The Zoya Factor

Sipping steaming filter coffee, relishing it’s aroma and taste with every sip, Preetha sat in the recliner in her balcony.

Monsoons have settled in the city washing away the dust collected on the leaves and trees. The trees appeared revived in lush green color. The dry summers of Chennai are now replaced with the first showers of Monsoon. The mud smell, the pitter patter rain droplets sound, the moist sea breeze – all these are a bundle of little joys to Preetha.

It was 7:30 AM in the morning. The soft sea breeze was swaying the chrysanthemums in her little garden. Preetha looked at the sky. It was deep blue in hue filled with puffs of clouds that resembled candy floss. The sun seemed to be dozing warmly with no plans of showing up any sooner. She loved the picturesque view. It was her kind of a day.

She looked down from her balcony. Inside the tall gates of the gated community where she dwells, there were well manicured gardens with play areas and swimming pools surrounded by magna opus towers. These gated communities are now emerging as little worlds in the metro lifestyle. The tall gates filter the chaos of the urban life that rages outside. Amid the pathways of the sky scraping buildings she saw maids hurrying off to their daily chores, sweepers clearing the dirt off the roads, security guards busy in charge, tennis court with players striking their rackets, joggers pulsating their heart beats in resonance with their foot steps. People busy in their own spaces thought Preetha.

She returned to her recliner, leaned back a little and continued to enjoy the pleasant weather. While engrossed in her space, she saw a bunch of soap bubbles floating in the air. She was fascinated by looking at them. Within few minutes there were many more. They looked incredibly amazing splashed in rainbow colors. While many bubbles danced in air, some drifted in tranquility. Few bubbles fluttered and some others vanished. She enjoyed looking at them drift in air.

Bubbles…

There are big ones…

There are medium ones…

And tiny ones…

And of different measures…

Myriad thoughts ran in Preetha’s mind.

Just like these bubbles, there are many bubbles in everybody’s life.

Bubbles of Emotions!

Bubbles of Experiences!!

Bubbles of Perceptions!!!

Bubbles of Relationships!!!!

And the list goes on…

All these collectively form the mighty bubble called ‘LIFE’. Life too dances, flutters, remains serene and vanishes into the cosmos just like a soap bubble.

As Preetha was lost in thoughts, a bubble kiss bursted on her cheek bringing her to the present. She looked in the direction they came from. A group of kids in the adjacent tower were blowing bubbles. They were having great fun in blowing, catching, playing and bursting them. Children and their utter innocence, she thought. Ironically, she was surprised to see the Gen Alpha kids engaged in a physical activity as the kids these days are completely glued to the electronic gadgets and are totally immersed into them. They prefer to remain in a make believe world.

Another bubble inside a bubble!

Preetha then recalled her friend Aarti and her parental woes. Aarti had once taken her boys to attend a ceremony at her ancestral village. She returned home restless unable to manage the kids or rather their tantrums. ‘It is hot ! It’s dusty ! I’m thirsty ! How much longer do we need to walk ! mosquitoes ! eww…cow dung ! The roads are narrow !’- their list of complaints were endless. Preetha felt the little ones were not at fault. It is Aarti and many other parents like her, who are accountable. We raise our children in a carefully curated bubble with limited access to the world outside. We have chosen to do this for our own convenience and claim it for the safety and well being of the children. The hard fact is when the kids come closer to reality they choose to avoid the uncomfortable situations rather to confront or understand them. They find it best to remain confined in a bubble.

Another bubble!

Preetha continued to gaze at the soap bubbles with her thoughts wandering around the bubbles that we are creating for the Gen Alpha kids.

The question that concerned her is – How do we burst them? Where do we begin?

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