THE EXAM BLUES

DISCLAIMER

All characters (including the narrator) in this story are impurely fictitious. Any resemblance with the events that unfold in this story is yet again impurely coincidental.

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With only one page left to study, I was pretty happy and looking forward to some much needed relaxation. Most of the concepts were getting clear to me and surprisingly, with as less an effort as never before. But as I anxiously tried to complete the last rites, the contents of the page started to blur out. The circuits and equations disappeared and gradually everything started to brighten up. The next thing I saw was a bright streak followed by a rather blurred image of the dust clad ceiling fan. As I panned around the room, I saw my books basking in sunlight and none of them were open. A few moments of dilemma and I realized that I was merely dreaming and worse than that, with only one day to go I still had not touched three chapters of Mathematics, let aside the revision part. To add to my woes, it was already well past eight. The very thought of this got my heart pumping rigorously.

After this early jolt, I decided to quickly go through my routines and start off as soon as possible in order to make the best of the time left. So I hurled my blanket off and jumped out of the bed. But the first sight I was greeted with was that of my roommate Prakash, who seemed fresh after a bath and was deep in concentration with his Maths book open on his lap. That was like adding salt to my injury. I turned to the opposite side to check the status of my other roommate, Ravi. Well, as usual he seemed to be least perturbed by the fact that we had exams tomorrow. He was happily snoring away, absolutely cozy and cuddled up in his warm blanket. Phew! That was relieving.

It was quite a chilly morning and shivering away, I got across some rather fast and rash brush strokes to quickly conclude my tooth care. Considering the tension I was in, it was not quite difficult to get through my motions. I maintained the same speed in my breakfast as well, and soon I was all set to start my mission. No sooner than I had wrapped myself up in my blanket, I pulled out the voluminous book from the bottom of the stack and arranged a rough notebook. Finding a pen in my room was one of the most arduous tasks, amidst all the mess on the table, its constituents ranging from books, heaps of pages, earphones, chewing gum wrappers, t-shirts, Ravi’s hair band and bracelets and of course, not to mention all the dust. I got three, two of which were empty. I decided not to waste any more time and quickly opened the book, Advanced Engineering Mathematics by Jain and Iyenger. With over three hundred pages to read, divided into around ten to twelve units, I had no clue as to where to start from. I confirmed the syllabus from Prakash, who of course must have probably been half way through in his second round considering the fact that his day had begun as early as 6 a.m.

After that I finally came to a consensus and went in for a relatively easier chapter as a confidence booster. Full of energy and a fear-driven motive, the first chapter was history in a matter of minutes. Next, I decided to attack complex analysis, the unit which was the most challenging of all. I got off to a good start, but the moment those elephantine and labyrinthine equations came in to play, my concentration started to waver. I tried hard and struggled to keep my focus but just could not carry on. Sometimes I felt that I was Dyslectic and I could also hear a background music playing-‘Taare zameen par’. That was actually the music was being played by our neighbors in full blast. They had this misconception that music helped improve concentration. In the process they made our lives hell though. At last I decided to take a break and drank some water. The next step was quite a courageous one as I dared to disturb Prakash, who had not even looked out of his book all this time. On enquiring about how much he had completed, I got a rather modest answer-“Not much, to be honest only six chapters complete and I have to give a second round to the rest.” Wow! Second round! I could only dream to be in that position at this stage. Well, one would expect him to be rest assured during the examination eve, taking into account the amount of study he puts in right from day one. No wonder he was the topper of the branch.

I decided not to get myself more anxious by questioning him further. Instead I thought it was high time to wake Ravi up, who was up all night playing his favorite computer game without even touching any sort of course material. “Wake up man! It’s almost 10:30”.Why would he even bother? He gave no signs of waking up until both Prakash and I shouted vociferously. He got up, sat upright and within seconds collapsed forward on his blanket to enjoy a few more moments of a priceless snooze. Well, this procedure continued for about half-an hour before he finally went on to complete the other formalities. That took no less time though. It was now close to noon when he finally gave his books a reason for gratitude towards him. After a few moments of scanning his book,-bang! He shut it and went off somewhere. I later learnt that he had actually gone out for a haircut. God only knows how he could even think of one given the circumstances.

