Today I’d like to offer a guest post from my good friend, Malika Gandhi, who would like to share a look at the modern Indian young adult population. This is a great one for Simmi fans!

How times have changed – Indian culture was once very strict and quite unforgiving. A girl wasn’t allowed to step outside after dark. She wasn’t allowed to go any place without an escort. She had to wear traditional Indian dress, have long plaited hair and was kept a close eye on but this was a long time ago.

Today young adults are rocking! Long gone are the curfews, the quiet family time at home and being indoors after nightfall.

Students when they are not in college

Any student relishes the idea of bunking classes and they would rather spend time outside, away from the stifling rooms, especially if the subject is boring. The question lies- what do they do otherwise?

With India at its great height of modernization, many places have given the young adults an excuse to not go to class but dwell outside-walks, cafes and the movies are part of their lives.

What do young adults call life? A close friend told me – midnight coffees, last minute revisions, tears for love, sitting at the back of the class watching pretty faces, horrible teachers – people call it students. They call it life!

But apart from college, the young adults here have another life altogether- Mumbai’s night life. It is a city described as the city that never sleeps.

As darkness falls, Mumbai comes alive until the early hours of the morning. Bars, pubs and clubs cater to everyone’s enjoyment. When some join their friends, some hop along to the beach front or sit by the beachside with their friends.

Why is “life” important?

Every young adult is ambitious and unlike the old times, the young people of today want to expand their horizons. They want to break away from the confines of marriage and children, at least until they are in their late twenties going to early thirties. They like the freedom of experiencing life, travelling, partying and having a career, if not more.

In the first few years of an Indian girl’s marriage, the focus is entirely on family and household responsibilities whereas this is not the case for the boy, who carries on life outside the family dwelling, working in his chosen field.

So, it is important for the young female to see life as much as possible before settling down.

Fashion of the Young Adult in India

Moving from a village setting to a city, one can see the diverse change of clothing fashion. In a city that changes every day, girls and boys like to be trendy and cool. Out goes the old and in comes the new – Indian salwaars and churidaars are discarded for t-shirts, kurtis, skirts and jeans for the most image conscious. For the most traditional, saris and salwaars are still worn, but in a current form.

With the western world being a big influence on the silver screen, the young adult follow the current trend religiously. As soon as the latest Kareena Kapoor and Hrithik Roshan (infamous Bollywood stars) fashion’s come out into the market, the second their film is released, the young adults are ontoit. A bindaas (great) attitude!

Festivals and the young adult

India is rich in culture and tradition, and the young people of today haven’t forgotten that. Even though they fellow the western world, they still follow and respect India’s festivals, such as Diwali, Holi, Eid, Navratri, Dussera, Ganesh Chaturthi and many more.

A week long annual fair known as the Bandra Fair is celebrated by all faiths to celebrate the Nativity of Mary on 8th September. A colourful and diverse meaning is taken from each of these festivals and it is celebrated with zest.

The young adults of India are really no different from other young people from other cities, perhaps the only difference is the embrace of eastern and western values and cultures, which are infused into their lifestyle to bring spiritualism and harmony with the enjoyment of socialism.