Saeed Mirza’s 1980’s off-beat film with a kind of self-explanatory title ‘Albert Pinto Ko Gussa Kyon Aata Hai’, about an aspiring youth’s coming of age and growth of political consciousness, had doses of comedy mocking incongruities felt in our society. The title became a popular one-liner for those discomfited with the way things were run, full of angst and feeling aggrieved with the system as such! Fifty years later, that’s transformed into overt aggression, often seen in public places, roads, trains and even flights, you name it !
Yet there was a time when ‘patience’ was considered to be a virtue and young parents would scold their hot-headed kid/s and urge him/her to become ‘shanth’ and not pick up fights with everyone. In school we’d be very scared of the ‘slap-happy’ and irritable teachers who exhibited their intolerance (specially to errant students who didn’t do their homework, bunked or disturbed classes). Corporal punishment was allowed in schools in those days ! And being ‘chota’ we never to messed with irate big ‘Dada’s’ in our class. That said, life was much simpler then, it wasn’t a long and arduous ‘rat race’ as it’s become today for our youth !
Now in digital era of ‘work from anywhere’ and moving in the fast lane in all spheres, be it travel, communication, on-line games, social media, dating apps and relationships, all move at break-neck speeds. Wanna-be professionals & achievers need to ‘hit the ground running’ but many find that they ‘have to keep running hard to remain at same place’ ! Patience in such a scenario is not advocated & people turn resentful if asked to wait. It isn’t staying back with restraint but overtaking others, that’s now ‘right’ way of succeed !
In Mumbai, whenever elders and the elderly start losing their cool on delays taking place or any other issue they’re generally reassured by the youth around ‘Uncle, tension mat lo!’ meaning ‘Chill karo, no point in getting excited at your age’. However, the millennial too are a stressed out lot, juggling work-life, daily commute, job pressures, lesser income, family demands, inflation, loans, EMIs etc. This infuriates them and makes them edgy !
Today’s real feedback on perspectives, comes from the bawdy jokes that young ‘stand up comics’ produce on their stage-shows. Hilarious yet cynical view of life in entirety – from parents, spouses, marriage, relationships, small town quirks, societal norms, old rituals, jobs, bosses, colleagues & labored pace of life ! More irreverent and outrageous the talk, more are audience sniggers, raucous laughs, all united in a show of rebellion ! Possibly the only time when young folks listen to someone intently, as someone tells their own story.
Generations have moved on far ahead but old proverbs still hold good ‘One moment of patience may ward off great disaster. One moment of impatience may ruin a whole life’ !
Working on Living 