Three cheers for youth


1. An eighty-three year old Prime Minister (born in 1929);

2. An eighty-five year old Chief Election Commissioner (born in 1928);

3. A sixty-five year old Chief Justice (born in 1948);

4. A sixty-one year old Chief of Army Staff (born in 1952);

5. A sixty-one year old political leader (born in 1952) who promises to lead youth to bring change (or bring a Tsunami); and

6. A thirty-nine year old captain of the cricket team (born in 1974),

We are a nation who is energetic, youthful and raring to go. We will run till we need to stop to catch breath, we will shout till we get a coughing-fit, and we’ll fight till the end, which might not be that far. We are ready.


Expect the unexpected and the unexpected would become the expected.

I wonder why children who are totally comfortable in the company of complete strangers feel afraid when alone. I have often heard children complaining that they don’t want to go to a place or a room because there’s no one there and they are scared. Isn’t it funny that a child would be afraid of going to a room because there’s no one there? I mean if there’s no one there, who is he afraid of? Yet, he is afraid.

I am also perplexed by the fact that a number of people, mostly women enjoy watching lions and alligators in zoos but begin to scream hysterically at the sight of a lizard or a cockroach in their toilet. Then we have those who suddenly lose all confidence and calm the moment a video camera starts to record their actions and words. It is also strange that we mourn the death of our loved ones and sometimes would be willing to give anything to have them back for one moment. Yet, the thought of having someone come back from dead is terrifying.

Isn’t it confusing? What in the world scares us? Maybe, we are scared of the unexpected. A child is afraid because he is not sure that there’s no one in the room. So, if somebody does suddenly turn up there, it will be unexpected. Lions and alligators in the zoo are predictable; a lizard in the toilet might fall down, unexpectedly. If a video camera records your actions, you don’t know who will watch it, so there is no specific expected audience. And, finally, it needs no elaboration that people coming back from the dead is an unexpected phenomenon.

If this is true, then to hell with those who tell us to reduce our expectations. That would make us afraid of everything. Wouldn’t it be better to expect absolutely anything absolutely anytime? Expect the unexpected and the unexpected would become the expected. Then there would be no unexpected, and hence, nothing to be afraid of.

Confused? What did you expect?

If you had six months to live

Just imagine if your doctor suddenly told you that you have just six months to live. What would your reaction be? Would you break down and start to cry? Or spend the six months trying hard to make your family as financially and socially secure as possible? Or just relax and spend the six months you have enjoying, spending all your money on whatever you always wanted? Or suddenly become a religious person and start praying with all your heart?

Now, whatever the hell we are doing with our lives, the undeniable reality is still the same. You may have only six months to live, maybe even less, or maybe more, who gives a hoot? The only question is, why wait for a frigging doctor to pull us up and make us do whatever is that important to us.