Change

(Dear Reader,

I couldn’t cut it short- in fact, there still remains so much to write!)

Years back, I had chanced upon the English daily The Statesman which was undergoing some format changes; the editor had written-“Change is the only constant”. It left me an impression that I carry to this day.

Whatever it is- for the better or for the worse, you’ve got to accept change! You can’t stop the tick-tocking of the watch you are wearing or the clock that hangs on the wall- not even if its battery is drained! We all change with time- physiologically, psychologically, socially, culturally, economically, politically and less often religiously (our views change, of course).

As a kid, when we live with parents under their aegis, we have little options but to believe in the same religion as our parents do (more importantly because we don’t know why some other religion could be better); when we hear elders discussing politics, we tend to be biased by their political ideologies; we live in the same house as our parents do, eat the same food, go to the same parties, wear the dresses they buy for us. At school, we study several different subjects without knowing the need to study them; we get to meet new people, make friends, learn about them and try to compare their ways of living with ours. But we have little scope to change things our way.

As we move to high-school, whether we still live with parents or not, we acquire interest in certain subjects, start playing certain games, hang out with certain friends (mostly not the same ones), become curious about the opposite sex, raise our voice when we don’t like the clothes our parents buy for us, develop newer habits (mostly bad) and start telling lies!

By the time we get to college, we usually stay away from our parents; that’s when we feel the air of independence- we make new friends, sometimes play newer games, stay up late at night, again  devise innovative means to draw attention of the opposite sex, engage in activities that exceed our own expectations (without caring if the good-boy/girl image that was so delicately structured since childhood would be blemished), lanky ones try to put on some weight, the chubby ones try to lose them, both visit the gym more often, listen to rock-music, lose interest in most subjects; criticize the education system, the socio-political system, etc., start questioning the conservative views and trying the unconventional ones (for many, just to look ‘cool’).

But just when we start to feel we’re soaring and had enough experience in all aspects of life, we are pushed into this abyss where we feel like a total stranger- most of us need to stay away from the caring parents and comforting friends. With financial independence, satiating unfulfilled desires become easier and we exhibit change in behavior. We start to act and speak diplomatically; again make new friends all of whom would ‘smile’ at you when you pass by and most of whom would backbite you as soon as you’re gone!

If we look back, we’ll most certainly find that our interests changed with time- from the songs we listened to, the books we read, the subjects we found interest in, the games we played, the movies we preferred, the people we idolized, the TV channels we watched, the food we ate, to the company of friends we thought we couldn’t live without! If change hadn’t constantly been part of our lives, we would have lived a boring, predictable life. So, I say, like it or not- Change is good!