“Just one week ago, I probably would have been doing the same thing as Ravi”, I said to Prakash. Although I couldn’t have expected the same statement from him, I continued anyway. “But just look at us today - Toiling away like mad and not a moment of rest! In fact you cannot even enjoy a relaxed breakfast let aside a sound sleep. Why do they even have exams? Is there any use, especially in this college? First, they will draft in the weirdest of theories then they will set a question paper which I bet they themselves won’t be able to solve, and then to add a damper to this, there is cheating, incoherently strict correction, favoritism etc”. While I was shrugging off all my anger, to my surprise Prakash was quietly listening with his book closed. He gave me a rather skeptical look and reacted by simply saying-“That’s true but what can be done? Everyone has to go through exams. In fact life is a test in itself. It’s a basic rule of this world and cannot be avoided whatsoever. So just carry on the good work.”

“Good work of course”, I said to myself sarcastically. I wonder if I would be able to complete this complex crap today or for that matter even this month. Well, it was time to eat. Obviously I could not enjoy a single bite of my lunch. Not that it was worth enjoying though. Nevertheless, I was back on the desk in a matter of minutes. Welcome back complex variables! I was now determined to get over with this as soon as possible. I put in some extra focus. On my way, I frequently met up with one particular fellow. That was Mr. Cauchy or Dr. or Prof. whatsoever is his designation. Cauchy’s integral formula, Cauchy’s theorem and then the collaborations, Cauchy-Goursat theorem- Man! This guy had done some work in this field. Another such multi-faceted person is the one and only Newton Saab! You can meet him in almost any textbook concerning any course in this world. God! How I wish these blokes were never born. This world would have been a much better place to live in.

My stream of wild thoughts drifted to such an extent that I even linked all this up with terrorism. Quite clearly, the heat had started getting onto my mind now. I was brought back to my senses when all of a sudden the door was opened with a bang. “I’m back!” announced Ravi. He asked our opinions about his haircut. I counter questioned,-“Have you even cut them? They look the same to me i.e. like a girl’s”. His reply-“Hahaha! very funny! Just look carefully; I have trimmed my side locks”. I could not say anything after hearing that. Then, he promptly opened his locker. I thought he was looking for some books, but that was hoping against hope. Out came his laptop and within seconds the AK-47s, pistols and grenades were back in action. “When will you study man?” both Prakash and I asked in chorus. “Arey we have the whole day yaar and of course the night. Remember- raat baki, baat baki. So just chill dude!” And then a computerized voice came from his lappy after a loud blast-“Terrorists win!” I murmured-“I hope they lose tomorrow. The question paper that is. That was going to be no less terrorizing.

It was close to 4 p.m. now and finally I was performing the last rites for complex analysis. I felt much better now and also thought of rewarding myself. A small nap would not have been a bad idea and my intentions were reinforced when I saw Prakash taking forty winks. I was completely knocked out. Believe me, the nap that you get after a long doze of monotonous study is the best one.

When I got up, it was already starting to get dark. “Oh my god it’s 6 o’clock!” –I shouted. I had slept for two hours and was livid with myself. “How could I do this?”- I moaned. Both Prakash and Ravi asked me to cool down. We went out for our evening snacks and tea.

As soon as we were back, I just jumped on with it. The tension clearly reflected on my face and body language. My fists were clenched, I was biting my nails and my legs were shaking vigorously now. I was also taking some deep sighs. Seeing my state, my roommates enquired on whether I was okay. I was rather rude in my reply-“Do I look okay? How can I be okay with all these chapters to finish and hardly any time left? I just can’t understand my self. I get all the time in the world and yet I end up in such a state on the last day. I haven’t attempted a single problem. I am sure I will screw it up tomorrow. What will my parents think? They have been so patient and this is what I do instead. In fact this time I had started off early to avoid the last day tension. But still…” -I remorsed. Ravi was quite patronizing for a change. He tried his best to console me-“Hey c’mon man! You’re still better off than many others. Just look at me. I am yet to begin. Don’t worry about your parents yaar, I am pretty sure they have and will have complete faith on you and your abilities. And of course, there’s always a next time.” Well that was the statement on which the whole world thrives upon. One just had to have faith and be optimistic. Otherwise this world would be hell.

