Saturday, August 20, 2011

The Hazards of Growing Up...

“God……. When will he grow up ??” exclaimed Mom, rolling her eyes heavenwards, as if having a one-to-one with the Almighty.

And without waiting for the Almighty to explain things, she looked back at me as I ended up sprawled on the floor, clutching my hurting tummy and laughing my wits off for the nth time in the last half hour, watching the ‘Tom & Jerry’ show on the telly.

Seeming to have given up on any hope she had for her elder son showing any signs of sanity, she walked off to the confines of her room, mumbling something to the effect of using the ‘parental control’ on our television set.


Ok. ‘Tom & Jerry’ has been one of my weak points, if not the weakest. But what’s it got to do with my growing up ?

Ohhh… Am I supposed to be a grown up ? Maybe…

But do I care ?? Not in this world !

Which makes me ponder… what is this thing about growing up ? When exactly does a person grow up ? Is it really the stage when one can reach up and quietly sneak away the cookies from the top of the shelf ??

I have seen lots of people (rather, kids) itching to ‘grow up’. Maybe so that they can do things which they cannot and should not do as long as they are kids. And I’ve seen people ‘growing up’ overnight on their eighteenth birthday. Maybe there’s a lot more fun on the other side of that landmark in one’s life. But I’ve seen more serious people than joyous ones towards the heavier side of eighteen.

Looking at most of the ‘grown ups’ around me, I always get the feeling that I’m in unknown territory. For a small example, mine was the only room in the entire campus during the days of Medical College, where one would always find a handful of comics on the table. Though they were not officially prescribed by the Indian Medical education, yet I wouldn’t be able to end my day without going through at least one comic.


I could sense some of my mates feeling tempted to ask me to borrow some of those at times. In fact, some actually did too. But most of the times, people showed more amusement of seeing those in my room rather than giving in to the urge of reading one.

At home I still maintain a vast collection of children’s books and comics into which I dive every other day and relieve myself whenever I’m in need to be refreshed.


But then, has age something to do with growing up ? People can drive, vote, consume liquor, marry and do quite a few other things once they cross a certain age. Legally, that is. Because I’ve also seen under aged individuals getting involved in things which they cannot legally be involved in at their age.

One can legally drive. And one can legally consume liquor after a certain age. But would a person who gets himself drunk and then drives around (and over unsuspecting people), really be called a grown up ?

Not including child marriages (which are still illegally practiced around India), so many ‘grown ups’ who can and do legally marry, don’t have a clue about what they are getting themselves into. And dare I mention about how most ‘grown ups’ use their right to vote ??

So what do grown ups do ? What are they supposed to do ? How are they supposed to behave ? And what do they do when they have some free time on their hands ??

And when I put myself through these trying questions, I can only come up with what grown ups don’t do, are not supposed to do and how they are not supposed to behave.

Because there aren’t many (or any) grown ups that I’ve seen who…

* Run out with a football while it rains instead of sitting in the shade and sipping tea.
* Or who play 'Caesar IV' on their computer overnight during holidays instead of muttering sweet nothings with a girl/boy friend on the phone.
* Or who share a toddler’s big balloon to play with instead of shouting at the kid to sit down and behave.
* Or who run around the house with their Mom chasing them with a glass of milk instead of sitting down at the dining table for a proper breakfast.
* Or who quietly sneak inside the refrigerator for some ‘Cadburys GEMS’ at 2 AM instead of snoring away in bed.
* Or who opt for a nice serving of Choco ice cream at a party instead of even giving a look to the liquor-bar.
* Or who are more interested in the latest Spanish-League scores instead of the values of the stock market in the daily news.

Even at my age I’m not considered a grown up and looking at some of my exploits as above, I don’t see me ‘growing up’ in the near future.

But I ask again, does being a grown up anything to do with one’s appearance, one’s age, one’s actions or does it depend upon one’s sensibilities ?

And, is it necessary to leave the child in one’s own self behind, as one continues to overtake new landmarks of age in life ? If that is necessary in order to grow up,……. What’s the big deal in growing up ???


