Goan Generation G A P
Goa cannot progress unless its GenerationPast makes room for its GenerationNext, says PLASTINO D’COSTA
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The Bollywood film ‘Rock On’ was a huge hit. Farhan Akhtar produced it and played the lead role. He dominated the film, even singing the title song and five other tracks. So huge was its popularity and critical acclaim, that today the ‘Rock On’ script is showcased in Hollywood, as part of the archive of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
Rock On’s songs were written by poet and writer Javed Akhtar, who is also Farhan’s father. In the ’70s Javed wrote the epic blockbuster ‘Sholay’ with partner Salim. Their other great scripts included ‘Deewar’ and ‘Zanjeer’. He is now Bollywood’s most sought after lyrics writer, with hits like ‘Swades’ and ‘Dil Chahta Hai’. Javed’s writing lineage can be traced back seven generations, and it is no surprise that Farhan is so talented.
Farhan and Javed live in India’s city of opportunity – Mumbai. If Javed and Farhan were Goans, chances are that Farhan would probably be on constant collision course with his father. The latter would scuttle all his ideas with ‘great’ and ‘glorious’ stories of the past.
Frustrated, Farhan would eventually pack his bags and move out of Goa in search of greener pastures. The clock would have stopped on Farhan’s success, if he chose to stay in Goa. He would be entangled in political games played by the GenerationPast, disturbing his creative mind. The only choices would be to leave the system or adjust to mediocrity.
Sad but true; this is Goa. Highly talented individuals quietly leave Goa, unable to work around the bottlenecks of GenerationPast. They then settle in places where their talent is better appreciated. The loss is Goa’s. Our obsession for insignificant details and purposeless regulations has lost us the big picture. Young talent is too fettered by rules. We have a dearth of new ideas. A system with too much policy is not necessarily a smart system.
The exodus of young talented individuals has widened the gap between GenerationNext and Generation Past, both physically and mentally. Young Goans are sidelined; they have hardly any say in decisions affecting the future of Goa. Were any youngsters taken into confidence when an international language was dropped for the mother tongue as the compulsory medium of instruction in government-aided primary schools? Take an unbiased survey among 18 to 21 years olds and ask which language they prefer…
Most of GenerationPast is resigned to the belief that their family can progress only by sending their sons and daughters away from Goa. This also gives elders complete power.
Otherwise, how can one explain a mother coaxing her son the very day after he arrives from out of the clutches of sea pirates – freed by the intervention of the Prime Minister’s Office – that he must return? Let’s not fool ourselves. She isn’t persuading her son to join a battle to save the country. The family is too used to foreign remittances, even if it means sending their children into harm’s way.
Some Goan politicians say they are promoting their children. This is an eyewash. Instead of surrendering their own seats to their children, they actually try to increase their political footprint by getting their children elected from a neighboring constituency. That way, they can control two or more constituencies; have their cake and eat it too.
The government also contributes to the Generation Gap. The old-but-not-needy of GenerationPast get Social Security, but there’s no sign of an allowance for the genuinely educated unemployed. Our politicians should thank their stars that they are not in a developed country, where unemployment numbers are published weekly and politicians are held accountable for any significant rise in numbers. Forget corruption, nepotism, red tape… Goa’s politicians don’t deserve to be elected on the single count of not creating enough jobs for the youth. They have cleverly made sure things remain in a permanent flux, so that ambitious youth should leave Goa for their careers.
Youth who choose to stay and perform in Goa are usually overlooked, discriminated against or intimidated. Laxmikant Shetgaonkar’s wonderful film gets recognition in faraway Canada, but not here. But now the writing is on the wall. GenerationNext wants a level playing field, to perform without sucking up to the political class.
Some gap between generations is natural in a society that promotes independent thinking. But there are places like Carmona, in South Goa. This village exports its scarce educated youth out of Goa. Those who stay back are at the mercy of village elders.
No wonder a movement against a mega project has failed to pick up steam; the village is controlled by elders who lack the virtue of the youth. Gram Sabhas are stage managed and manipulated.
In many Carmona families, Generation Past is more educated then the children. Was this intentionally done so the elders can call the shots till eternity? Politicians are always on the prowl to broker big deals in land-scarce Carmona, because there are few educated youth in the village; the old think-tank decides! A modern hall finds favour over a modern educational institute – could it fit in their greater scheme of keeping the village largely uneducated? Even an all-Goa topper from the village cannot effect any change! The odd educated youth who decides to leave the village for a career may never want to return. A healthy Generation Gap would have encouraged debate, avoided a herd mentality and would have contributed to the village’s collective wisdom.
