Munni badnaam hui?

Hello everyone,

The other day, me and my papa were waiting in our car outside a department store near my house as my brother went inside to get some stuff. It was off-time for schools, hence a lot of vans went past us. One of them however, seemed to be coming back from a picnic or something. There were students inside the van, ranging from ages 12-15 approximately. They seemed to be having fun and everyone inside seemed happy.

I was looking outside the car's window, smiling at them. When suddenly, my smiling jaw dropped after hearing the type of sleazy music playing in the van. The most repeated number, of course, was Munni Badnaam Hui. I was taken aback. I felt so bad for those poor little children and what sort of environment they are exposed to. After Munni Badnaam, the next song that played was Sheela ki jawaani! I mean for heaven's sake! Have singers like A-teens and Aqua died? Whose songs we listened to whilst we grew up. Or our Pakistani alternative used to be Koko Koreena and Ucchiyan majajan wali. Things weren't as bad!

OK, I am not from a very old generation but when I was young, we at least heard decent songs. Our generation didn't shake booties on Munni Badnaam or Sheela ki Jawani. They are far too vulgar, seriously! At this vulnerable age, children have sensitive minds which, when molded, can take up any shape you give them. If you want to shape them into good, decent and well-behaved individuals, you have to nurture them in the similar way. Not by getting them exposed to the lethal Hindi music with vulgar lyrics and even more vulgar videos.

This is actually the culture we are imparting in our coming generation. And if it continues to be so, we will have a much more maligned society than we have now. Because the corrupt society of today is a living example of how Indian culture is spoiling the young generation and the generations to come. Which also reminds me, last week, I went to buy halwa poori breakfast with my brothers. As both of them stepped out and stood in the queue, I saw a tuition academy next to it. Since I was waiting in the car, I actually got some time to observe how the new generation has become.

Checking out girls (or checking out boys for girls) was practiced during my time too but only discreetly and under the cover. It wasn't so open. I remember, if a guy wanted to come up and ask for friendship, he had to befriend a girl first and then send a message via her friend to you, to become friends with him. This long and tiring process at least saved up the dirt that surrounds the academies now. Teenagers seem to be having no other topic than dating and exchanging mobile phone numbers so that they can talk whole night long (thanks to the night packages).

The 'dhaai rupay ghanta' hasn't done no good to our innocent students and teens. Literally, when I was observing the girls, they looked far older than their ages, mainly because of the amount of makeup they had used and secondly, their shaped brows. I am not at all against shaped brows, but shaping your brows when you are still in school/high school was considered a taboo in my days. OK, before you burst out saying my days are gone, let me remind you that I did away my schooling in 2004 and my high school in 2006. So I am not as old as I might sound. The only difference is, the outburst and spread of vulgarity in the society has happened exponentially. The growth it has shown, and the penetration is massive. Really massive. It seems uncontrollable at times.

What I feel bad about is that parents have become numb now. I wonder what mothers are doing (with all the respect to each one of them) when their young and innocent daughters dress to kill when they are going out for tuitions or acquisition of knowledge. Or what are the fathers doing when they catch their sons red-handed with cigarettes or equally harming alternatives? Yes again, things like these prevailed in my time too, the only difference was that they were not as open as they are today, which makes the situation worse.

The parents, teachers and elder siblings should take a hold of the matter seriously now. Take these vulgar songs away from them so that none of the young 12-year old girls would like to dance on an item number like Munni Badnaam not just in front of the male class fellows, but the van drivers! And the situation is much more grave than what I have described here. Cuz whatever I have told or jotted down is mere observation. It's all on the surface. What lies under the ugly face of the facade might have another uglier story to tell.

God help us all! Please :-(.

Goodnight.