So I was back on track with an added spark. But then all of a sudden the door was pushed open and that too with quite an impact, followed by a voice-“Hellllo guys! Wazzup!” Oh God! It was Suresh. He was one of the world’s most irritating people. He continued-“No point asking you Prakash, but what about you? Complete? Solid preparation, eh?” I knew he would throw one at me. My blood was already boiling and at this point I felt like killing him. Well it seemed like I had to face more of him in the near future. That was because he had brought along all his stationary, with a certain intention of settling here. I am pretty sure he must have been in somebody else’s room prior to this and now it was our turn. Another thing that I was sure about was the answer I would get to the question that followed. “So what’s your state of affairs?” In reply he gave a sarcastic smile and said-“Me? I was just watching a movie. I’ll just be starting.” I smiled in my mind and said-“Ya of course! And I guess that is how you manage all those high grades. Please don’t tell me all those ridiculous tales of yours. I know everything. You have your clandestine study hours and then you pop up here to bother us.” He gave me an astonished look and then tried to explain-“What are you saying yaar. Believe me. It’s true. And as far as the grades thing is concerned, it just seems to happen automatically. I consider myself quite lucky in this case.” Well, he was lucky for sure, but that was because I didn’t have a weapon in my hands.

Suresh very comfortably settled down on my bed and resumed his study. As soon as his book opened his to and fro motion was initiated. My bed, being shaky and squeaky, resonated along. Then to add salt to injury, he started chanting the text material in an attempt to grasp the point. I refuted and so he hopped across to Prakash’s bed. After a short stint of self study, they launched a discussion. I tried to keep my concentration going but it was impossible. My mind kept getting diverted to what they were discussing. I tried being a part but they were talking in Greek, or at least that is what it seemed like. I intervened in their chat-“Er, guys! Could you possibly use a simpler dialect?” So I was amidst the action now. It’s a different thing that I had to keep asking for a second explanation each time and that was not very well received from their party. Nevertheless Suresh was pretty good at explaining things and that too in half the time. He was a bit difficult to convince though. He just would not listen to you until he was fully satisfied with his own argument. But that was probably why he did so well in exams with his last moment preparations.

Meanwhile, Ravi had finally opened his book. He was joined by one of his ‘made for each other’ partners, Dheeraj alias Chintu, who had also just shutdown his laptop. So overall, the room was in a studious atmosphere. Everyone was deep in concentration. Chintu expressed his happiness saying-“So finally we are studying, nothing can go wrong from here.” All of a sudden everything in my book went black. It was a power cut. “Oh damn it! This is the last straw. Chintu, did have to open your big mouth. Now what?”- It was getting unbearable for me now. I tried using my mobile phone’s light. But that was inadequate. So with no choice left we just lingered around with the hope that the lights would soon be back. While strolling around, Ravi slipped in a question-“Hey Priya was looking nice yesterday, no?” On hearing this, Suresh, who until now was busy dictating his concepts, responded instantly-“Oh ya! She’s the only hope in our batch.” I very reluctantly revolted-“Please don’t start this topic or my mind will get distracted.” Prakash tried to catch me on the wrong foot. He said-“Okay, so now we know that Priya is the reason for his distraction.” I desperately pleaded-“No! Don’t take me otherwise.” But who was going to listen. This subject carried on in the mess where we literally were having a candle-light dinner.

Finally at 9:30 p.m. god said-“let there be light.” It was about time too. My parents called in between. Unlike other times, our conversation lasted hardly minutes during exams as they had the same question and I had the same answer-“Ya, preparations seem okay, let’s see.” After getting their good wishes, I rushed back and got started. With hardly any time left, everyone was quiet now. I still had three chapters lined up. The hours went away like seconds. It struck midnight very soon. All at once, Ravi said-“Chintu? It’s already 12 ‘o clock?” With that he burst into laughter. Seeing him I couldn’t resist. Prakash seemed nonplussed though. His words-“Have you all gone nuts?” Well, anybody who would have entered our room at that time would have thought so. The aftermaths of the preparations were distinctly apparent. I huffed and puffed till 2 a.m. I must have resisted at least three alluring appeals to doze off, by my internal clock. With the optimism of having one more to go, I tried to keep it up but it was out of question. I decided to bypass the remaining one and crashed onto my pillow. Despite the light being on with Ravi still up, I managed to get a good sleep.

