THE DISLODGED ROOTS
Yet another day, me and my friend from the Garhwal hills were engaged in a friendly discussion on culture and traditions over a cup of tea in my office. The issue of youth’s disenchantment of agriculture cropped up. With raised eyebrows he revealed that young girls looking for prospectful grooms in his village put forth a few pre-conditions for marriage – the groom shouldn’t be a farmer and he shouldn’t have livestock in his house! Appalled again, I queried, but why? “Ah! Its simple….” he exclaimed, “the girls are no more interested in the primitive kind of living with crop fields and animals! They are advanced.” It seems they are more inclined towards spending much of their time and money on smart phones and a variety of apps that come with it. He continued, “the generation has changed man, girls and boys are educated now! Where are you?” I hope the generation has changed for good. I also hope education does some good to the changed generation. “You can’t expect me to graze catt