Skip to main content

Rules!


Rule # 1
Long ago:
Oldie: At dawn, sprinkle water in front of the house. The dust will settle, you can smell the earth and you will get to hear the birds sing- what a beautiful start to the day!
Some time ago:
Oldie: At dawn, sprinkle water in front of the house.
Girl: Why?
Oldie: It’s good for you and for the house. And don’t keep asking questions- it’s disrespectful.
Now:
Oldie:  At dawn, sprinkle water in front of the house.
Girl: But, it’s Saturday. I want to sleep till 9. And if I sprinkle water, my neighbours will slip and fall.
Oldie: What a generation! No discipline.

Rule#2
Long ago:
Oldie: The clothes must have dried. Bring them in before you eat or you’ll get a cramp in your tummy collecting and folding all the clothes.
Sometime ago:
Oldie: The clothes must have dried. Bring them in before you eat.
Girl: Why?
Oldie: That’s the rule. And don’t keep asking questions- it’s disrespectful.
Now:
Oldie: Bring the clothes in before you eat.
Girl: The clothes are in the washing machine. The maid will pull it out in the evening. Chill..
Oldie: What a generation! No discipline.

Rule #3
Long ago:
Oldie: Don’t marry a man born under that star. They usually do not like a matriarchial presence in their life. Your family might be neglected.
Sometime ago:
Oldie: Don’t marry a man born under that star.
Girl: Why?
Oldie: Your family will perish. And why don’t you just listen to your elders. So many questions!
Now:
Oldie: Don’t marry a man born under that star. Your family will perish.
Girl: Whatt! How many people do you know that it happened to? Isn’t Pichu mama born under that star? His father-in-law in 98  and healthy.
Oldie: Kali yugam pah!

Rule#4
Long ago:
Oldie: Keep your doors open in the evening. Guests should feel free to come in and a lovely breeze will lift your spirits.
Sometime ago:
Oldie: Open the doors in the evening.
Girl: Why?
Oldie: It's good for the house. Don't ask so many questions. I never asked so many questions.
Now:
Oldie: Open the doors in the evening.
Girl: What?! You want more mosquitoes in the house? And I don't want that nosy neighbour of mine peeping to see who's visiting my house.
Oldie: God knows who these rules are for! What will these kids teach the next generation.

Rule#5
Long ago:
Oldie: Don't cut your nails after sunset. In the light of the lamp, you won't be able to see well and a small bit might fall on the floor and prick someone.
Sometime ago:
Oldie: Don't cut your nails after sunset.
Girl: Why?
Oldie: It's bad omen. Don't keep questioning me. It's disrespectful.
Now:
Oldie: Don't cut your nails after sunset.
Girl: I'm doing it under bright light. How does it matter. And if I go to school tomorrow with long nails, I will get punished.
Oldie: Abbabbbaa. These kids retort to everything we say. No use advising them.

From a generation of reason when rules made sense to a generation of why when rules didn't apply but were followed anyway and a generation now of answers.... I have to come up with some new rules for the generation of tomorrow!


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Of travel rants and toddlers!

Someone once asked me if I liked travelling... And after a lot of deliberation I said.."Well, I like being at all kinds of different places but if I have to take a 36 hour train or a sweaty 8 hour bus drive, I'm not sure I'd like that bit." I'm sure the person thought he was having the most inane conversation with the most spoilt brat around! Being a dancer predisposes you to all kinds of travel- luxurious ones, budget ones, in-between-luxury and budget-ones. You also get to live like that- budget hotels, luxury hotels, 1 star to 5 star (OK very rarely 5 star unless I book myself into one!). I once lived in a 'guest house' in Raipur where there was no running water in the bathroom, food was served in sticky plates and the table was cleaned with a cloth that could send a rat running to the ENT. A week back, re-visiting the holy temples of Shiva in the Tanjore belt, I realised how things had changed, yet some things don't ever change do they! The la
2 comments
Read more

Full-time madness

Two days back I was at a conclave of dancers, and some one asked me- "So you're full-time dancing aa?" And I wasn't sure what to say to that. And my reply like it is almost all the time was "Uhm...well....you know.. I dance yes...but I have a one and half year old daughter so...and I also do some medical writing...so you know" And my audience is always bewildered. "So transcriptions aa?" [And as bad as it sounds I take offense to being associated with that line of 'writing' so] my quick retort is always "NOO...I write for research- you know journal papers [ 'regulatory documents' will be quite lost on most people who ask me these questions]... In any case, I've been thinking a bit about what qualifies as full time, part time, hardly any time, time etc etc.. So, I don't have an office to go to in the morning. No 9 to 5 job or 9 to 8 job like most 'working women'. So I'm apparently not qualified to say
2 comments
Read more

Get-set-Go

When I was a toddler, her word was the ultimate truth. Dad didn’t know Math, Bro didn’t know sport, Uncle didn’t know medicine, Aunt didn’t know music, Granny didn’t know Tamil... She was all-knowing and her affirmation alone stood my test of truth. Until she started using the word “NO” and a few other similar phrases and words. She said I couldn’t stay back late after school, I thought she didn’t trust me enough. She wanted to know more about my friends, I called her nosy. She asked me to be up at 6 am for Badminton practice, I thought she was evil and torturous. She asked why I  didn’t finish first in class, I told her she was pressurising me. She asked me to practice my steps a little longer, I vetoed. She forbade select company and I vented at her controlling nature. She asked to pity the rude, I called her naive. She advised to ignore cynics, I told her off. She was always home when I got back from school, I was sad that she didn’t have a cool career. She checked on us in betwe
2 comments
Read more