“No sir, please give me 5 more minutes. I just have two questions left. Pleeease! Don’t snatch it. Noooooooo!!!” My eyes opened. Phew! What a horrible nightmare. My heart was still pounding. After getting ready in a flash, I realized that I still had three quarters of an hour in hand. So I picked up the book again. I decided to take a glance of the omitted chapter. I couldn’t understand much but just mugged up a few formulae and scanned some examples. I applied the same procedure for the other units. But the moment I would switch to the next unit, the previous one just got erased. “I am pretty sure I am suffering from anterograde amnesia, the one in Ghajini, that is.” I announced jokingly. But nobody had the time or patience to even nod. Well, it was time to make a move now. I thought of giving a shot at the loo, but decided to abort the attempt. I settled with some antacid instead. With the current state of affairs I decided to do what I had never done before. I took my book along. I asked Prakash to guide me while I kept looking at the formulae. We reached the examination hall. I did not let go of the book until I was warned. Finally the answer sheets were distributed. I cautiously penned in my details. After an anxious five-minute wait, characterized by an adrenaline rush, the question papers were finally distributed.

That Evening

After half an hour of rest and recreation, I collected the material for the next one and started off soon. I was really tired. It turned out to be quite difficult to concentrate for this one. Disappointed at my poor performance in maths, I tried my best to carry on. I just hoped that there would not be a power cut and there was not.

The Next Day

This was even more tiring. In fact I skipped about an hour of study for internet.

& The Next Couple of Days

Just more draining, exhausting, fatiguing, wearing …

The Final Day

Tomorrow would have been the last one. Almost everyone was taking it easy. Considering that I had no energy left in me, I too wanted to. But I could not afford that. That was because I was hanging on a knife’s edge in this particular course. My prior scores were disgracefully low and I was staring down the barrel. I gave it my best shot. I did not even look at my roommates throughout that evening and believe me I was extremely nervous. That night I slept at half past three.

The Judgment Day

The invigilator threw the question paper on my desk. I took a quick glance and spotted an easy one. I went berserk. I rapidly inscribed each and every step, which was etched in my mind, trying to maintain a neat handwriting. I then found yet another soft pray. I attacked that one too. With two in my kitty, I felt a bit more composed now. I tried the rest one by one. I cracked some but some were left halfway. But this paper seemed to have no bounds. With only fifteen minutes to go, I still had two questions un-attempted and countless, partially. I got hysterical now. My hands started to tremble. I kept looking up for some help from the almighty, but the solution just would not strike despite the fact that I had seen that particular one while revising. I let the handwriting go to hell and just wrote some crap in a hope of at least gaining a mark or two. Very soon the invigilator stepped up to me.

“No sir, please give me 5 more minutes. I just have two questions left. Pleeease! Don’t snatch it. Noooooooo!!!” Only, that this time that it was not a dream. My sheet was snatched and I fell short by two questions. I breathed a heavy sigh and confirmed a couple of my answers with the ‘big shots’. Unfortunately, I had committed a very silly mistake in one question. All in all my performance was average, nothing to write home about. But my dilemma was whether I should mourn on my mistakes or celebrate the fact that the exams were over. Each feeling was encroached upon by the other. I checked with Ravi and Prakash. While the latter was busy with post-exam discussions, Ravi was virtually dancing. I can understand how tumultuous a time it would have been for him in particular. I did not ask them about their performances. Instead I decided to celebrate the moment. Well, my stomach was the first one to demand some attention. It was high time too. I had hardly eaten in the past few days. So we went out enjoyed some delicious samosas. I was completely drenched out, but yet that feeling of freedom was gratifying.

