Off The Cuff: A wry look at life

Another Independence Day has passed by, the 55th birthday for India. It was time for the annual ritual of patriotic fervour, of nationalistic zeal, of flaunting buntings of the tricolour.

It was a time to remember those martyred for the cause of independence, pay silent tributes to those whose blood, sweat, tears and toil made the final breakaway from the shackles of centuries of colonial rule a reality...

Amidst all this countrywide euphoria, one question looms large: how many are actually aware of what India is, the scope of its diversity, its cultural spectrum, or even some basic facts of its geographical lay?

I recount an incident that took place some years ago, when I was seeing off a friend leaving for the north-eastern town of Guwahati, the capital of the state of Assam.

Among the passengers sharing a berth in his coupe was a 17-year-old student of a well-known college in the capital, with whom we struck a conversation. In the course of our tete-a-tete, the boy asked, "Isn't this train passing through Darjeeling?"

When I told him that Darjeeling was situated in West Bengal, a neighbouring state, he remarked, "Oh, I thought it was in Assam."

So much for ignorance of geography. Perhaps, it speaks volumes for the psyche of the generation of today, the so-called Generationnext, a generation on a totally different wavelength.

Just survey the idiot box today, which spews a good number of tear-jerking family socials that could make you, like Dagwood Bumstead, head straight for the couch and sleep; some begin with certain letters just because an ostensible superstitious streak runs high through its producer (Ekta Kapoor, daughter of a well-known actor of yesteryear, Jeetendra, believes in the K charisma, just like director Raakesh Roshan: all her TV serials begin with K – KKusum, Kyon ki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi , etc.).

And don't forget the so-called music serials, low-brow episodes more famous for their glamour value than general knowledge.

Either you have Sa Re Ga Ma or Kya Masti Kya Dhum: the questions are all filmi, the mood of the audience is filmi, the songs all revolve around Bollywood, that high citadel of tinsel and glitter, a dreamboat that everyone wants to latch on to, a multi-million rupee (or should one say dollar) industry hosted by celebrities from, well, you said, it, Bollywood.

The questions are 'sitters', easy ones which even a four-year-old can answer. For instance, in Kya Masti Kya Dhum, anchored by popular star Sonali Bendre, who always has the last word, or should we say act: she ends the show with a dance performance by herself. And don't forget the impact of the radio.

Entertaining it may be, but some conversations with the listeners can really descend to inanities of the profound kind (A typical dialogue could go like this: 'What did you eat?' 'Pilau.' 'How was it?' 'Hot. It was hot pilau.' 'Hot pilau. I thought you said hoi polloi.'

The teen and the tween, that twilight zone between childhood and teen age, of today's India seems to be far removed from the realities of the villages: this is a generation whose diet revolves around fashion and style.

With a whole new horde of international brands flooding the market every now and then, the young ones are judged by the brands they sport.

Designer wear is the rage: a fashion contest on the telly, particularly if it involves big names in the fashion industry, is watched with an intensity bordering on reverence.

Ask them who the chief minister of Madhya Pradesh is, they will draw a blank. But ask them which singer is called 'J Lo' or what brand of T-shirt teen heartthrob Hrithik Roshan is wearing (it's hip to imitate Hrithik, you know), and the answer is obvious.