Sonia Dogra
Yesterday morning I decided to catch the fervour and zeal of Independence Day and walked up to the mall. En route I encountered a group of children who seemed to be getting back after flag hoisting in their school. It’s always a pleasure to see young boys and girls take on life. And yesterday was a special day too. They made their way into a tuck shop and I thought of waiting outside just to snoop in on their conversation. Not that I was playing FBI but listening to young, vibrant minds is always so rejuvenating.
As they headed out with a variety of eatables, I was all eyes and ears….was just hoping for some out of the box ideas to pen down this morning. However, my expectation from Gen Z far exceeds the reality, I suppose. It was heartbreaking to see the road littered with wrappers of packed food items as my friends laughed and poked each other, ignorant of their abysmal act.
I just couldn’t hold myself back and much to my own amazement, I walked up to them and began picking up the litter on the ground. While I was aware of many prying eyes I was focussed on the reaction of the young team I had targeted. I was well observed and could hear flimsy one liners in hushed tones. And then as if in sheer urgency, I saw the lot jostling its way out of the crowd that had probably gathered out of inquisitiveness. But I wasn’t going to let an ideal situation get out of hand. I quickly got to my feet and called out to one in the group (whose name I had incidentally overheard) to explain to the gathered crowd of people the motive for having undertaken this out of the routine exercise. As my friend looked understandably bewildered, I took it upon myself to finally elaborate on this small “act of ours” as a special cleanliness awareness drive this Independence Day!
As the crowds dispersed, Gen Z made their way towards me. There’s no time for apologies today. There’s only time for promises. Independence is a bigger responsibility than we perceive it to be. If you have the freedom to use…use judiciously; if you have the freedom to speak….speak responsibly; if you have the freedom to be….be an asset. With this little note I moved on but I’m sure yesterday morning a handful of young boys and girls spearheaded their way into an age of a new freedom….freedom from the shackles of the mind. They moved on to be a bulldozer generation ready to ward off the undesirable impediments in the path of the nation. For real work starts the next morning after I-Day!
