Disclaimer: This post has been guest authored by Aran. For some reason, it does not show 'Aran' as the author on the frontend even though it does on the backend. Perhaps the site admins could take a look?

I almost titled this post “My raging adolescent hormones are exploding all over the place and so I have temporarily lost the ability to think.” Actually, that could have been a pretty good title, but we just do not fish for clickability in post titles nowadays. Or do we? I am just so out of the loop here.

Anyway, what I intend to say (and will promptly say) is that wherever I look nowadays, I see people who write ‘dat’. And ‘dis’ and ‘dem’ and ‘wateva’. Etcetera. I never thought I would say this, but is this really what the wannabe cool Indian 12-to-18 year old has been reduced to? Is this what our city schools are churning out? Is this all we have to look forward to from the new generation? Where did they meet the Western street people who speak like this to adopt this kind of talk? Doesn’t it feel a little ridiculous to them when they’re saying it? Every section of society or culture has its own language, and this is simply not theirs. Don’t they see it?

Don’t get me wrong. I am fine with the evolution of language and all that. But the above problem speaks of the degeneration of mental faculties of epic proportions. If the only way you can be cool or in or with it is by mangling a language and trying so hard to look cool, then that’s a little pathetic, isn’t it? How does it show intelligence? Deccan Chronicle regularly does articles on the new cool words, for God’s sake! How can that be cool? Really. Think about it.

So… that’s that.

But there are two kinds of city-kid adolescents. Those who do ‘dat’, and those who don’t. I find I love the second kind more, but it’s my ultimate misfortune that most of my cousins are turning out to be the first sort. Just my luck. The second kind though, the ones I love, have a subsection that is much more precious. Recently, I commented to Scripto about someone, that - “He is that curious age I suppose when he is brilliant and depressed and will lash out and be self-destructive all at the same time.” Isn’t that full of promise and beauty? In my experience, teenagers like him turn out to be intelligent, interesting and worthwhile people. People you’d like to get to know. People who might not necessarily make waves in the world and might not be ‘successful’ professionally, but are definitely out of the ordinary and ones who would make great friends. Selfishly, that’s what I want more of in the world right now.



Current Mood: Non-gloomy