Of Mangoes, Generation Gap and a Break

It has been a really long time since I wrote here. I guess it was a part of the break that I was so dying to take after the busy schedule that was there in the past few months. Thus staying away from the internet and being at home was good in some sense.

But unfortunately, even in that break I was traveling quite a bit. I was in Delhi, Kolkata, at home, Pune, at other relatives places, and meeting some old and some new friends. In all case it was a welcome break. Though in hindsight it turns out to be only a break from the internet. The break by no means meant that I was sleeping and taking rest. There was always something or the other that was happening. The pleasant part was that I was taking care of things that mattered most. Like spending time with my grandparents, visiting my native village, and most importantly visiting the schools that are a part of the Pick Me, Click Me, Educate Me project, and now an integral part of my life. The joys on the children's faces on seeing me is something that makes me want to go back there again.

During this period I also attended two marriages, for which I also did the photography. Both were unique in their own way and I had fun in both of them. In the process, met new people, and made newer friends. .

My dad's garden (I still like to call it his garden, as its all due to his efforts that the trees are bearing fruit today) has mango, litchee, guava, pomegranate, papaya trees in it. The best part of the break was that I was in the season when the mango trees were laden with fruit. Mango happens to be my favorite fruit. And when the fruit is from a tree in your own garden, so much so that you pluck it afresh and have it, the taste is better a few hundred times! Thus a day used to be incomplete if there was no mango served in either of the meals. My knowledge on mangoes increased during this period and I am now able to identify the variety just by looking and smelling them.

Now that I am done with my masters, the next institution that I will register in is going to be marriage. Although there is ample time for that. Thank god for the crazy things I am doing, or have thought of doing over the next few months / years, the degree of uncertainty has risen. Coming to which, I should let you know that my design consultancy will be soon registered and that will be another dream being fulfilled. Oh I so love the power of dreams! So Marriage is another year and half away if not more. However if one has to go by the words of people back home, they could have had it done in the next few months! Maybe I escaped this time. One of the reasons why I did not visit too many local people whom I used to meet earlier, was this fear of being asked this question.

It is in this concept of the arranged marriages, that I feel the generation gap the most. Parents I feel should understand that times have changed. They also have to understand that their kids are not in the same location, setting, and environment that they are in. The least they can do is to understand things from a logical point of view and think without the notion of the society and their pressure. Whenever there is an absence of logic and the acceptance of the norms which are improper in the child's understanding, there is bound to be tension. Things go from bad to worse. However, there is the hope that things will change.

The other day a friend (and a senior at college) suggested that I blog / write about my life. This he mentioned after reading a short biography about me and the things that I have done and am doing. While I know this was in relation with the child education project mainly, but there are other things too that I think would be worth sharing. The decisions that I have been taking, the things I have been investing my time in, happens to motivate a lot of people. This blog therefore will be more personal now, and reflections on the journeys that I take. Its all about the learnings that happens everyday, from everywhere.

Will be more regular now. (Hopefully).