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Photo: M. Moorthy

STAND UNITED They are a force to reckon with

On Monday, the Pongal Festival will commence with Bogi, a day on which all Tamilians welcome the new season and retrospectively look back at the old.

Today is also a significant day related with Bogi. It is the “Youth Day, a jubilant day which marks the beginning of an enlightened world and a young and enthusiastic India. “Arise, Awake and Stop Not Till the Goal is Reached”!

It is also Swami Vivekananda’s birthday celebrated as Youth Day across the country. Sprightly dreams, fresh thoughts, perky optimism mark today’s confident youth ready to take on challenges and enjoy life simultaneously.

The pulse of Madurai youth is no different. They are ever ready and daring to take on new tasks, responsibilities and challenges.

Next to Tamil Sangams it is the cinema fan clubs that brand the busy town, Madurai. The place is popularly known for its film buzz. But when asked to air their choice for youth icon from the tinsel world, S. Jawahar Kumar, II B.Sc. Chemistry, Madura College and majority of his classmates remarked “cine actors are meant for entertainment and cannot be role models.”

Most of his classmates adjudged tennis star Sania Mirza as their icon, closely followed by cricketer Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Chess master Viswanathan Anand. Surprisingly, none of the youngsters spelt a cine actor as his or her idol. Sportspersons clearly led the way and were far ahead in popularity chart from scientists, business leaders and literary personalities.

Lifestyle of an individual by and large is gauged from what the person eats and wears. So what does today’s modern youth go for?

“My taste buds always enjoy traditional food items like Idly, Dosa and meals. I also love to wear traditional attires. But in my opinion a girl can wear any dress as per her own choice” says J.VivekMuthaiah, III B.E.C.Sc., Raja College of Engineering and Technology.

His senior P.Mangayarkarasi feels moderate dresses are the right choice for Madurai’s young ladies.

K.Priyadarshini opts for modern dressing style, calls boy-girl friendship a healthy sign and wants to own a trendy two wheeler. Most of the youths except a few dream of roaring down streets of Madurai on zippy motorbikes. They like to have both fast foods and native recipes.

As far as the prêt line is concerned, trendy and modern costumes are gentleman’s choice while for ladies it is mostly traditional and cultural dresses which men expect them to wear.

R.Thamaraiselvi II, M.A.Sociology entered into debate when S.Ramanathan her class-mate remarked “present education system of India is bringing boom as it has started updating emerging trends.” Her argument was “science and technology are alone promoted not art, literature and other fields of education.” Both soon settled down stating that working in IT field and MNCs was a great opportunity where one could gain both money and joy.

Probably all youths at present know who they are. Their strengths and weaknesses are rightly assessed but success comes to those who know the art of turning one’s “negative” into “positive”.

Ms.S.Suganthi, II M.A English ascertains that she is an extrovert with passion toward reading and social concern is her vital positive aspect but what turns her off is tension and anxiety.

Many youths proudly claim their hardwork, critical thinking, take-it-easy mentality and high team spirit as their strength. But their drawback is the lack of communicative competence and the ability to win over.

Opinions of Maduraites on Madurai evoked interesting replies.

“Positive features are its temples, any time food availability, culture, low cost of living, and good educational institutions. Negative features are casteism, traffic, uncleaned areas, water scarcity, improper roads, and epidemic outbreaks in some unhygienic areas,” says B.Duraimurugan, a Medical Representative.

“Unnoticed lifestyle of slum people, and raise in demography of general population of Madurai through migration, employment, healthcare needs are a major negative trauma,” says S.Haseena, Research Associate for UGC Project, MSW dept., The American College. “As far as the positive side is concerned, the indigenous culture is preserved to some extent”.

Madurai like so many other cities is undergoing a slow and balanced change that seems to be a healthy transition. No matter what so ever alien cultures, trends and technologies may arrive, Madurai would more or less remain a unique landmark of tradition in modernity.

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