Are you a grown up ???


(Picture credits : Google Images)

39 comments:

  1. Exact sentiments buddy, and no me ain't a grown up either...
    Join the club :)
    Yay!!!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Very nice take Shobit.. Loved it... Then I have to say that both me and my husband have not grown up... For most of the points which you said above, I wanted to just raise my hand and say "ME ME ME ME"... :D There are some more to the list from my side..

    When it is raining heavily at midnight, I would sneak to the refrigerator for a glass of chilled milk.
    If my mom asks me to get dried clothes from outside, I am no where to be seen but if it is raining and mom asks to get the clothes, I am the first one to go.
    I still eat a handful of Bournvita powder while preparing it.

    My dad is still not grown up in that sense. One day my mom asked 'Ye kab bade honge!' And my dad stood up on a chair and said, 'Dekho main bada ho gaya' :)

    Very nice read.. Loved it... Who wants to grow up! right?

    ReplyDelete
  3. hehe no i doubt it n dat seems a major cause of concern in my hous too! :o

    tho u r really rite abt one thing. grown ups r awfully boring n always wanting to mk sens or find reason in evrything.
    the whole concept of 'just like dat' is plain stupid.
    sumhw age filters out a lot of real happiness fr dem.
    d real deal i think is, age is just a number :)

    ReplyDelete
  4. Rashmi :

    :D We always have been the members of this club. Cheerio ! :-)

    ReplyDelete
  5. Preethika Shenoy Padiyar :

    :D I should have included the 'dried clothes' and 'Bournvita' points to my list too. I had started with 'Boost' and moved on to 'Bournvita' gradually. In fact, an extra spoon or two of it would usually be the only way Mom could make me drink a glass of milk. :P

    Cheers to your Dad from me ! We surely need dads like yours to remind us of our real selves. :-)

    Glad you liked the post. :-)

    ReplyDelete
  6. Sadiya Merchant :

    Hehe. I should have guessed the scenario at your home... specially after reading your latest post. :P

    And you are correct. Age is just a number. Too bad that we are so bad at Mathematics ! :D

    ReplyDelete
  7. Soumya :

    :-) You should try living it again. Then it even becomes better than nostalgia.

    Thanks for the nice comment. :-)

    ReplyDelete
  8. Oh please yaar.."growing up" is so boring! i can't stand it for even a second of my life...lol.

    On a serious note, we all are growing up. The ones who make a hype abt it are actually the most immature..

    ReplyDelete
  9. Magus :

    :-) Yes. But even if we are, what holds us back from living out the kid in us is what I wonder.

    ReplyDelete
  10. It is good to be childish at times.. Sadly, we cannot remain childish all the time... Nice post Shobhit..

    ReplyDelete
  11. You are tagged here,

    http://sunilpadiyar.blogspot.com/2011/08/my-first-blogger-award.html

    Cheers! :)

    ReplyDelete
  12. Sunil Padiyar :

    Yes. :D Just that I'd rather be a grown up at times. :P

    ReplyDelete
  13. Sunil Padiyar :

    Thanks so much for the tag ! :D

    I have already done a post on 7 facts about myself which you can find below.

    http://mindzpeak.blogspot.com/2010/04/seven-random-facts-about-myself.html

    Let's see if I can manage to find another seven to write about. :P Thanks a lot again. :-)

    ReplyDelete
  14. Great post! I'm a little given to Horlicks myself, though I've never been huge on comics.. :\ :D
    I'm actually one of those kids who was itching to grow up, but well, judging by your criteria, I guess I have a long, long way to go.. :P
    Great blog! :D

    ReplyDelete
  15. PencilGirl :

    Welcome to my blog ! :-)

    I guess we all have a long, long way to go. Just that some of us don't ever start. While some others think they have already arrived. :D

    ReplyDelete
  16. As you know, I love your blog and when I had to share my Versatile Blogger Award with my favourite bloggers, I had to share it with you. So here's the link.

    http://smilingpritz.blogspot.com/2011/08/guess-what-my-first-ever-blogger-award.html

    Congratulations and keep blogging :)

    ReplyDelete
  17. Preethika Shenoy Padiyar :

    Thank you so much. :D

    And now, I'm the first one to comment on your post. :P

    ReplyDelete
  18. Spaceman Spiff :

    :P

    You left me speechless ! :D

    ReplyDelete
  19. Archies are awesome! ahahah, I wish more grownups were like you :P

    ReplyDelete
  20. cricketfreak :

    :D You bet !

