The time has changed very fast in last decade in India. The economy is growing at a considerable high growth rate. Some people even claim that this is the best time to be born in India. ‘Shining India’to ‘India Rising’, ‘Poised India’ to ‘Incredible India’ type slogans has never been so catchy and visible. Revolutions after revolutions across various sectors- information technology to media to telcom to retail to steel to insurance are symbolic to up surging India on world platform. Some may say that this is not whole India. I agree. There is India of Vidarbha, Nandigram, Nithari, Godhra people etc. There is India of forty percent illiterate, of more than fifty percent of child abuse cases getting unreported. There is nothing required to add on infrastructure, health, education and disaster management sides of most of India. Whatever we say, India of today is very different (mostly in positive terms) in comparison to India of my childhood days. Today I belong to the India which has the youngest workforce in the world. In this India, there is a cohort of young people which belong to ‘chewing-gum generation’.
The ‘chewing-gum generation’ believes in chewing rather than swallowing. Why swallow-when they are so open and willing to explore. There are not like ‘Paan-Supari generation’ and are not restricted to one thing. They are jack of all trade, masters of none. Their interests have variety, their command shows versatility. They want to taste as many flavours of chewing gum as much they can. They are always on move. They are eager to learn and try many new things. They don’t like sticking to one chewing-gum for long. It is boring for them. They like new games, new software, and new gadgets. They have seen surging salary and serial job hoppers making it big through their naked eyes. They are progressive by birth. They want to work and live on their own terms. They want freshness in everything-projects to fashion style to living style. They don’t find ‘juice’ in orthodox style.
Self-centered approach with short-term immediate gains can be vividly described as their identity. World is flat for them. They can’t live even a day without mobile and without internet a week is more than a year to them. They don’t believe in saving, spending is their mantra. They see future cash-flow as resource to spend. Loan is not a bad thing for them. Decent education and job is very realistic possibilities for them. They want to fly, travel and study abroad. There is very individualistic rational for everything -office timings to work habits, dress code to sexual orientation, lifestyle issues to work-life balance. Either they belong to top 100 populous cities of India or they have studied there. They are available in plenty in today’s universities, professional institutes, coaching centres, corporate houses, BPO industries, media houses, coffee houses, shopping malls and movie halls. They are multiplying day by day.
They are very assertive about their choices. They are fearless about their aspirations. They think beyond boundaries. For them, no constraints can be justified. They have no time to think except their fun and dreams. They have no time to learn how to handle shattered dreams. They belong to the generation of opportunities, possibilities and aspirations, not of constraints. I say this generation –‘The Chewing-Gum Generation’.
2 comments:
Thoughts are Conflagrant but unreasonably self judicious. Becomes more astonishing when, only you as a person tell that reasons are important not issues. One finds the vision for Nosplan beautiful and well thought but the views about the current generation leads to nowhere. The article tends to rationalize and standardize the variation amongst the thought process and aspirations of current Indian youth, coming from a wide spectrum of cities that can never be defined by the first or the top 100 or either by the census class order or any such objectivity. Calling it a BPO generation will only loosen the fact that there are industries of the first generation performing at a annual growth rate of 11.5 % only diminishes the effort of the secondary sector contributing 73% of the GDP. Saying that they are “jack of every and master of none” I think is a crime as one knows that more complex the technology becomes more intricate definition formation and micro detailing of ones profession happens. In such a case putting the main objective of a planner that a “planner needs to become jack of every trade and master on none” to the whole generation only dilutes you as a professional planner. None the less the blog is one of the brilliantly written blog by among SPA Students. But I think criticism is better for progress and development rather than congratulating you on the already done exceptional work.
It was fantastic to get your points. Thanks a lot.
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