When you look back at the days gone by, a sweeping sense of nostalgia overwhelms you and you are transported in a time capsule back to the timelessness of youth.
When you were young, young was young and old was old! Period. That was when life meant one long series of innocent fun and frolic and frothy nothings! Those were the days!
You know you are growing old when the nephews and nieces for whom you held the feeding bottle are talking of Bollywood hottie Kareena Kapoor and handsome hunk Saif Ali Khan’s relationship status. Once, not so long ago, ‘hot’ and ‘cool’ meant you are talking of the weather, but ‘Gen Now’ knows better, laugh and put up with your limited lingo. One can only wonder at the economy of words that the current generation employ. These two words include a vast range of feelings, emotions, attitude, behaviour that can probably replace half a dictionary. Their repertoire is actually amazing! Like... you know.... what I mean! Phew! You can’t say I’m not trying. Back then however much you wanted to marry a Rhett Butler you only have a husband now. Earlier you thought with a husband you could change the world. Now you know. All that you are interested in is changing your husband’s ways. Even if he looks like Brad Pitt you can’t stand him throwing a wet towel on the bed or spilling coffee all over the living room floor.
Then, there were causes to fight and die for. You held hands, ate popcorn and pored over your current crush. You argued endlessly over American hegemony, peace in Assam or terrorism in Punjab. Intellectual citadels were made and broken within the hallowed confines of Coffee House. Now the only cause you are committed to is the call of ‘Pub bharo’, and tackling the very existential dilemma of mothers’-in law’s eccentricities.