Sitting aside the perennial holy Ganges, on a Mahashivratri night today, lots of thoughts start bundling in together. I will probably be moving out of the City of Joy in the next 3 months, permanently. A very different kind of life awaits me, and like me, many others moving cities for a job.
The amount of variety and heterogeneous shades of India that we have seen will probably will probably be lost. The next generation wil probably be brought up in crowded heterogenous tier 1 metros. They probably won’t know what’s it like to grow up with a mighty river in your backyard. They won’t know the rustic feel of melas and original street food. They will be too domesticated probably. They won’t know the fire of a child brought up in scarcity. They won’t know the flavors of true India. They will be a predominantly online generation. They won’t know what’s it like to chill without digital devices.
But they will probably be the ones to usher in digitalisation. The ones who do not discriminate between rich and poor coz it’s no longer easy to do so. Everyone has a smartphone and with filters all caste, religion and geographical differences are blurred. They won’t get street food but they will be more health conscious. The ones to educate their parents, be more financially independent, prioritise mental health. They won’t know the scarcity life but they will find means to earn online, not rely on their parents for small wishes.
