The statistics say it all, and what is not stated so obviously can be felt by experiencing the pulsating activity around us. In fact, with 54 per cent of the Indians below the age of 25 and the working population (15-59 years) at 59 per cent, the country stands at a unique juncture, which may take it to “fame and fortune.” The tide is already flowing in the right direction with Indians making their mark all over the world. Domestically, the nation is doing better than it could have ever imagined in most spheres of activity. The feel-good air, it seems, is here to stay, says Belu Maheshwari.

THE revolution is upon us. Unlike the hue and cry made in the 70s about the need for a Total Revolution, the 90s has produced an upheaval which has already started impacting the country and whose consequences are going to felt for a very long time. It has been a quiet trend that has strengthened itself during the last few years and is now a strong entity in the body politic. India Shining is the result of it. The feel good factor is its outcome. The ‘pollen storm’ has just about broken around us and in 10 years time it is likely to propel India to the distant shores of relative affluence.

The statistics say it all, and what is not stated so obviously can be felt by experiencing the pulsating activity around us. In fact, with 54 per cent of the Indians below the age of 25 and the working population (15-59 years) at 59 per cent, the country stands at a unique juncture, which may take it to "fame and fortune." The tide is already flowing in the right direction with Indians making their mark all over the world. Domestically, the nation is doing better than it could have ever imagined in most spheres of activity. The feel-good air, it seems, is here to stay.

But the shift from gloom and helplessness of the last few decades to the confidence and `E9lan of the last 10 years has been marked by tireless striving and constant chipping away at the impediments that shackled the Indian mindsets. The young, now called the zippies, have brought India to the threshold of a new world wherein ambition is respected, affluence is desired and excellence is achieved. The changeover has been so comprehensive that even the relatively old (50 plus) have altered their sights in order to align themselves with the changing Indian order.

For the 60s and the 70s generation learning English was a major achievement. It was their meal ticket. Convent education was deemed to be the only proper education. Half the periods in class were devoted to English in some form. The books were printed in the UK and learning Shakespeare, Keats and Shelley showcased you as an intellectual. Discipline was the most essential component of a good school with emphasis being on learning the tables and poetry by heart. Hindi was also a language and it was fashionable to say you hardly knew it. Getting admission in St Stephens College, Delhi, Miranda College, Delhi, St. Xaviers College Calcutta and Bombay or Loyola College Madras was the highest aim.

For the today generation, education is serious business. More than poetry and language, the sciences have gained ground. They are the job getters. English, of course, comes naturally, but it is only a medium in which you learn and study. Social sciences are for the kakajis or kakijis. Achievement is the end goal and achievers are in full supply. Saatvik Agarwal, 14 (part of the Mars Mission), Tathagat Avatar Tulsi, 16 (about to complete his doctorate), Muzakkir Sharieff, 20 (aviation designer), etc are only some of those who have made it big at a very early age.

"The current generation is totally focussed and is obsessive about reaching the top in their chosen field," says Puneeta Bhan, Headmistress, DPS, Hisar. "But we were spontaneous, now they are far more mechanical," she adds. But that doesn’t take away from the fact that the zippies are having much more fun than any other generation in more than 100 years. Hard work and focused attitude has resulted in the acquisition of skills that come with disposable incomes that would be the envy of most lakhpatis of the 60s generation. The result is a huge boom in the services and entertainment sector leading to addition to the overall growth rate of the economy. It is no wonder today that even in a limited skill job like call centre employment, the average salary of an employee is three times higher than in a skilled job a decade and a half ago.

In fact, the generalists have become an extinct species. Technical and specialised training are the hallmarks that define this generation.

For the generation of the 60s, 70s and even the 80s, a cushy government job was the ultimate goal in life. Clearing the Civil Services exam was the highest point in achievement followed by professions like medicine and engineering. Girls who wanted to work only thought of genteel professions like teaching or medicine. More than emoluments, what made a job a good was the status attached to it. Children from good families who had studied in prestigious boarding schools sought white-collar jobs in firang companies.

The Generation Now is not enamoured by government employment, nor is it stuck up about gazetted or boxwallah status. There is no ambiguity about what they want. As Amit Gupta, an I.I.T graduate working with McKenzie, says "Any job which pays well is good enough. I can be a bartender, hairstylist, chef, consultant or graphic designer. It doesn’t matter anymore. To me, the most important thing is whether I would be able to excel in it, and if I can, it will be paying enough, too."

The zippies want to make it on their own in the global economy. There are no insecurities, in spite of the fact that jobs are not of fixed tenures. "If we are good in our work, we will have jobs running after us. There is always a slot for the good ones, and if we are not good, we will sink — that’s the law of the universe," opines Ankita from IIM, Ahmedabad. Tycoon Anil Ambani summed up the attitude thus in a recent interview, "Today’s youth is very, very ambitions, very competitive. There is a great spirit to achieve success and rewards."

Ambition is being courted like never before. Compare it with the attitude of a generation twice removed from the present one. "Even if you wanted to reach for the stars and you could, you still said I am pretty laidback. Before the exams we used to dispel the notion that we had studied and said ‘it’s okay’. We lacked the killer instinct which we felt was reserved only for the beasts. We did have an odd ball or two who would be totally committed to his work but collectively we always denied harbouring ambition," says Anju Gupta who is running a grooming institute for women.

But now ambition is worn on the sleeve. The generation is destination driven and those who have the ‘killer instinct’ are idolised. Girls also have ambition and it is being accepted by the boys. "The whole gamut of understanding between the sexes has changed. They are so normal and natural with each other. Girls can be girls, dress up the way they like, behave the way they like without being told, ‘Girls do not do this’," says Madhu Sharma, an engineer.

In fact, the real change has been in the attitude. The anger and the rebellion of the late 60s and thereafter the 70s and mid 80s has disappeared like the morning mist. The ‘liberation child’ is cool and seeks challenges. He doesn’t want to be messed around with and neither would he care about what the other person is doing. There is complete absence of guilt about making money and spending it. Says Sabina Mandher, mother of two zippies, "We wanted to break taboos but we were too bothered about what the world would say. We used to take one step forward but then two backwards. For us black was black and white was white, there was no grey. But these young ones do not give a damn. They are less judgmental and they do not want to ruffle feathers. They are politically so correct that it bothers me."

Interestingly, despite the gobalised environment, going abroad is no longer a cherished dream. The previous generation strove the hardest to go to America or the UK. But not any more. Among youth today, only the mediocre think of making it good in a foreign land. "There is definitely a reverse flow. Lots of Indian students want to return as opportunities are more in India and there is definitely more loneliness abroad," says Ramiya Shankar, who is doing her Ph.D. in Economics from Cornell University, USA.

With the careers more important than anything else, it is no wonder that politics is hardly on the agenda. The 60s and the 70s saw a very high degree of politicalisation on the campuses and ideology was god. "I remember when I was studying in Indraprastha College in Delhi, the teacher talked of Indira Gandhi and the Emergency in hushed tones for months together. As students we were also very bothered about the state of affairs in the country," remembered Priya, a housewife.

But today, Laloo Yadav’s quotes are for laughs and not serious discussion. Politics does not interest the Z generation. They are rather more interested in how the dollar or the Euro is faring vis a vis the rupee. Similarly, religion is taken seriously at a personal and not communal level. The quest for spiritual fulfilment after the acquisition of the material has motivated youngsters to flock in droves to the wisdom of the sages now being repackaged by the new age gurus. It is no longer uncool to be secular. Rather, the party with God has just begun.