Ghosal
Rinanubandh by Julia Dutta
A Country Deluged by VK Joshi
Food for Thought by Attreyee Roy Chowdhury
Skiing in Dubai by Rajesh Talwar
That Thing Called Love by Tuhin Sinha
The Witty Side by Melvin Durai
Mothers Feeling Blue by Rasana Atreya
'Silence is Complicity' by Elayne Clift
Dissent through Dance and Drama by
Deepti Priya Mehrotra
Concrete Threat to Goa's Beaches by Lionel
Messias
Imprisoned by Daylight by Swapna Majumdar
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