Dilemma of An 80’s Kid

Almost all of us wanted to do the things that only our elders could do. We made a big wish list that we were determined to fulfill when we will be as tall as our parents. It was a list full of unfulfilled wishes like watching movies, buying ice creams, chocolates, eating those street side junk food, not giving exams, playing all day long… it was truly one long list.

We, the 80’s kids had a lot to celebrate. Our local park was our Facebook, passing short notes to friends in school was our Twitter, and those golden afternoons under the big bright yellow sun was our Instagram. Special moments were shared with friends every single day; we didn’t have to care how many people retweeted them on Twitter or liked on Facebook.

Life wasn’t easy back then, but it was simpler than now. Galaxy was something we could see easily looking up at the sky in starry nights. Apple and Blackberry were just fruits; tablets were medicines, and receiving handwritten letters were a lot more special than emails. We invented the shortest form of cricket even before Lalit Modi could dream of it. We danced and screamed our lungs out when Tendulkar hit sixes in Sharjah, we didn’t require cheerleaders to cheer for us.

Carrying a new pencil box with an attached sharpener and a hidden eraser or a pen that glows in dark were as exciting as carrying a new mobile or tablet to school. Sharing tiffin, comic books, bubble gums and other secrets with friends happened every single day; we didn’t have to Whatsapp for that. Whenever all our friends were together we always chat, we didn’t need to download WeChat for that. Back in the 90’s life gave us unlimited data plan; we didn’t have to pay anything to the service provider.

We were born with the best of things but we wanted to copy and paste the western culture in this country. Our prayers worked, the world around us started changing faster than we could ever imagine. Suddenly, bringing good grades in exams was a lot more important than playing cricket with friends and flying kites. Then came that much awaited day, our parents came to us, touched our shoulders and said...

“Don't be so irresponsible, you're no longer a kid.”

Now it's official, we are no longer kids. And we have no right to be wrong. Today Facebook reminds us of our best friend’s birthday. We no longer draw greeting cards for them; there are lots of online sites to take care of that. Playing cricket is passé, now IPL amuses us and match fixing is our favorite topic in social get-togethers. Galaxy is now available at only 20k, Apple is now a lot more expensive than it used to be. Temples are no longer to pray; instead Temple Run has become viral worldwide. We eat in good restaurants and check in on Facebook to show our friends where we eat, wear expensive clothes, talk smart, pretend to be smart, and carry smartphones. We no longer look up at the sky to see the old Galaxy. Making money is more important than relationships, using to-do lists to remember client meetings but forget to laugh heartily, waiting for our appraisals, waiting for that one vacation in a year, saving money to buy our dream cars, applying for loans…

And then, one lonely afternoon, some of us switch off their mobiles and write a post like this.