Mind the Gap!

We were buying a bicycle for my daughter. As soon as we bought the bicycle, I clicked my daughter’s photo along with her bicycle………. I couldn’t help remembering the experience of buying my first bicycle……….. I wish we had a camera ready that time. What a memorable day! …………… Keeping in the tradition of those days we went all the way to Kalbadevi (a place in South Mumbai) and bought a lovely red color BSA SLR cycle………… We carried it on the top of the cab and all the way till we reached home, I prayed that it reaches home safe. As soon as we reached home, a group of 7/8 friends gathered around to admire the new vehicle in the neighborhood (there were no cars that time apart from couple of two wheelers so a new bicycle was a significant vehicle) ……. Though actually everyone had a similar bicycle, all my friends were excited. We spent considerable amount of time admiring the new bicycle! ….. Next few months, every day at the end of the day, I would carry home my prized possession (to think of it, it was little crazy to carry the bicycle two floors up over my shoulder!!!) ………

“Why are you taking my photograph in the bicycle shop?” my daughter asked me. “Oh! Its your first bicycle and I thought I should preserve the picture” ….. “But you have never clicked any photo other times when we bought a toy” …… she was really puzzled …… “A TOY?” …. Deep inside, I felt little hurt as I expected my daughter to be little more excited! As soon as we reached home she rode the bicycle for some time with a joy and was really happy. Once she was through, I asked her “Should I take it home for you?” …. “Bicycle?…. Home??.... why? Lets just leave it in the parking lot like my other friends do!” Now she was really confused and looked at me to check whether I was alright. “OK – lets go home”

Deep in my mind I wondered whether my daughter was losing simple joys of life …… has she lost the sensitivity? ……. I remembered the simple joys that we had ……. A family dinner in the restaurant once in two months …… new clothes …… new toys ….. firecrackers …… there would be an event around each of this……Firecrackers reminded me – she had refused the firecrackers that year for environmental reasons! Though she loved firecrackers, she had no qualms giving up once she studied its effect on environment at school……..

……. Suddenly I realized that I was unfair to the little one …… How fair was it to judge her sensitivity quotient based on what I was sensitive to? Life has moved on ……. What was luxury to me in my childhood was almost the hygiene factor to her …… expecting her to jump at things like bicycle was as ridiculous as expecting me to jump at the sight of new bath soap in the house!

Times change and so does the contextual reality. It is plain unfair to judge the newer generation based on our feelings that are stuck in the past……. Perhaps it is natural reaction but highly avoidable! It is great to cherish old memories but there is only one way to avoid conflicts of generation gap – “MIND THE GAP”