My mother often reprimands me for not helping her enough in
the kitchen..
“Tumhari umar mein hum ye, ye, ye, ye……. Ye bhi kar lete
they..” is an often heard statement and I seek solace in the fact that I have
all of you for company. I am not the only one subject to such words of praise
in my heavenly abode.
Interestingly, a child was considered an adult in every
sense of the term, by the time he/she
hit the 20’s. I am referring to our parents’ generation here. The young adults
were responsible enough to take care of their lives and their wives. The family
used to be complete with ‘hum do, hamare do’ coming alive by the time they hit
the 30’s.
Welcome to today’s cosmopolitan scenario. A grown up, young
man , all of 22 will be referred to as a ‘bacha’ by the entire ‘khandaan’. No
wonder, he behaves like a ‘bacha’. One can’t blame the ‘bacha’ either if he
becomes offensive and defensive when confronted with the family’s expectations
of behaving like an adult once in a blue moon.
Then, one fine day, the ‘bacha’ will dive into ‘an almost’ drained swimming pool and
fracture his skull or hit the road divider at 3 am because the poor lad was
drunk and he had nobody to drive him home. The family has always been there.
Isn’t it their duty to support ? In fact, this is the KRA of the parents. Give
birth to the ‘bacha’ and then sit by the ‘bacha’s’ side in the hospital.
My mother has done a good thing. She has scolded me and reprimanded
me enough to take responsibility of my life, to treasure my life and the lives
of others around me. We will always remain a ‘bacha’ for our parents. But, if
your dad gave you a mouthful today for not keeping your bike in a good serviced
condition or if your mom refused to talk to you until you had cleaned that
messed up study table, it is a good
thing. This is what will keep us grounded !
But, I am still a little bewildered ? What is the expiry
date of being referred to as a ‘bacha’ ?? J
