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The changing social fabric

Change has to come and it has to be accepted but at what cost?

PHOTO: K.R. DEEPAK

TWO TO TANGO Late night parties in pubs is the in thing

When she was asked what her hobby was, she knotted her brows and wearing a confused look signalled her boyfriend to come to her rescue. What exactly do you mean by hobby?

When it was explained, she sighed a relief and said, "Oh! That's what you mean. Well, going to a pub on a weekend for a late night party." That was Rushmi, a senior call center executive.

"The present generation seems to misunderstand the concept of hobby. They seem to equate it with entertainment and fun. Hobby is a creative pursuit. It is an activity through which one ignites his or her creative sparks. It is an activity that would not only strengthen one's character and personality but would also benefit somebody," says A. Prasanna Kumar the director of Centre of Policy Studies.

Well, this is an issue. While some may just shrug it off as `generation gap', others think it is an issue and an important one that needs urgent attention.

Every generation is a "melting pot" of different kinds of people, yet every generation is united in an "age location" in history. Fads, fashion, and politics reflect specific attitudes about each generation's interpretation on life.

Let's go back to the pre-independence era to see how things were in those days and what influenced the lifestyle of the youth then in this city. That era was largely dominated by the patriotic fervour and almost everything was connected to it. Kolluru Jagannadha Rao recollects, "In our times sports and political discussions dominated the atmosphere.

The beach opposite the Town Hall in the Old Town area was the meeting point for most of us after college. Football and kabbadi were the favourite sports. But whenever we met, the discussion invariably revolved around the political scenario.

We would tune in the radio to listen to the inspiring speeches by the leaders and patriotic songs sung by Tangaturi Suryakumari. We never hesitated to hold the Congress flag and stand outside shops to request customers not to buy foreign goods. Our group was led by Tirumala Devi, wife of Sreemannarayana Acharya, then a special correspondent of The Hindu. Even my sisters would join us in that activity. On the hobby front we would compete with each other in model making and wearing the Khadi was the fad."

Post-independence era can be considered as the renaissance period in this part, especially in the Andhra University campus. Cultural activities like debate, drama and theatre dominated the lifestyle of the students. Led by the then registrar K.V. Gopalswamy, the students were totally engrossed in a number of cultural activities. "The mock parliament by KVG was an instant hit.

The Andhra Week that was celebrated in the last week of November saw the culmination of a yearlong cultural activity.

"This apart, sports was the other major focus. The Major Ebden Cricket tourney conducted by the Andhra Medical College was eyed by all students. There was a shift from football to sports like cricket and tennis and the arena moved from the beach to the university grounds and the Police Barracks Ground. Sports, culture and extra-curricular activity were part of the lifestyle of the youth then," says Prof. Prasanna Kumar.

According to the professor, drinking among the youth in those days was outrightly seen as evil activity but smoking was rampant. "It was like a fashion and students would be seen walking all the way to the One Town area to smuggle a pack of State Express 555 cigarettes inside the campus."

The period from 1970s to early 80s belonged to the careerist youth. The question "What would I do after graduation" dominated the discussions. "An emerging India, reeling under emergency period, and the burning topic of unemployment played the role of a conductor in our lives.

The starting pay for an engineering graduate in a public sector steel plant was Rs.750 a month, so things like entertainment and dating was unknown to us.

In the campus, games especially cricket and heated political discussions were our hobby and activity.

An aura of concern for the future prevailed everywhere unlike today where you have companies waiting to hire you straight from the campus. This concern played a major role in our lifestyle," says K.V. Ratnam, a trainer and businessman.

Coming to the present era, things are different. A resurgent country sitting pretty on IT boom, and one can secure a job with a hefty pay packet even before he or she is a graduate.

Liberalisation has also brought in a culture that suits the pocket of the `Generation X'.

While some say that change has to come and it has to be accepted and at the same time the mind has to grow to accept the change, others debate that no change should be accepted that can be a threat to the social stability.

SUMIT BHATTACHARJEE

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