Shashank Chouhan
Youth of the country are much like the Ganges.
Changing course as required, flexible, cool & refreshing, lifeline of a people, a reason to worry for many, bit misunderstood, sometimes appears muddy on surface, standing the test of time with its determination and is a synonym for haste.
Whats important for the Ganga is that it stays loyal to its source. Only then does it run deep and run eternal. Quite whats needed from the youth of India today.
While the youth can be called Ganga, India can be termed a Banyan tree that needs the constant supply of Ganga’s life giving waters for its growth and sustainability. Whether the youth today stands upto that great expectation is one of the biggest questions of our times.
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Growing up is much like reality TV.
From parents, to peers, to teachers, to everybody who does and does not know you expects you to be Abhijeet Sawant. The spotlight is on you and you have no choice but to play to the galleries.
Youth gives an individual the power to shine forth in the reality of life. Not only are there dreams, but also the guts to achieve them. And so the youth of India is engaged in Mission I M Possible: of proving themselves through whatever they do.
And in that they have brought the world to India. BPOs & KPOs are not the only signs of the youth culture; there is a revolution under way in most aspects of life in India and the youth are at its center.
The philosophy of this culture is simple: Eye on I. From education to careers, from spending power to savings, from relationships to social responsibility, the individual is the core beneficiary.
And the individual is young. He likes to flaunt his Gucci bought from Harrods, plans to rock the world with his MBA and engineering degree from IITs & IIMs, is anything but shy when it comes to speaking his mind, doesn’t think twice before taking up a new career and has an adventurous soul.
The world is his ocean and he has the power to lap up its pearls and perils.
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The Egret sits atop a Rhino with a motive- a selfish one. The bird feeds on the beast’s body lice as also on the insects that it stirs up while grazing. In that, the Rhino’s body is cleaned of irksome pests.
It odd to say, but the relationship between today’s youth and their motherland is much like the above. In the meeting of purposes, lies the ultimate benefaction of both.
You could call it a selfish thing. But, living today is about being Ayn Rand’s The Fountainhead, ideally. That in your growth, the society, nation and the human race grows. In being what they are, the youth have converted the ancient land of Aryavart into Youngistan. For good.
It their desire to earn money thats bringing in the moolah even when the rest of the world is going bankrupt, its their aspiration that has lead India to assert itself as the worthiest contender for being a permanent member of the Security Council, its their determination to set things ‘right’ that’s leading Rahul Gandhi, Sachin Pilot, Milind Deora to bring the age (un)limit of joining politics down, its their ability to create the best that Made in India has precious value unlike Made in China.
The big dreams of the young have filled India’s eyes with twinkling stars.
But its not all starry eyed dawn. The red in the horizon also symbolizes anger and frustration at a lot of things that happen only in India. That still make the youngsters sing ‘Go West…’
On the super fast highway to success, the impatience of the youth has become the impatience of a nation- 51% of the population being under 25 years in age. But its not that the impatience is wrong. Its about time changes were made so that India gains its rightful place in the world order.
For that to happen, there are two things that are required.
A. The youth realizes that whatever they do, it will have an impact on India.
B. India realizes that the young are destined to be the rowers, who will propel it to a new era.
That realization- that the survival and success of both depends on each other- will be the awakening that Swami Vivekananda, the great youth icon, worked for in his life time.
And when the aspirations of youth combine with the dreams of India- that confluence will be much like the holiest one at Allahabad. The water will appear muddy, but it indeed will be redeeming.
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