X, Y, Z and me!

I belong to the peer group who turned 40 over last year and this. I somehow get a feeling that we belong to one of the most fortunate generations. Though we broadly fit into Gen X we were lucky to have joined them towards the end of it with an overlap with Gen Y and have children who teach us what Gen Z is all about through their actions. I will try and elaborate on the fortunate part since I’m sure most of my friends from other generations might not agree with me. Though I write this predominantly from an Indian perspective, global events and changes during this period definitely made an impact on how we were shaped. Please note the population in their 40’s right now is the protagonist of this piece.

Most of us who are part of this ‘generation’ which I intend calling Gen X’ were born between late 60’s and early 70’s and were in all likelihood born to parents born in the late 1930’s and 1940’s the transitional generation between the traditionalists and the baby boomers, a period I believe, was one of the most defining periods in world history. The end of the great depression, the beginning and end of World War II, the first use of Atomic weapons are some of the events that would have influenced the character of any individual being born and brought up in the period. From an Indian perspective they were born just around the time India attained independence and were at the right age to appreciate freedom and understand the values of living in an independent country imparted by their parents who probably went through the struggle. They made it a point to impart the same to their offspring.

Though each generation will have its own share of experiences I believe the generation I’m talking about were fortunate to enjoy the right experiences at the right time. Be it technological or political. On the tech front, computers were born with us and internet made its appearance just when we were around 18 plus, an age when we could handle and enjoy it responsibly. Politically the Berlin wall went up when our parents were around 18 and came down when we were around 18. They were mature enough to understand the agony and we were mature enough to understand the ecstasy of this event. The interesting part is that the fall of the wall coincided with the advent of internet. The melting of the Iron curtain, official end to cold war and the era of globalisation all came about when we were wise enough to accept, appreciate and evaluate their pros and cons. We grew up dependent on the newspaper for our daily bite of information but were also open to accept information in the form of ‘bytes’ later on in life.

From an Indian perspective we were around 18 when India was opening up to the world and were full of hope at the opportunities ahead of us. We were the flag bearers of India into the millennia. The great Indian dream was just beginning.

We are able to appreciate the smaller, finer things in life because we were witness to the evolution of the television in black and white, colour, plasma, LCD and LED. We used the floppy, diskette, CD, DVD, USB, memory device and the cloud. We read newspapers and we read news from apps. We walked, cycled and biked to school and now appreciate the best of the cars in town. We grew up eating plain dried fish with rice but along the way learnt to appreciate fine Sushi and Sashimi. We have seen postmen bringing tidings of comfort and melancholy. We also have active email accounts through which we still receive the same. We had pen friends and we now have friends who write on our walls on facebook. We grew up appreciating music across genres. We began our day listening to suprabathams in the morning, felt at peace with the muezzin’s afternoon call to prayer and went to bed hearing the church bells toll irrespective of our religion.

We were in my opinion the last of the GENERATIONS. What came next were only short periods of experience with no influence from the decades before or after and the worst being the current Gen Z who in my opinion are only as old as a mobile phone or a tab model? I’m sad about this since I have my own daughters and a whole lot of nieces and nephews belonging to this period. Wonder what the generation beyond Z would be called. Since unlike the X and Y that spanned decades the Z and above will only span months hence the need for more innovative variables to name them seems inevitable.