From one generation to another...

With the backdrop of the Pakistani elections, Karan Thapar in his 'Sunday Sentiments' last week, spoke about how India and Paksitan are separated by a shared history. To quote him, "India and Pakistan are different countries with rivalries, animosities and a thousand misunderstandings. Yet we have a lot more in common than most people realise....I mean (India and Pakistan have in common) the qualities that define the sort of people we are and will become...There is a new generation of Pakistanis who want to break with the past and create a new country. They are proud to be Pakistani, confident of their talents, eager for the good life and free of any burden of history. Doesn't that sound like young India?".

This post is not about India or Pakistan but it is about the last few lines, and how we, as a generation are proud, confident, don't carry any burdens from the past and most of all are eager for a bright future. Most of us have been fortunate enough to have had 'peace-time' lives by virtue of being born in the right country, at the right place, at the right time. Any wars and unrest we have witnessed have been at the safe distance of the TV, in books and in stories that have been passed on through generations.

In fact war, peace, unrest, violence and all things dark and macabre have just been fleeting thoughts in my mind. I've briefly seen the negative face of mankind on TV and in magazines, shuddered and switched channels or turned the page. If a second thought has ever crossed my mind, I've shut it out or dislodged it and gotten back into my own bubble gum existence.

I have a 9 month old baby and at this stage, children are extremely aware of their surroundings and wonder at the tiniest of things. As my child points out in amazement at simple things like the trees, birds, grass, insects, the fan, cars, people and shops, a thought crosses my mind; every time she points and I tell her what it is, I am fortunate that I can show her beautiful things. There is a soft, vulnerable feeling that rises in my throat, one of being responsible for bringing a life into this world....and as a parent, I want my child's world to always be a beautiful wonderland. For the first time, for a brief moment, I relate to the phrase and ponder over, "what kind of world are we leaving for our children".

It is in this brief moment that will pass before I realise, I say a silent thanks to God for peace-times where I am and a thanks to earlier generations for having secured peace for us.... and I wish it for many a generation to come.