Any ideal society has both young and old. Both complement each other to achieve balance and harmony. GenerationNext is full of energy, hopes, desires, dreams; but it can also be wayward, naïve, immature and prone to mistakes. GenerationPast is experienced; a generation that may have learnt its lessons, but can also be resentful, slothful and rigid in its thinking. Both generations are important, and society benefits when both keep an open mind about each other and learn mutual respect.
The old must ring in the new at the right time. In a 4×100 meter relay, the baton has to be transferred every 100 metres. Even the best runner can’t win without passing the baton. You just can’t beat the energy of four runners with one!
We can learn a lesson from Indian corporates. Industry stalwarts have been inducting new blood. Adi Godrej of the Godrej group inducted his daughter Tanya Dubash. Shiv Nader of HCL has brought in his daughter Roshini. Azim Premji’s son Rishad is being groomed to handle Wipro. Even the flamboyant Vijay Mallya has inducted his son Siddartha. In Infosys, the CEOs step aside, allowing other senior colleagues to lead.
In fairness, some parents in Goa do encourage their teenage children to think independently, even opening Facebook accounts and wearing trendy clothing to ‘keep up’. It does make a difference, but these are cosmetic changes. When Farhan asked Javed to write the lyrics for ‘Rock On’, the latter did not change from kurta-pyjama to jeans.
Instead, Javed changed his mindset and thought from his son’s point of view. That is why the songs and film succeeded. It is like Shakespeare writing songs for Led Zeppelin! As the title song of ‘Rock On’ says: “Hai yeh Waqt ka Ishara, Rock On…”
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The Good Old Gulfie
By Ervell E. Menezes
“Life is a ball,” says the optimist. “No, it’s really the pits,” retorts the pessimist. So, whom do you believe? Well, neither. Life is life, c’est la vie, says the Frenchie. And after attaining senior citizen status, it would be foolhardy to debate on such an opinionated and vague issue.
But without much ado, let’s get to the subject of what life does to you. When young, one may have ambitions which we rarely fulfill. Yours truly wanted to be an engine driver, ha ha! Sometimes you land in a profession you never dreamed of. No personal statement here.
But the point is how does one handle life? Or to be more precise, how does one handle wealth. It should make you happy first. No problem of making ends meet. But more wealth may be another problem. Like sudden and unlimited wealth. I call it the Vinod Kambli effect, and it often afflicts great soccer players…Ronaldino and Co. You tend to fall prey to this sudden wealth, lose your balance and everything crumbles around you.
Still, one cannot deny a human being’s desire to do well in life. To marry, raise a family and give them all you ever wanted to. It’s a perfectly normal and legitimate dream. But then dreams, with a little bit of ill-luck, have the knack of becoming nightmares. Like the guy who went to the Gulf to better his prospects, slaved, sent money home and was perfectly happy until one not-so- fine day, he found his bank balances dwindling, The wife, all alone, decided to take a lover and that was that.
But there are so many others who have benefited from the oil-rich Gulf. It may not be the easiest thing to put up with an Arab, especially one who has very little in his upper story. But then, like in most unequal situations, a sadistic boss for one, there’s always the “grin and bear it,” solution.
Oh yes, let me clarify. When we say the Gulf, it could be any other foreign country – the United States, England or Africa – but generally a developed country where one has to make sacrifices to save money. After all, the bottom line is the bank balance. Doesn’t everyone want to see their family happy and beyond want? Sadly, it’s only when life is almost over that we realize that the best things in life are free.
Till then, we live and learn, and quite often learn the hard way. Never mind the philosophy and all that, but I’ll tell you why this subject arose. On one of my Friday Market days I went Dangui’s to pick a watch strap and guess what? There was the perfect Gulfie, late-30s short pants, bright red cap, and wife and son in tow. Apparently more prosperous than me, he wanted to buy a watch. And had a number of them to pick from, he looked at them from different angles, then lined them up much to the chagrin of his seven-year-old son who was as restless as myself, waiting to be serviced. The wife was probably accustomed to this routine. She had probably learned the art of “switching off.” One develops these safety mechanisms.
Guess it was a little over 10 minutes before I got my strap. So I left and did a bit of shopping, had my regular ice-cream, the routine. After an hour, I returned to the same shop, just out of curiosity, and guess what. He was still there with only two watches to choose from. Wonder if that was how he picked his dear wife!
