Generation G A P S....(part 2)

Next, bring on the trumpets and the marching bands, please. Gen X, the now mid 30 to 40'ers (it's my era, so please don't mind the extra fanfare) have come to town. Let's start with childhood. Physical work has started diluting by this time paving way to more focus on education for both men and women. Quality of life was shades better because the culture of materialism had slowly creeped into the society. From transportation to household appliances, changes were happening for the better. As Gen X kids, we still drew water from wells, walked to do errands, biked to schools, did work in the house - without money, mind it (if i ask my kid to do this now, she'd protest it as child labor) and helped the grand parents who were at home.

Other biggie at that time, is that entertainment was all outdoors, because let's face it. Indoors was too boring, crowded with people and also a danger zone for children who could get assigned random chores on sight. Imaginary play that doesn't involve batteries or fancy buttons, mainly physical games, sports were common. And, we had to study but no pressure from school or parents, who were too busy anyway with their own grown-up issues.

Ok, fast forward to a Gen X adult 10 years back. No more routine jobs for us, we were soaring our wings high. Studying, working abroad and if in India, we were busy breaking from the cookie-cutter government workforce moulds and venturing into private companies. Technology was slowly buzzing into our lives, though today's kids would have a hearty laugh over the snail-paced PC's, Internet which was just beginning to show up (we were ecstatic and thought it was so hip to send e-mails back then) and getting a good connection on a land line phone after a frustrating 2 hours of hand-dialing and liberal-swearing, would be enough to make us weep with uncontrollable tears of joy. Women started entering into workforce more partly because of the education levels going up and also because of a need to increase the income of the household.

And, last but not the least, the middle-aged Gen X of today. Sandwiched between supporting older parents on one hand and rearing adolescent or Gen Y children on the other, trying to find a balance between work and family especially the women, dealing with a uncertain workplace situation (heavy price tag for going private), having to cope up with newer technologies that keep mushrooming every second - they're having to manage it all.

In a peanut shell - No fancy-shmancy gadgets or frills yet, simpler times with some physical labor leftovers from Gen W and mainly, having to balance on a seemingly permanent "see-saw" of life.

You and your compass....

Let's talk about what each and every one of us have within ourselves. That deep, down voice that tells us strongly what to do, not to do, what we ought to do but choose not to and regret later on with a "I-told-me-so", things that we wish to do but dare not try in our lifetime....you get the drift. Yes, it is that all-pervading, metaphorical inner compass, or the SatNavs of our lives that I'm getting into. Young adults think they have an independent mind, and do and act that way. In reality, though, in most of the cases, it's not even of their own choice, but out of peer pressure. Which interestingly, brings a point- whose collective, mob voice is it then? If everyone is busy copying someone else doing the same, then who the heck started the fire? No clue, but let's assume for sanity's sake that some life form starts a trend which gets viral, bacterial, whatever. And, suddenly there's a strong urge that compels every youngster to do it ...

On Equality....

So much hoopla about womanhood, feminism, and what's right or wrong, extreme or mild versions of it, am suddenly feeling a urge to clarify my views on this topic. Quite bizarrestrangoweird that it never crossed my mind all these donkey's years, to actually think of what being a woman meant to me, leave alone write about it. Anyways, let me just sit down and make an attempt to de-clutter all the muck and mud surrounding this mess. One word pretty much bottoms it down, and I've given away the punchline in my title anyway- EQUALITY. As simple as that. What goes for the goose goes for the gander. Except, what both genders physiologically can and can't do- pregnancy and childbirth, hormones, work that involves upper body strength etc. Even the latter is kind of debatable, with sports being a levelling field right now - yes, that was meant to be "punny" :-) Anything else that is possible for both genders, like education, work, choosing a life pa...

Mothering Business....

Quite a bunch, aren't we? Not only burdened with the responsibilities of raising new-age kids who are high tech, but come with nope, not even a "Parenting for dummies" manual, managing a challenging and dynamic job-front, dealing with the social aspects of the family like being the perfect daughter, a good sister, the kind neighbor, a caring wife, dutiful daughter-in-law et al. Add the mundane chores of cooking, cleaning, gardening, chauffering to this list and - I know, my head is spinning too. Easy now, let's sit down for a minute. Most of the current gen mothers that I know take their diverse roles to their heart, and try to make the best out of it. It's business as usual for them. No big deal, they would brush off. But, I always wonder if we're all unconsciously trying to be "Supermums", especially the huge task of balancing work and home. We definitely want to be out having a career or a job which is what keeps us sane and yet, no way ...

C'est La Vie;That's life

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