In some part of the world, in a room crammed with high-powered computer hardware and cables, a youth hunches over a cryptocurrency mining machine, validating transactions and securing the network by solving complex mathematical problems to earn a newly-minted virtual currency as block reward.
He is preparing for a future in which the use of dollar-backed stablecoins and virtual currencies like Bitcoin, Ethereum, Dogecoin, Ripple, Litecoin and others would be commonplace.
In another part, a slightly jittery YouTuber volunteers to test-drive a full self-driving (FSD) vehicle to gauge its capabilities. His sight is also on a future, where autonomous ride-hailing cabs could become a reality.
In yet another corner of the globe, a journalist is pleased as punch to discover the possibilities of Artificial Intelligence (AI), merrily stabbing his keyboard to churn out story after story. He had never garnered so many bylines in a single day. His twinkling eyes were looking towards the future.
His sight is also towards a future, where autonomous ride-hailing cabs could become a reality.
Then, in a part of the world eclipsed by the past, a youth incited by an alleged insult of a historical hero charges forward to avenge it. He fuses into the crowd exploding with unfounded rage and completely engulfed by the past. He cannot see the future, cast in shadow.
In a country, or a place, preoccupied with the past and consumed with the obsession of bending or erasing some part of it, a youth’s future can be obscured. His glance is so fixed on the rear-view mirror that he can hardly see the path ahead.
Time, and time again, the past or historical events have flared violence and riots through India. In it all, Goa had always been like an island, which refused to let the widespread spark of incendiary narrative ignite it.
Probably, it could be because the tiny coastal State does not share a large part of its past with the rest of India.
It could also be because Goans were ensconced in susegad – an existence of contentment emanating from relishing little moments of life. Its youth were not easily taken in by popular commentaries of history that drove a wedge between communities or groups.
Time, and time again, the past or historical events have flared violence and riots through India. In it all, Goa had always been like an island, which refused to let the widespread spark of incendiary narrative ignite it.
For them, a life as a merchant navy officer in the middle of the sea or strumming hummable tunes on the guitar, or rustling up that perfect Chicken Cafreal in the hotel kitchen or sketching affable caricatures of everyday people and eye-pleasing couture or creating aesthetically iconic buildings were more compelling.
Their interest in Goa’s historical past was only intellectual, or to get a sense of their lineage. It was never a matter of discord between the different communities which have made Goa their home over the years.
And so, last month, when a group of youth in Goa took up the cudgels to protect the honour of a historical figure from centuries back, there was a sense of unease among many Goans. This feeling of disquiet in them was like ripples caused when a stone is flung into still water.
In recent times, specifically post the Covid-19 pandemic, the coastal State has been witnessing a sea change in its demography, which is gradually changing its character. The decibels of irrational and radical voices are getting higher, threatening to drown its sane and rational voices.
Goa’s youth and their future are at the risk of getting swept away by these voices. They have the power to whip up communal or sectarian tensions that could make Goa’s tranquil shores a tinderbox ready to explode.
Goa’s youth and their future are at the risk of getting swept away by these voices which have the power to whip up communal or sectarian tensions that could make Goa’s tranquil shores a tinderbox ready to explode.
Goa must save its youth from such obsessive distractions of the past, and bring them back on the path of the future, where they can tune up with the rest of the world.