I happened to read a write-up of popular Tamil writer Jayamohan recently. He said he prefers to avoid addressing students and speaking in college forums. He made critical statements like present-day college students never read anything except being addicted to electronic gadgets, movies, and drinks. Though I haven’t interacted much with college-going youngsters recently, I feel what he said is to a great extent true. At the same time, I saw another video where another celebrated Tamil writer S Ramakrishnan was very positive about the youth of today. He said that many of them read a lot and were surprisingly well-informed and enthusiastic. There are two contradicting views and I am just ready to accept both as there are truths in both perhaps the percentage may vary.  

Six years or so ago, a senior officer of a popular firm requested me to come and address his young engineers as he had read my essay ‘Life makes the Decisions’ in a popular newspaper and also said that he was surprised that I had interested in classical music, movies, writing, reading books and drawing. 

I went and made a presentation to a group of youngsters with bright and intelligent faces titled ‘My Professions & My Passions’. They were all from 25 to early 30s. They listened to my talk for about   45 minutes and I asked them to react. Believe me, there was dead silence. Only one asked ‘How do find time for all these?’ Probably a relevant and logical question. I just said ‘I had. When there is a will there is a way,’ was my answer.

No more questions. 

I went to lunch with a couple of them. One told me that her son is so bright and does many things with a PC. I didn’t ask any questions because he must be a precocious child. They all have two queries in their minds. One was asked by my cousin long back when he saw me drawing. ’What is the benefit of this?’ Art doesn’t bring money or laurels for all. Only a few can earn a living and many stick to it out of personal interest. I just smiled because I didn’t have an answer and even today, I don’t have one. It is just a personal, very personal happiness or satisfaction. How can I equate it with some materialistic matter or value? 

I donned several roles from artist to music reviewer, short story writer, translator, penned poetry, blogger, movie critic, and also a ferocious reader in English and Tamil. But not everything brought me money or catapulted me to great heights. It all helped me to relish life with my multiple activities apart from my basic profession as a chemical engineer and safety analyst. 

I find the present-day world is mainly self-loving and more materialistic. There is no place for any passion or profession for many. It is no criticism. It is a fact. However, with the swelling population, I find many youngsters shine in many fields from music to startup ideas. Even then this percentage may be small because of the gargantuan size of the Indian population.