8/3/2019 Essay if Youth Knew if Age Could

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If Youth knew if Age could

The statement if youth knew and age could refers to the possibility of what things could be if theyoung knew the truths of life and were wise and if the old could be more strong and do what isrequired even in old age. The statement seems to suggest that such things are only utopic dreamsand not actually possible, since the youth lack wisdom and the old lack physical strength. In thenew age however this seems very much possible. First, the youth of today is far more wisened andsecond, the old far more young.

There was a time when at 40 one felt like a really old man with grandchildren and failing health, a

time more appropriate for the recommended 'vanaprastha' as per old hindu customs. It was time tolet your son be the head of the joint family and take over the reigns of the physically strenuousduties of maintaining the household. Even though one did not go out into the jungle, one simplyrelaxed and used his wisdom to guide the new head of the family. Those were ofcourse times whena lot of physical labour was required to achieve anything. People traveled on foot, did not have thecomforts of modern day living, could not do business right from the home via the phone or internet,etc.

Now science and medicine have advanced enough to make life absolutely sedentary and easy onthe physique. Longevity and vigour have dramatically improved. At forty, one manages to marryand only slightly settle into some kind of life. Children are still school going and in no way ready totake over the reigns. In fact the saying 'life starts at forty' seems more appropriate and retirementisn't even an option. Yes government servants do have a retirement age, but that is a forceddecision rather than an optional one or a necessary one. Things like retirement ages fixed by

governments are very much dependant on political and other social factors like availability of jobsetc. And people continue in similar fields or do something new even after retirement. Even in sportspeople no longer retire. They may not play any more, but they either start coaching or doingcommentaries or open sports institutes. Nowadays, the youth wings of various parties have leadersthe age of forty, a clear signal towards what is called youth today.

On the other hand, is the youth of today, very mature and responsible. The exposure that they gothrough and the pressure to excel in this very competitive age has made them more mature thanthey were ever. Of course in early ages the youth of today were considered adults and had to takethe responsibilities of the whole family and was already a parent in his teens. The definition ofyouth has changed since, and now means people in their twenties and early thirties. The 20thcentury defined the youth as those, that had to educate themselves on emerging streams ofknowledge and were exonerated from demanding jobs and responsibilities. But this padding did not

last in the 21st century when younger and younger people started taking charge of situations andthe traditionally old sectors like management were taken over by the youth. The media coupledwith other forces have lead the children of today to be more informed, more aggressive and morewilling to take over responsibilities. Earlier there were limited fields where young people achieved,one being sports, but now we see young people achieving everywhere. We even have many youngpeople as Union Ministers. Earlier it was said, only years of long practice made you perfect enoughin any field specially in the fine arts, but now we have newer and younger artists taking over in amore pressurizing environment and doing very well. One of the reasons for this success could wellbe due to a large and ever growing segment of young consumers who know their minds. A newkind of maturity seems have taken over the youth of today. In fact children too seem to be verymuch mature and learn to fend for themselves in these pressure driven times.

The above statement also implies that young people are more energetic and over enthusiastic andthe old more balanced and patient but at the same time, may lack the drive to change things. Theyouth in their enthusiasm overlook some finer details and jeopardize the journey; and the old, beingovercautious, miss the bus. It further implies that if only the youth knew more balance and the old,more adventure, great things could be achieved. And this is the balance that our own governmenthas tried to achieve through the civil services, which puts young Turk's at the head of departmentsfull of older and experienced people who can constantly guide them and ring the warning bells;while the young ones with their fresh insights and enthusiasm can give shape to a new India.

Having seen that an aged person now is not a man of 40 but more suitably of 60, and a young manis not only a man in his 20's but well may be nearer 40, there has occurred an overlapping of theyoung and the old. This obviously means an admixture of the old and the young. This potentmixture has all the capabilities of fulfilling mankind's dreams, and we are surely headed towardsthe right direction. There is, however, still talk of things like generation gap, but this gap is not onlybetween the old and the young. Longevity has given rise now to the gap between the very young,

the mature and the old, and the idea is very well portrayed by the veteran filmmaker Mr. RajKapoor, in his film 'Kal Aaj Aur Kal'. A greater openness and the overlapping of youth and old haslead to a greater understanding of things. We are surely heading towards a balance of mind in theyoung and a feeling of adventure in the old, and therefore it's no longer 'if we could', but 'we shall'.We know and we can.