A Few Months Later

Prakash was at his peak. In fact he hit a ten-on-ten in the previous semester. Ravi’s gaming and singing were on a high. He recently came second in an inter-college gaming competition. His victory speech-“Just see my game after the summer term. I shall definitely come first next year.” Well, that is right folks. He will have to spend the summer term here and that too because he fell two marks short in a course. At least he is optimistic about it. Suresh’s honeymoon with his luck never seems to end. As usual, things struck his mind at the right time and place in the last semester exams as well. As far as I am concerned, I think I have shown some improvement both in academics and co-curriculars this semester. Though my last one was not quite up to the mark and I could do with a bit more of progress in terms of grades. Meanwhile, most of us are and will continue to thrive on one particular statement-“I’ll definitely work harder next time.”

TWO WORLDS, ONE COUNTRY

India, the world’s fastest growing economy, has undergone a massive transformation in the past few decades. There was once a time when on hearing our country’s name, the first image that would flash in an outsider’s mind would probably have been poverty or disease or illiteracy and maybe after that, our rich culture fabricated by our multilingual and multi ethnic society, our historic architectural marvels, our colours and of course, we the people. Though these features continue to exist, life, in the world’s largest democracy and second largest population has taken a shift towards the fast track. Ever since the massive globalization drive begun in 1992, the standard of living in the country has grown substantially. The influx of several popular western brand names in India in the recent past has led to the formation of a whole new class christened as the upper-middle class, which of course has its own set of concerns. But despite this metamorphosis, India’s culture and heritage continues to be its prominent feature and its major source of earning as well. Well, this definitely is a fact to be proud of, but what is not is that the above mentioned basic problems such as poverty and illiteracy and social stigmas like child labor and dowry still haunt our society.

Experts and journalists around the country describe this situation as –‘best of both worlds’. I would have to say that this phrase is quite apt, as I happen to be one of those Indians, who get to be a part of both these extremes and witness the beauty of its coexistence. The following two contrasting stories are based on these very experiences.

Part 1: The world below…

After a whole tiring day of boring lectures and frustrating labs, at six in the evening, I finally get to hang up my boots temporarily. Well, I generally relax by enjoying an evening meal along with my friends in the nearby snack stalls. There are a variety of such places in the vicinity of my hostel which include tea stalls, shake centres and low cost restaurants. With the break of dusk, the whole arena is thronged with many a student like me, who are here to revitalize themselves and these shops in turn, thrive on us.

When I visited this place for the first time, I was taken aback by the reliance of these places on a single bright bulb, switched on by tying up two live ends, to light up the area. I had no clue about what I would be confronting in terms of food. On asking, the owner started chanting what seemed to me like a Sanskrit shloka. He was actually going through the list of items, which seemed to have been permanently etched in his mind over the years. Not being able to understand a single word of his blabber, I gave some weird looks to my friends, to which he reacted instinctively and asked me to take a look at his menu on a wooden board. As I started going through it, I came across some of the most bizarre names of the world such as - chikan chowmean, freid raice, bund butter, mango shek, banana sake, pasty etc. I tried my best to control, but eventually burst into laughter. Not wanting to hurt the owner’s sentiments, I quickly turned around and tried to control myself. But I was, by no means, helped by the neighboring shop which read- chinesh food and sek carnar. A few moments later, I finally regained some sanity and placed my order. I was asked to have a seat. As I waited for my order, I looked around to check out its people. Besides the owner there was an elderly helper and to my shock, there were two very young boys who looked like brothers and an even younger girl. The sight of that little girl in dirty and tattered clothes, cleaning up the dishes with utmost effort, was a horrifying one. I was brought to my senses by one of the boys who inquired in a rural Hindi, whether I had placed my order or not. I tried to distract myself by taking a glance of what the others were having. My eyes got fixed on the Aloo paranthas garnished with some lovely pickles and a very symmetrically cut, piece of butter. Hang on, there was still more to come. The young boy alias chotu came out with a plate of noodles. That was it! I had started to salivate profusely now. Thankfully my wait ended quite soon when the lad shouted out-“egg chicken roll”. I hastily claimed it. The next few moments of my life were just out of this world. The roll contained some delicious fillings, topped with some tempting pieces of red meat, all of which had been pretty meticulously compiled. The taste could not be described in words. I devoured two of them in no time. When I asked him where I could wash my hands, he gestured towards one of the water jugs; the same from which people drank water. I reluctantly rinsed my hands, but drinking that was out of question. After that I decided to go for a chocolate shake as dessert. He gleefully accepted my demand, cleaned his blender and took out some milk from his fridge. After that he added some crushed ice, heaps of sugar and chocolate powder and switched on the mixer and my shake was ready to be served. Considering the amount of chocolate and sugar he had added, the taste just could not have been bad. Well, my whole meal summed up to a mere forty bucks. No wonder this place was so popular. Ever since, this place became a part of my daily routine.

