June 17, 2024
The Background
When speaking of an Era it conjures up fascinating avenues to delve into.
The Medieval Era (approx. 500 – 1500 AD) — ~1,000 years. Cultural pace: Slow, cyclical. Change was generational and often invisible in a lifetime.
The Ancient Egyptian Civilization (approx. 3100 – 332 BCE) — ~2,700 years.
Cultural pace: Glacial. A scribe in 1500 BCE would have recognized the culture of 500 years before — and after — with little cognitive dissonance.
History
Bah enough of History, I have had my share of struggling with history remembering names and DOB of our local heroes Shivaji, Sambhaji, mismatching the columns getting the wrong birthdays and dates and celebrating with large red zeroes easter eggs on my report cards. No not getting into history again, I forget which shirt was on my back last week.
Justification
I know it’s painful getting history and all its turtle pace slowing us down. We live in a fast pace generation – While our ancestors had to wait centuries if they lived long enough to tell the story to the next era. The only way to carry forward the lineage and legacy I imagine would be through parchment scrolls, handed over down the generations, the scrolls fraying at the edges with each handover. Maybe 10 generations before the story of an era was told to the next, shaky shadows looming large on the walls of caves, shimmering with every gust of wind that blew into the caves threatening to smother the little bonfire keeping the family warm. “Mamma tell me more – what happened to the bogie man – did he eat the kids”? maybe the lingo was caveman baby talk but allow me poetic licence.
The Lucky Generation X
Today we consider ourselves lucky we the Gen X (1960’s thru 1980’s) have lived through a plethora of Era’s If you may.
Baby Boomers 1946 – 1964 Post War II
Generation X 1965 – 1980 The MTV or Latchkey generation
Millennials 1981 – 1996 Generation Y
Generation Z 1997 – 2012 Zoomers
Generation Alpha 2013 – 2025.
Surviving through 5 eras all in a lifespan and we are just 60, is there more coming up. Contrast that with 10 generations to get past one Era.
Sure, all this comes but with a price. So where am I getting to with all of this Era stuff. The deterioration the price we pay for benefits of an ultra-fast pace era.
Definition
What we are speaking of is Cultural acceleration which means that things in society—like technology, ideas, and how we live—are changing faster and faster. Because of this, the time we think of as an "era" or a big period in history feels shorter and shorter. This makes it harder for people and communities to keep up and get used to all the changes.
Allow me to get the man on the street version with malice towards one and all.
Street Talk
Bantai Bhashan ?tapri chai wala
Arey sun bhidu... pehle ke log na, ek hi zamane mein pura life nikaal dete the. Jaise ek 1000 saal ka era hota tha — log wahi kapde, wahi soch, wahi system... ekdum timepass speed mein.
Aaj ka scene alag hi level pe hai. Har 5–6 saal mein naya zamana aa jata hai. Pehle tha TV, phir internet, ab AI bhai! Har cheez rocket speed mein badal rahi hai.
Log sochte hi reh jaate hain ki kya ho raha hai. Arre bhai, jab tak tu naye system ko samjhe, tab tak naya update aa jata hai!
Public ka dimag locha maar deta hai — samajhne se pehle hi game next level chala jata hai. Bas wahi bolte hain: 'Time hi nahi milta re adapt karne ka!'
Yeh hi hai asli cultural acceleration... pura life fast-forward mein!"
Now that we got the jargon out and off, let’s move on to the main plot.
Cultural Vibes Organic V/s Orchestrated.
Dinner 1970’s
9:00 pm The six seater wooden table, a mix of chairs some teak handed down from the generations, The teak one polished and gleaming under the incandescent light bulb, where dad sat heading the dinner table, Mom flipping the last chapatti before yelling out the clarion call, and we rushing to the table, the flavour of the hot meals wafting through the kitchen, the short prayer rattled off before delving into the dinner plate, a gentle wrap under the ears. “Have you washed your hands?” Little discussions punctuated the dinner time, mostly with Mom giving Dad the highlights of who goofed up during the day and who was the good kid. But dinner was enjoyable amid all the admonishing with love.
Dinner 2025
9:0m Six-seater wooden table, Dad at the helm, Mom flipping the last chapatti. Son In the hall, daughter in the bedroom, younger brother still wandering with his peer group. Four chairs bought on Aazon refurbished, now still in pristine condition, vacant. The couple share a quite dinner together. The kids now checking foodie channels on quick instant recipes. The doorbell rings. Mam Domino Pizza..
Entertainment 1980’s
Living room
6:00 pm Sunday : sofas full to capacity, A mat sprawled on the floor, kids from the next door neighbours. Mom tiptoeing between the gaps to get chips from the kitchen, Grandma in her half rocking chair, Grandpa on his chair , the smoke from his pipe, Grandma grumbles, “Honey the kids – ever heard of passive smoking?” The black and while television, the din of the neighbourhood kids, entertainment was a community event.
2022 , the living room is desolate, Grandmas, and Grandpas frame on the wall, a little night lamp illuminates the pictures, the family sits around deep in their cell phones, the glow of the screen illuminating their faces, silence broken by occasional burst of laughter, not so much as from the banter in the living but a joke shared on social media, while the others in sombre mood reminiscent over a sad story shared on Instagram. A plethora of emotions all encapsulated and tearing the very fabric of family.
Wisdom from the ages from Chanda Mama to Utube Baba
Wisdom handed down, folklore from the generations, crafted with love and care, with a touch of nostalgia as the family gathered in the living room, Grandma pulling out folklore doling out wisdom, then suddenly lights out, huddled together as grandmas stories with morals and wisdom baked in took on new meaning. Grandparents told stories from epics, folklore, personal struggles
2022 reel for real, where Utube is your mirror, sometimes cracked sometime genuine, where wisdom is outsourced to influencers, the followers count becoming the yardstick rather than the content, to shape the generation. If that was not enough, but they have an option of multiple influencers, don’t like something that gels with your vibe, switch channels. Allowing for influencers to cater to a generation who would rather listen to someone who would tickle their ears with fancy rather than pierce your ears with pain.
