Live the Tension

Tension seems to be a buzz word in every persons life. From a child in school to an elderly person, everyone seems to be in some sort of tension. Tension about exams, cricket match, not having girl friends,finding girl friends, managing girl friends, financials, health etc seem to be bothering every person. Many times, most of these tensions are self created and not actual things to worry about. Competing with peers and friends for objects not essential in life are at times the causes of these tensions. Like an workaholic, who searches for work, a person used to taking tension, keeps on finding new tensions. He can not think of a life without tension. If there is no tension in his life, he thinks that something is going wrong.

I have friend who was tensed about his marriage process. Circumstances and fate lead to him being worried about the manner in which his bride hunt was processing. Every time I met him, he seemed to being worried about the process and the fact that he was not able to find the right partner. Some or the other obstacles seem to delay his hunt. Most of his day revolved around this activity. Soon he started giving up on the process and did not want to talk about it. May be it was his method of staying away from this anxiety. After a lot of efforts and anxious periods, everything went as per his plan and he got engaged to a girl. Everything went so fast and his engagement date was fixed. The heartening news could not stop me and another dear friend from meeting him on the day. While I felt that everything would be fine and he would be on the seventh sky, it did not turn out to be. He had new sets of tensions cropping up. Now it was about the engagement process and the tension of the fact that everything went so fast. As one set of tensions left him, another set of tension filled up his life. Honestly speaking nor his earlier tensions nor his new tensions were things to be worried about, but the habit of complicating things never goes. On the day of the engagement, after everything went fine, I overheard his mother enquiring to his to be daughter-in-law if the tension about the engagement process had been over. It kept me wondering what the tension could have been. Instead of enjoying the process, it was the tension that seemed to have been bothering the three of them.

As Newton said, mass can neither be created nor destroyed, it can only be transformed from one form to another. Tensions would remain in life irrespective of your position, status and age. The form and magnitude of tension varies.
A beggar in the street, is tensed about his daily meals. His life seems to revolve around his daily meals. He feels that if he gets money enough to give his required daily meals, everything would be great. However once that happens he aspires to earn more. This increases the tension. Once he starts earning money he aspires for more and so do his tensions increase. Irrespective of the money that he earns, the tension does not decrease. In fact, the amount of tensions increase. earlier he was worried about earning the money, now he is tensed about investing his money. Many people feel that rich business like Ambani and Tata would have all the happiness in life. however they do not realize the fact that these guys have many more tensions than the poor guy. They have to worry about those millions share holders and lakhs of employees whose family completely depend upon their decisions. Having a feet of cars and helicopters does not guarantee or mean no tension. it just means more and more tension.

A person should be able to distinguish between actual tension and created tension. If he is able to do so, he can focus on the real tensions of his life and try to solve them. Tension needs to be enjoyed and faced as a warrior faces the challenges.

Age limit for drinking

A lot is being said about the Maharashtra state government raising the legal drinking limit to 25 years. A few of them are in favour of it, while the major of them are debating the presence of the rule. I am sure many such debates would have taken place while the rule was being framed and the pros would have out classed the cons.

Like Tobacco, Alcohol production and trading gives a lot of revenue to the state government. Framing of such rule would definitely burn the pockets of the government. They would definitely miss on a lot of revenue which they would have earned through the production and sell of this dangerous product. However the state government should be applauded for coming up with such rule. I am sure they would have compared the potential revenue with the human loss and domestic violence that is caused due to the consumption of this product.

Most of the voices raised till now were from the class who consume alcohol or deal in alcohol. however very few has been heard from the non-drinkers. As a non-drinker, I have always been against the consumption of alcohol. It is not that I am against the high that this product gives you, but it is the domestic violence, early deaths and road accidents that makes be stand against this product.

Lot of people are saying that if the age limit of marriage and voting can be 21 and 18, then why are youngsters being considered immature to drink at the age of 18 or 21. Voting and marriage are not addictions, and to a great extent are necessities of life. Voting rights come into the picture on a very few occasions. They form the government and do not have any direct influence on the voter's right. Though a voter (under 25 years), is impacted by the government that is formed and their policies, he is not directly responsible for this formation. As against voting and marriage, drinking, is a luxury and more dangerously an addiction.

In foreign countries the drinking limit is as low as 16. However the fact that the climatic conditions (cold weather) in most of these countries favour drinking and the youngsters over here mature earlier that Indians do (physically and psychologically) can not be neglected. At the age of 21, an average Indian youngster is still dependent on his parents for his daily bread and other physiological needs. An average American or Russian is already independent at this age and is staying on his own. The weather in Maharashtra is hot and humid and does not require the consumption of alcohol to keep him cool.

Psychology states that a person gets addicted to smoking and drinking mostly before the age of 23. Very few youngsters have taken up drinking and smoking after the age of 23. The influence of peers/friends in this matter, reduces after this age and he/she is in a position to decide what is good for him and what is not. Before the age of 23, a person is highly influenced by his peers and friends. A youngster is in a mid state during this period. He is neither a child nor a man. The psychological and physical changes taking place in him makes him an easier target. The hurry to grow up and reveal his manliness to his friends and girls, results in him taking up drinking and smoking, which unfortunately his thinks is sign of being a man or being cool. If this psychological fact is to be believed, then raising up the drinking limit to 25 would reduce the drinking class substantially. Another reason that goes in favour of the rule.

Irrespective of the pros and cons of the rule, the state government should be applauded for coming up with such bold rule. I am hopeful and positive that many such bold rules would come up against the evils of the society. I am in favour of the implementation of this rule and any father would appreciate it to.