    Welcome to my blog. :-)

    ReplyDelete
  21. I had missed reading this post for some reason. Just now realized. And it looks like I have written this post, instead of you :) Ditto here. My friends keep teasing me since I still read books like Harry Potter. My mom keeps telling me to get over all those kiddish fantasies, but no.. I am never gonna grow up, I think :) I still like reading comics, watching cartoon movies and I am happy like that. I dont want to grow up :)

    ReplyDelete
  22. And I feel sad looking at my friends who avoid cakes and ice creams, so that they should not gain weight. I can never resist one. I feel like asking them - so when do you plan to actually eat them? once your teeth fall out?

    ReplyDelete
  23. Avada Kedavra :

    :D

    I know. I don't understand why growing up means leaving those things which are actually so good. Maybe just to prove that one has aged. Don't know. But I find such grown ups to be more immature. :P

    ReplyDelete
  24. Avada Kedavra :

    Yes. And guess what ? Grown ups take pride in indulging in smoking or consuming liquor which would harm their bodies incomparably to having cakes and ice-creams. But as I said, indulging in such things just helps them show off their age. :D

    ReplyDelete
  25. Caesar IV!
    That makes me want to start an argument with you by claiming that Caesar III was better. But I guess, it would be more 'grown up' to say "Wow.. I found another person who plays Caesar :D".
    It also makes me want to add "I am beginning to like you too" to the "I just happened to come here from IHM - and I have fallen in love with your blog" I had started out to say.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. theconjecturegirl :

      I spent a lot of time on Caesar III during the days when Caesar IV wasn't developed. And when I found Caesar IV, I was hesitant to adjust to the new graphics/layout/strategy of it for months. Then one day, I just decided to find out how it really looks. It felt strange at first. But then after a few weeks, I got the hang of it. And now I find it really awesome.

      I loved Caesar III for its simplicity. But I think Caesar IV is an even refined version of it. Both in graphics and strategy. Though I have Caesar III as well and I go back to it once in a while. :-)

      And I really don't know what to say to your following statement... *blush* *blush* (that goes for both me and my blog... ) :-)

      Well, we both welcome you here. Do keep visiting. :-)

      Delete
    2. Agree to 1st paragraph - a LOT. I guess I should be a bit more open-minded to Caesar IV & try it again.

      Delete
    3. theconjecturegirl :

      Actually, Caesar IV is very well thought of. Like in C-III, you find buildings suddenly catching fire, you have a good control on the game in C-IV to prevent and extinguish fires. Secondly, the stages of development of residential buildings are very precise in C-IV. While in C-III, the same hut had to pass through several stages of development, C-IV has provisions for separate 'insulae', 'domuses' and 'villas' for each class of citizens. So it becomes a lot easier and you are clear about what you have to do.

      If you want, I'll be happy to help you to understand C-IV to begin with. :-)

      Delete
    4. That sounds interesting - especially the 'help' part - it appeals to the inertia in me. ;)
      Let me go download C-IV.

      Delete
    5. theconjecturegirl :

      Great ! :-) Let me know if you run into any problems with it.

      Delete
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  29. Hello there! :) I believe you know where I am coming from :D

    I'll say, thank you for giving me the link to here. This was one amazing piece, humour and satire together. And obviously, I relate to plenty of points up there! Hi5! :D

    And yup, thanks for dropping by at my blog. :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. SrishTi :

      Glad you liked reading it. Thanks for the appreciation. :-)

      Delete

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