Every evening I enjoy my daily snakes or rather snacks along with a glassful of my favorite cold coffee without ice, over here. Cold coffee and that too without ice may sound a bit funny, but I have no choice. The manner with which the ice is transported and then crushed can make anyone lose his or her appetite. The chunk of ice is brought on a cycle and the same jute bag is reused each time it is crushed. In fact there is a big question mark on the hygiene of this place. With time, I noticed that, the dishes are merely dipped in a soap water solution in the name of cleaning. The workers rarely wash there hands and it is better to ignore the water supply being used. No wonder these guys charge so less. They have to manage their family’s whole living in that meager sum. This also accounts for the hiring of children as labor. They are not only cheap, but can also be better exploited. The sight of these young boys and girls toiling hard in a time when they should be playing around is quite heartbreaking. What make matters even worse are the conditions under which they work. Their masters force them to grill under the relentless heat and the biting cold, with dirt and germs all around and adding to all this, they do not even have a permanent toilet. It is very easy to say that the government should steps to eradicate this evil but unfortunately, these children are major earning sources for their families and will have to live under worse conditions if sent back home.

Well, despite the sorry state of affairs in these places, there is a spirit about its people. The kids always seem to be cheerful and find some or the other source of entertainment while working, which is heartening to see. The owners and workers are quite down to earth, polite and completely dedicate themselves to our service with a lot of curtsy. The people who are found here in multitude are generally from the lower classes. It is interesting to see these guys sit back and relax on those dilapidated plastic seats and wooden benches to enjoy a samosa with a glass of boiled tea and indulge themselves in animated discussions most of which are political. My astonishment reaches its pinnacle when I see the mutual trust among the people. After ordering a dish, one may enjoy it anywhere in the vicinity as per will and pay after that. There is no stress upon ‘on the spot payment’ and very rarely does anyone take undue advantage of this system. All these highs and lows taken together make these sorts of places truly amazing.

Part 2: The world above…

Back home to Kanpur after a tiring and financially tight few weeks in college, I get a much needed breather. The first desire which props up in my mind is to hang out somewhere either with friends or family to enjoy some tasty cuisines. I instinctively think of a mall, owing to its happening atmosphere and more importantly, its absence in the city where my college is located, the pious Allahabad. Kanpur though, has rapidly improved in this respect over the past few years and is now home to some of the better malls of its zone. This could be credited to the growing business class of the industrial city.

As soon as I enter the mall premises, I get an adrenaline rush. The parking lot itself has a lot to tell about what one could expect inside. It is generally full of cars of all the popular brands in India, with the gleaming high class luxury sedans dotted in between, but visible distinctly. After walking through the wooden security channel, which seems to beep for every person and a rather lousy security check, a blast of air conditioning welcomes us into the mall. The atmosphere inside is simply electrifying. The high glass roofs, the lighting, the cleanliness, the glitter, the crowd, everything is really attractive. The first time I came to this mall, I was awestruck at its splendor. I simply gazed around the whole structure, trying to count the number of brand names lined up. Well, that was a few years back. Since then, visiting malls, for me has been a patchy yet regular feature of my calendar.

