Caught napping in the middle.

This is a term very often used by cricket commentators. It could mean getting out to an LBW that might otherwise gone on to cartwheel the stumps or an inglorious exit due to an Inzamam-esque run out. But my take is going to be very different and dry.

Recently, I visited a Lord Balaji temple far away from his popular abode at Thirumala hills. This temple was built fairly recently and so the paint hadn't any aspiring student registration numbers nor one-sided lovey-dovey couple names. Being an auspicious month, it was not a surprise that a thousand heads had come to seek his blessings. People from all walks of life had merged together and shared the same podium irrespective of one's background. After all, isn't a temple the culmination of a cultural mix of people? Divergence not only in different skin colours, languages, dialects, food habits, nativity and communal setup but also in different generations ranging from the 60s and 70s, the 30s and 40s, the 20s and the less than 10s.

Between all this, I could notice 'India' that is heavily steeped in tradition, soaked in culture, stagnated in values and still trying to shed its conservative image against the threat of being treated like an outcast for respecting family structures. Yes, India is changing.

Changing to the extent that you could now drive a Toyota or a Honda on the same bullock cart spec road. A Mercedes plying over a cowdung littered highway. An India where you could now wear a Sachin Tendulkar or Christiano Ronaldo T-Shirt to a temple and assume you could make it to the 'who is who' list one day. And an India where a Nokia or Samsung phone may play MS's Suprabaatham that tannoys would have done until a few years back.

But what has not changed is the social fabric. The very essence of what we are made of. The lifeline and backbone of the system we were brought up in. For the temple is also the simplest place for conversations that could range from "Where does your son work?", "How much does he earn?", "Which school is he studying in?", "Where did you buy this dress?", "Is that silk saree border tested zari?". These are not bizaare but quite testing conversations.

Meanwhile, the young generation, fresh with enthusiasm and fervour tried its hand at crowd control, albeit, very badly. That too without a proper plan, prowess or principle. In the process, the young usurp old values while the old stick to their proven doctrine.

Little do they realise that India survives in chaos, gets averse to being orderly and remains confused in congruence. That's conservativeness at its best.

But the middle aged ones are in my view the nobodies here. Looking at (or having to look at) both sides of the field. For this is the generation that saw chaos reign control and command in complicity. For this is the generation that could neither go forward nor step backward. For this is the generation that is constantly handholding the lost and new generations. For this is the generation that has 'change' as its very own twin.

At this moment, I have no clues to questions like when will India change completely. But at the same time, I have other questions like "Why should India change?" and "Should it? - if only - could it?"

Old Inflicts. Young deflects. And the rest - are caught napping in the middle!