Youth Culture

Travel is something I have always cherished: Not the travel where you just observe through the pane of the car window but one where you are out there on foot or may be a two-wheeler, getting to feel the place...

Studying in Singapore gave me this long awaited opportunity and I was able to experience not only the place but also the people. On a Three day trip to Indonesia, me and two of my pals headed to Lake Toba. A decently famous place among Europeans, we didn't see any other Indians. On the boat that took us to an island (The name is Samosir) on the lake, we met many young, friendly locals. A young lady in particular told me "I will see you at Brando Blues Bar" when I said bye.

After we fixed on a place to crash for the night, our local friend Luka (he too met us on the boat!)picked us up to go to THE place: 'Brando Blues Bar.' Off we went on bikes and when we reached, I felt like we had come to some place in Mumbai! It was a little smaller but had a pool table, a cool dance floor and of course, the bar! That is not all, apart from the features, the youngsters there were similar too: their attire, body language, behaviour ...and they were grooving to similar music...or were chilling in a corner,sipping on a drink.

A month later, when I was partying in Singapore, I felt the same energy. The club was definitely more posh and swanky and the crowd looked more 'happening' but the 'atmosphere' was the same. The rhythm and vibe weren't drastically different.

And one more month later when I was at a local club in a town called Dalat in Vietnam, I couldn't 'feel' much difference.

And a week later, grooving to sexy music in Armin Van Buuren's concert in Mumbai...(do I have to tell you how different or similar I felt?)

A month later, sitting in Consumer Behaviour class, hearing my professor talk about the mind set that cuts across today's youth brought a smile to my face. Traveling to these places in the last 6 months, I have experienced this fact first hand that youth the world over has fundamentally, the same mind set everywhere...
It likes to party on a weekend and sometimes get drunk and walk on the roads
It likes to click goofy pictures at a scenic tourist place
It likes to just hangout
It can find ways to earn that extra buck

Everywhere, the Energy was the same, there was a connection even though I was in an alien country with people I had not even spoken to. And probably, if I would have observed someone long enough, I could have even been able to guess their thoughts...or my thoughts...whose are they actually?