The monkeys looked genuinely puzzled.
Their eyes were fixed on something beyond the frame, as if they had just witnessed an extraordinary act of human foolishness. One sat on a broken wall, staring in disbelief, as though he had overheard a conversation among humans and was struggling to make sense of it. Another gazed into the distance with an expression that seemed to say, “What exactly is your species doing? Thank goodness we never evolved into humans.” One monkey wore the exact expression that Tiku Talsania made famous in a television sitcom, while asking, “Yeh kya ho raha hai?” Looking at the state of our public life and the future we have handed to our young people, it feels less like a punchline today and more like the only sensible question.
Never before has a generation carried so much anxiety. Every year, millions of young Indians leave colleges with degrees, dreams and the weight of family expectations. Too many find themselves trapped in coaching centres, competitive examinations, contract jobs, endless interviews and the exhausting race to remain relevant. A generation that should have been building the future spends its best years waiting, for results, for vacancies, for opportunities, for life itself to begin. Our youth have been left disillusioned by a system that has asked them to compete relentlessly while offering shrinking opportunities in return.
A society cannot endlessly ask its youth to be patient while rewarding mediocrity, corruption and privilege. Hope is not an inexhaustible natural resource. It survives only when nurtured by opportunity, fairness and trust. Young people today are asking for a dignified livelihood and a fair chance to prove themselves.
Our education system often produces engineers who hesitate to ask questions, graduates who rarely read beyond examinations, and citizens who mistake forwarded messages for knowledge. Information has become abundant, curiosity scarce. Outrage lasts only as long as a trending hashtag. Reading has given way to scrolling, debate to abuse, and conviction to convenience. Capability is measured in likes, followers and brand collaborations. Success has become more visible than purpose.
We proudly celebrate India’s demographic dividend, but are not ready to confess its emotional bankruptcy. A nation cannot treat its youth as statistics while expecting them to become its future.
Dushyant Kumar wrote-
“Sirf hungama khada karna mera maqsad nahin,
Meri koshish hai ki ye surat badalni chahiye.”
(My aim is not merely to create noise; my effort is to change the situation.)
His words feel remarkably contemporary.
Photos and text by Prerna Jain.