When the Telegram brought Tears
Handwritten letters were the norm, the postman became the family man as he was the most sought-after man of that era, waiting patiently for the knock either to usher in good news of a new arrival in the family or a departure, even as trembling hands unfold the telegram message, the postman feigning a sad look. Fast forward the postman is slowly phasing out with email, and mobile dominating the scene.
Moral grounding from Chappals to CHATGpt
Correction was instant, as kids if we veered out of the preset boundaries, Mom was quick to catch the drift, the stray talk and language that seeped into the living room during family time. The strains of loose talk and few choice words which we picked up after brushing shoulder with the kids from the Stay Away Zone. Correction was instant the good old Rs.7/- a pair of Bata Chappals cloaked in white with the blue straps. These were the correction tools that had instant results. We carried the footprints on our butts.
Reminds me of the days when mothers escorting their kids to school with their bags strapped on their backs. A detour to Bombay General Vikhroli west, near the SJHS School, store to pick a new cane, they had a bucket full of these canes in the corner, sold like hot cakes. The varnish on those canes did not grace for long.
Coconut oil splattered on our head and toes on weekends to keep those brains well-oiled and prevent rust. We also found other uses for the coconut oil, a very pleasant help when the canes came out of their resting place. And for everything in between we had the customary Patan kada that was doled out once a month for the deep detox. Fast forward Gen Zee, keep it all, don’t release till a week goes by, there is value in vintage you see.
2022 – the canes of that era, do we still have them? we now know of Festival de Cannes in French Riviera. Speaking of correction today is like talking about Crime Patrol. Raise a finger and you are suddenly under the line of fire. So, play safe. After Grand parents bid a tearful farewell for their heavenly abode, Parents outsourced imparting moral values to “Tinkle” and “Chandamama”, and for the little elder kids “Readers Digest”, and if the romantic flavours beckoned, then maybe a copy of Enid Blyton from the local library would find its way in the house.
Connecting the dots…
The mid-1970s models will be able to reconnect the dots. While our generation was exposed to the Chanda Mama in broad daylight, doling out values with folklore. Fast forward Gen Zee, the Chanda mamma shines in the night sky with a pale pearly light. The Gen Zee transfixed on his little 6-inch screen well past midnight, the influencer shaping young minds, while Chanda mama failed to draw, and *Tinkle” now fails to chime. Not sure if Panchatantra, Ramayana cartoons on Sundays, still draw. I know Few “Tin Tin Adventure” series is now available for a fortune, but few takers.
The culture where the feet of the elders were revered, hugs and kisses were real where touch connected the soul. Fast-forward emojis flow in abundance, while Gen Z falls head over heels for digital validation—sad but true. The earlier generations are slowly being drawn into the melee.
The marriage market. Year 1995.
Son: Mom next month I am getting married.
Mom: really all chuppa Rustom haa, bola bi nahi. Where is the girl from?
Son: it’s a boy mom.
Mom: ???
Son: Chill mom remember that song “Gay gay gay gay, gay re saiba
Mom:
“Then I hope he knows he’s marrying the best boy in the world" ?????? .
We the products of Gen X, congratulations, we have lived through four Era’s, and there is more to come, fasten your seat belts, and steel your hearts and minds, there is more turbulence ahead.
The Acid Test
This piece is designed to be long, the Gen Z born in a generation awash with smart phones, social media and scrolling, their brains are wired for bite sized information. If you reached till here in this article, you still have flavours of Gen X, Congratulations, but the trend is changing. Traditional reading has been phased out with Summaries, Visual stories, Bullet points. Now let’s bite the Bullet if you found Yourself irritated, we are moving really fast and the era is catching up on us.
And a gentle reminder Gen Z is still our family, with love we cannot ignore them, so allow me to give a summary for this generation.
GENERATION X KA FULL TANDOORI FLASHBACK
Arey sun na bhidu…
Pehle ka zamana full slow motion tha — ek era chalti thi 1000 saal tak. Log same kapde, same soch, same system. Abhi kya scene hai? 5–6 saal mein pura game badal jaata hai. Yehi bolte hain cultural acceleration.
Dinner 1970s: Pure family ek table pe, hot chapati, thoda daat, thoda pyaar.
Dinner 2025: Table full empty. Pizza at door, kids on Insta, Mom-Dad silently chewing memories.
TV 1980s: Sunday ko sab log jam ke baithte the — ek TV, pura colony.
2022: Sabke haath mein screen, sabka emotion alag. Koi reel pe hassa, koi sad song pe roya.
Old days: Dadi ke kahaniyon mein moral bhi hota tha, magic bhi.
Now: Utube Baba aur Insta Guru se seekhte hain — bas views hona chahiye.
Pehle: Letter ka intezaar, postman bhaiya most wanted.
Aaj: Blue tick mila toh baat karo, nahi toh “seen zone.”
Discipline scene: Ek blue strap wala Bata chappal aur coconut oil = proper reset.
Now: Raise a finger? Arey bhai, court ka notice aa jayega!
Tinkle, Chandamama, Digest: Sab tha apne time pe.
Ab: Influencer bole toh Bhagwan. Bas vibe match hona chahiye.
Touch of love: Pyaar se pair chhu ke ashirwad milta tha.
Ab: Hug? Emoji bhej na bhai.
Marriage talk: 1995 — Mom shocked. 2025 — "It’s a boy, Mom."
Dialogue hi change ho gaya boss.
Tapri Chaiwala
Ossie