Rekha's Musings

We are a very lucky generation!

We have been witness to the biggest changes happening-

on the social & economic front in the country;

in the fields of science & technology worldwide.

We have also enjoyed the fruits of these changes in our lives. We have actually been part of these in our own small ways!

We started life in the old custom-bound families where we learnt implicit obedience, where asking too many questions was frowned upon and life travelled in a straight line- the safe & proven track! That was our childhood!

But as we grew, we saw the doors thrown open to a myriad new possibilities -

computers(the new brains), first man on the moon, television, telecommunication; new worlds beckoning (jobs in the gulf, far east); new careers; new & affordable housing options (the cooperative movement was just taking shape); the Freedom movement & its aftermath, Womens' Lib - a college degree leading to a job was being accepted as the way forward for girls at least in the metros.

We had many options our parents did not and we were excited and grateful!

We were the "Intermediate generation"! We could understand & appreciate the changes unlike our seniors! We could compare the old with the new & pick & choose what was best! We tried to hang on to the niceties of the "old" and yet embrace the "new"!

We were the buffer between the 'old' and the 'new'; we understood tradition(our parents) and emancipation(our children). As we come to a close, life has permanently changed; some of the innocence unrecognisable to the new generation!

This is what I regret most for this generation - they have lost the option of choosing the 'old' - that world is closed to them for ever!