Old is gold? 

This is a small(might go lengthy) rant about elderly people. Just a disclaimer that I have never spent much time with my grandparents nor have I been to many relative weddings where old people could ask me a lot of questions that could annoy me easily. I have no idea what sort of (non)sense these gray haired people put you through and it truly pisses me off most of the time. Maybe that is why I don’t get along well with my parents when their hair turned gray(although it literally has been gray  ever since I could remember) 

So I do not know if this is how aged people act/react. And that is why I am putting this out here. I am genuinely curious now. 

I spent the weekend at coimbatore and happened to chance upon a couple of aged uncles who would have gotten left and right from me if it were someone who had lesser wrinkles on their skin and a tad bit darker hair. After a strenuous 7 hour sleepless journey on a chair car I reached my destination and all I wanted to do was to lie flat on a bed, take a shower and then sleep-exactly in that order. 

Collecting the room keys I was lost deep in thought when my friend said he will take the stairs since the box he was carrying would clearly gain a scorn from the elderly couple who was waiting for the lift along with us. Absentmindedly I got in and pressed my floor number and I still hadn’t registered the fact that it was in the first floor and I just had to climb a flight of stairs. The uncle who was in the lift with me pulled me out of the ocean of wild thoughts by asking me where I was from. With a smile, I told him I am from chennai. He scorned and said “for the first floor you are taking the lift. At one point your body won’t listen to you. You youngsters are all like this…” 

Now I ended with ellipses because he was still talking when I got off the lift and walked to my room. So I took the lift. So what? Why did you have to start off on a lecture after clearly seeing I am tired to the bones? Why even poke your nose in my business to begin with? You just had to say something there. Establish that you know more than everyone? I felt bad. He could have simply pointed out instead of blasting into a full scale lecture of how we are too lazy and lead to the destruction of this generation. That hurts sir! 
So with that incident on the back of my mind I enjoyed the wedding and arrived at the railway station at 2:30 for a 3:20 train(yup! A chair car again) 

I was sitting on a bench after bargaining for that seat to a couple of northy workers who were getting their phones charged there. (A bench near the plug points) 

A huge ass family came there(like typical tiruvalluvar koodam movies family) and they shoo-ed the poor fellows from there and sat in whatever space remained. One of the aunties sitting was getting way too comfortable on that bench that she was dangerously pushing me off. Her husband.? pointed out her action and I got up since my monthly visitor had made it uncomfortable for me to sit or stand or even live for that matter. After assuring them that I need to stretch a bit I stood there waiting for the cleaners to open the doors of the coach. 

They were all talking about God knows what when the uncle asked me if I was waiting for shadabthi (do I look like I was waiting for hogwarts express there?) and I said yes. The conversation should have ended there. But he went on about these “youngsters” who work in IT firms and travel to get to home and how they should find work in their hometown. He went on to ask “what do you do?” And before I could answer he corrected his question “which IT company do work for?” That did it. I was in agonizing pain and did not want another stupid youngsters these days lecture just because I worked at an MNC. I politely told him i am not working and that briefly shut him up. 

Why do you want to judge a person so openly? Judge all you want. But in your head. Not when I could hear you. Why stamp me? For all you know I could be depressed about my IT job. Or I could have some disability that prevented me from climbing stairs. Why jump to conclusions and hurt someone? You think you know better? What is wrong with working in IT? It pays for the food on my table. I don’t expect help from anyone. What is wrong with taking a lift? I am tired and don’t want to climb stairs. Why speak so loud and make me feel bad? 

Being old does not make your words gold sir! 

What is wrong with your generation? 
P.S. I know all of these are pretty trivial and not worth ranting and might be a work of my overtime hormonal condition now. But still I wanted to share this here. 

Posting from the train.