This time I decided to have my dinner at McDonald’s, a multinational fast-food outlet chain, in case you did not have an idea. I pushed open the very meticulously polished glass door besides which was a sitting figure of Ronald, the mascot clad in red and yellow, and entered. There was quite a buzz inside which blended with the beats of the English songs being played in the background. I walked straight down to the counter and waited in the queue to place my order. I looked up at the lighted and attractive menu board. There were some appealing names with their even more tempting pictures along side them. What were not quite as enticing though, were the exorbitant prices written against them. I decided to go for a McChicken burger, some fries and a coke to go along with them. The cashier asked me whether I wanted to go for a combo meal as it would have offered me an extra item at a lower cost. I was not very keen on that extra item and hence refused. I was then thrown in with yet another deal, this time in the form of yet another complex permutation and combination. With my mathematics not quite being the best in the world, my mind was in a scramble. I shrugged all those snarls off and asked my man to adhere with the request made by me and finalise it. He keyed in some data and out came a bill from that electronic device with a characteristic high pitched buzz. The weight of my wallet reduced significantly soon after. As I waited for the order, I got a chance to have a glimpse of how the activities taking place in the kitchen. It was absolutely spic and span and was full of some rather sophisticated ovens and grills. The workers in there were highly professional, with some of them dipping the already cut fries in shining oil bath, some compiling the constituents of the burger and some responsible for the beverages and other nitty-gritty jobs. Very soon my order was handed out to me on a tray and I sat down on a suitable location, not being able wait to get my hands on the food, especially after getting its captivating fragrance. As I chomped through my burger with intermittent sips of coke, I did what I loved to do the most. I looked around to see the brilliantly illuminated ambience, the happenings and of course the people. It was astounding to see the glitter of wealth in the crowd, the majority of which comprised of youngsters. The teenage boys wore some rather flamboyant T-shirts with baggy jeans that were strapped at alarmingly low levels. In addition to these, the hair gel had been brought to adequate use, with hair-spikes oriented in all possible directions as a fashion statement. The girls were clad in scintillating apparels with as many exposures as possible within the present socially accepted limits. Their trendy hairstyles, sparkling accessories, glowing make-up and mystifying fragrance were all abiding the latest fashion standards. I could have carried on describing their attractive appearance had my mother not brought me into my senses by a typical parental statement-“My goodness! What has happened to the kids nowadays? Just look at how they are dressed.”

It was true. Being a teenager myself, I could, for once understand this trend in my age group. But what was more shocking, was to see the kids’ jazzy outfits. Clearly inspired from Television, the children seemed no less than little celebrities. I tried going back to my own childhood, which was not very long ago and recalled that even in my time, we flaunted around our simple shirts and jeans or frocks and skirts as in the case of girls. Well, seeing their parents’ dressing sense, one could lift the lid of the fact of who was responsible. The unnecessary artificial aids to reduce their apparent age made them look rather ghastly. They were murmuring away with each other in the most sophisticated of English with least possible usage of Hindi, which of course is inevitable for any Indian.

I was finally over with my delicious course and scurried off that place in fear off getting an inferiority complex. Howsoever complex is their world, the fact is that there was clear cut happiness radiating on the faces of those relatively young, higher middle class section of people. They seemed to get a sadistic pleasure in reiterating their superiority by showing there neighbors down time and again. Who doesn’t though?

So there we have it; two absolutely contrasting worlds in almost all respects. Both of them seem satisfied, but there exists an underlying urge for development. The lower class wants to go higher and the higher class holds the desire to fly even more higher. So the direction of shift of momentum is clearly evident. Every year there are myriads of people from home and returning from abroad who are establishing themselves in the elite business class. The cost of living index (COLI) is increasing exponentially and the western influence is clearly evident.

Well, all this could give nightmares to a normal Indian who is witnessing his countrymen get spellbound by an influential country’s lifestyle. Did Gandhi ji and Nehru vision a developed India in the form of another America? This may not be a pleasant thought, but it has to be accepted. The world is dynamic. Evolution is a basic truth. Development is always for the good, though it may bring along some side effects along with it. You may hate it, you may like it, but you cannot ignore it. It is also a fact and a heartening one, that the current trend towards commercialization has helped the ones in destitute. So as long as it promises to facilitate those young child labors in the block, it has to be good. After all, we have to set our priorities.

As far as us normal Indians are concerned, we should try to recall our chemistry lessons and remember the fact that spontaneous reactions always occur in order to establish a state of equilibrium. Hence without worrying too much about the disturbing westernizing trends and trying to keep ourselves away from it, let us enjoy the best of both worlds.