Wednesday, May 21, 2008


Aunty!

I somehow never realised when I started being referred to as "aunty." Just a few years ago, I was "didi" and quite enjoyed the sound of it. But lately, I've been coming across dangerous kids who out of ostensible innocence release the word "aunty" from their lips as if they were born to make others realise how much older they are. I remember this oversmart, 10-year old scraggy boy handing me my stuff over the counter and with a glint in his eye announcing the word that irritates the life out of me. I spun around fuming and firmly corrected him. "Didi....I'm not that old." He screwed up his face, his day made.

The thought occurred to me this morning as I brushed my still intact teeth. I can still play sports, run and jump around like a 12-year old, climb steps two at a time, can recite most of the nursery rhymes, worship ice cream and can kill for it, have never gotten over my taste for cerelac and lactogen and don't feel ashamed about putting my head in mommy's lap and dozing off while she plays with my hair. I'm not aging. And even if I am, does the world need to publish it in their papers and announce it over their radios?? These kids are the worst! They're most evil and dastardly and often get away with it.

When I was a kid, I could distinguish between an aunty and a didi. I guess, as the generations are born, one card from the intellectual structure falls away. Every future generation is a tad bit dumber than the last. To be incapable of setting aside two age-groups purely on the basis of what you see is plain incompetence.

Baah! These dumb kids!

4 comments:

PS said...

woahhhhh stop or u'll blow my cap away with that tirade:) geez.. well these are kids & by terming the entire generation dumb(er).. u doin exactly wat u angry at.. generalizing!! but yeah wat the hell.. i agree some of them make me squirm with their oversmart ooh-i'm-too-cool-for-my-own-self attitude:) But then again... laugh it off coz u really dont have an account of ur malicious childhood behaviour either;)

Maryann Taylor said...

OMG!!I'm glad I've found someone who can share my agony!!! I'm going through an exactly similar phase..where annoying 14 year olds mind you fourteen year old kids have started calling me aunty. I was so annoyed and traumatised at the same time that I took a good long look in the mirror and even sampled some anti wrinkle cream..lol!! God bless me and you to..to hell with these kids..we're ageing gracefully..what say you?? lol

Ragini said...

PS: Thanx for giving it thought. But my kinda generalising and their impudence are worlds apart. I don't generalise out of malice :) They, on the other hand are downright exasperating!! And dumb! I think our generation had its own naughty/bad/mean childhood moments, but I don't remember making a young woman conscious of her age nor making her change the way she looks and feels about herself ;)

Anna: Let's kill these kids and feed them to crocodiles! Is it coz of the anti-wrinkle cream that you look more stunning than the last time? ;) I think we'll always be those young ones sitting outside the JMC canteen discussing how boys stink ;)

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