We invariably find the media as well as a ‘happy home with especially adolescents or youngsters’ project these youth as temperamental, undisciplined and disorderly. They return home late night, get up late in the morning, throw things around, never bother to switch off the lights or keep their own things clean and tidy, irritatingly forgetful, keep loud music, always in a state restlessness or hurry and above all nonchalant about their own behavior.

Surprisingly, the real and the reel lives in this aspect almost match well. I am not sure whether the media or movies present the truth or the youth follow the depiction. I too had been a youngster but in those times, we have never been like this. It is not like the statement ‘In those days……it was like that’; in fact, it is true. We attended to a lot of household chores like cleaning, going for purchasing groceries and vegetables, helping the mom and dad in their day to day activities.

The modern day children are mainly spoiled by the parents. In recent days, I find one young student of mine who comes to my house and stays and goes now and then prove this point beyond doubt. I was shocked when he came and went from my flat for just ‘freshening up himself’ to go for a program. He threw the wet towel on the chair, hung his old dress in the chair, didn’t switch off the bathroom light, left the bureau door ajar, kept he perfume bottle without closing. Can all these be attributed to just urgency or representation of youthful exuberance?

It is not acceptable. Parents, most of them fail to inculcate discipline in their wards just because they are over indulgent. True, there is another set of people who harass their children on some other aspects like education or financial problems. That apart, the parents do not take care much on the behavioral aspects of their kids’ right from the childhood.

Youngsters are not trained for getting up on time, prepare oneself well, keep things in the right places, helping the parents and siblings, maintain their room tidy and proper to name a few. In one movie, it was shown that when the mother asks her pet son why he keeps the room in such a messy way, he will say if things are kept in order it is museum and a home should be only in a disorderly manner. What a rubbish interpretation? Many of the juvenile crimes have their roots in such waywardness among the youngsters be it a boy or girl.

This is what is done in most of the families. The mothers are there only to rearrange the things left chaotic by the husband and children (even by girl child) and depicted as an angel of peace and harmony. This type of chaotic scenario only is translated to the whole society.

Once when I mentioned about my belief in the existence of God is failing with time, a friend answered that he believes that God is there because a nation like India still continues to endure and exist. What a queer and weird way of understanding the existence of Almighty?