Of a new face of the emerging city

 

 

Those joints are found all over the city -- posh, modern, jazzy, swanky, fashionable, and often crowded by good-looking, fashionable (mostly) young people. This is a new development -- of the last few years. And it represents an altogether different world by any standard. In other words, this is an emerging Nagpur -- beyond its newly evolving sky-scrapers, beyond its ‘cemented’ localities. This new face of Nagpur is bursting with activity, at almost every and any hour of the day or night.

 

The loosefooter started noticing these new joints -- coffee shops, tea shops, cake-counters, salad bars, restaurants of different shapes and sizes, places catering to fashionable people whose sartorial presentations are often amazing -- and even amusing. These young people appear to be all over those places -- not just around tables, but also near the door, on the pavement outside, around their haphazardly-parked cars and two-wheelers. The loosefooter does not eavesdrop on their groups, all right, but their conversations are often rather too loud (for the benefit of people around, possibly) -- if at all he happens to visit any such ‘new’ spots with his friends. He often feels shocked at the subjects they discuss -- or, in other words, the frivolousness of their chaotic conversation. Of course, the loosefooter does not have any objection to whatever the young people discuss.

 

For, he understands the young callings very well. Invariably, however, he finds that there is a lack of seriousness about living. Possibly, that, too, may be the way young people live (and Nagpur has many, many, many such young people). But when he looks back upon his young years (many decades ago), the loosefooter realises that he and his young-age friends lived by different standards. Today, the young standards and norms are different. No matter those differences, the loosefooter does realise and recognise that there is something charming about the joints that attract young people. They send out happy signals. Occasionally, they may be sending out careless signals -- which may be a matter of concern, all right. Normally, therefore, the larger society need not be bothered about the new joints.

 

Yet, when the young people at such joints start crossing limits of decency (which they often do), then the social concerns assumes a genuine reason. The loosefooter is not a brood. He enjoys life’s good things. The only difference is that his definition of ‘good things’ is far different -- from the definitions the young people may be harbouring. This does not concern just the habits, but also the manner and method of the young crowd. The only expectation is simple -- the young people must remember that being young does not give them the licence to be irresponsible. In fact, they should know that youth entails certain responsibilities -- that no one can deny and ignore. n