Loneliness

 Have you thought about an easily visible but not much analysed phenomenon? Most youngsters, who would be in their late twenties now, often have just one sibling these days. Often the scenario is much worse. There is no sibling at all as the young man or the young woman happens to be the only child of the parents who would be in their fifties.

What immense loneliness is going to hit, and real hard, these young people is absolutely unimaginable. Well, your sibling may not meet you every day. Yet there continues to be an unseen but surely existing, 'very much there' kind of support. You may not need it apparently. The very fact, however, that in this whole wide world, there is someone who wishes you well without any expectations in return is a great blessing that is absolutely invaluable.

These lonely youngsters are going to miss that wonderful support. As it is their parents' ,mostly mothers', insistence on nuclear independent  families without any care and free of any responsibility whatsoever, would have alienated them from the larger clan. Banging the doors shut in the face has been their behaviour pattern when a relative dares to visit. Thus the connect with anyone is weakened.

Just as the familial bond is thinning, the marital relationships, too, are brittle. A divorce is no longer a stigma. If such is the personal space, the work culture is going to be tough as well coz Revolution 4.0, making inroads already, would soon ossify. 

Can a robot, however humanised, replace the human feel? Can an ELSA, a talking machine, have the soft tenderness of a sister's voice or the unstated support of a brother's silent look? Would very many hobbies replace that distant togetherness? Well, in my opinion,there is an urgent need to address these issues, especially because in the social imaginary, identity politics, especially caste wise, is getting sharper and fiercer.

The thought that truly terrifies me is the fate of the only child who is autistic or mentally retarded. When i wrote an article about this issue, many parents were indeed worried about them. May be, institutions like old age homes would be their future!

Here is a fervent prayer for the eternal well-being of our loved ones!

Pratima@ Benedictions born of love are the best cure for any dis-ease.