Sunday, August 16, 2009

You Know You Are Twenty Something When...

Caution: This is not a typical bakwas post..was in a bit of reflective mood today. Don’t say you haven’t been warned!


  • People you have grown up with start getting married. (4 out of my college group of 6 and 2 out of my school group of 4 are married.)
  • Your discussions no longer involve trying to understand if a guy is boyfriend material. They revolve more on the lines of is he husband material.

  • The question you are most frequently asked is” So what kind of a guy are you looking for?” And yet you don’t seem to have a convincing answer ready.(I was once asked this question at a dinner with a family friend. Trust me, it isn’t easy when you are put in a spot in front of 20 pairs of eyes just waiting for you to answer.)
  • You cannot come out of a wedding/ family occasion without being introduced to some long lost aunt’s amerika returned son.
  • When the most common blessing you receive is “Jaldi se tumhe koi acha sa ladka mil jaye
  • When the most common compliment you receive is “Your husband will be the luckiest guy in the world” (My friend introduced me to her fiancée last week. After dinner, my friend called me to say that her fiancée thought I was a nice girl and that my husband would be the luckiest guy in the world. I am still unsure if that is a compliment for me or an insult for my friend.)
  • When random bacchas and street urchins start calling you aunty. (I was at the doctor’s clinic waiting for my turn, when a pair of twins got fascinated with the cell phone in my hand. The bolder of the two trotted towards me and said” Aunty can I please see your cell phone?” Needless to say, I faked a call and scrammed out of there.)
  • You invite your boss for your birthday party where his baccha starts singing "Happy birthday dear aunty!" (I had to endure 1 whole minute of Happy Birthday dear aunty when my boss’s over enthusiastic kiddo decided to sing for me.)
  • When you have to keep reminding people of your age just so that they don’t assume you are as old as some of your friends. (I have devised a new trick. Just tell them my year of graduation and let them do the math J)
  • When salespeople at sari shops try selling saris to you with a sly “Abhi toh baby ko bhi sari ki jarorat lagegi
  • You can get great discounts just by smiling at sales boys. (Yeah I have tried that…It works!)
  • When your doctor who once got irritated by your incessant chatter starts getting amused and actually responds back with a fair degree of blabbering himself.
  • When you can get a government official to actually talk to you without making it seem as if he is doing you some kind of a favor.(It took me 15 minutes to get my car documents in place at the RTO while my dad was asked to run around from counter to counter before being asked to come back the next day.)
  • When people start taking offence when you call them uncle.
  • When you wonder if you are in the right job or if you are with the right guy.(I have been having these thoughts for over a year now but yet have decided to stick with what I have because change scares me)
  • When you start analyzing your life and wonder if you would do things differently if you could do them all over again.
  • When you watch movies and start identifying yourself with the characters.
  • When you look at college going kids and wonder where those wonder years disappeared.
  • When you have to cancel lunch plans with your close buddy more than once because something official came up.
  • When your parents start taking your opinion on financial matters.
  • When you start buying gifts for your parents on their birthdays.
  • When your friends ask you to be their child’s godmother.
  • When you read emails, which talk about quarter life crisis and identify with most of the points.
  • When you walk comfortably in stilettos and trip wearing flats.(Now, is that just me??)
  • When you aren’t excited about your birthday anymore, infact each approaching birthday fills you with dread.
List abhi baki hai mere dost..just dont have the energy to keep my eyes open right now..too sleepy..will add more later :)

Edit:This post has ended up making most of my friends feel old. Trust me that wasnt the idea at all. I just wanted to write about all the irritations and frustrations we all are going through.

I am sure there are things we all wanna change about our lives right now...trust me I have a list ready. I guess its all a part of growing up.

If we start feeling old at 20, I wonder how we will feel when we touch our 30s. **Shudders**

69 comments:

Useless Bugger said...

Heh, heh... and just how old are you? 45? ;-)

Kidding. Good post. The year of graduation trick, you know what thats exactly what I do too, if I need to know a girls' age. "So which college are you from? What year did you pass out" . Bingo!

:-)

The Aspirant said...

ha ha ha ha
well it might seem funny but most of the things u hv mentioned r true. I am still lucky dat hv 3 more yrs of cllg, but may b sumday i vl too be writing sumthing lyk dis.....
nd ur graduation trick of telling age was gr8888888.......

nice blog

cheers

Par said...

lol. all that is so true!
cos of all this i stopped celebrating my birthday 2-3 years ago! :)

Lakshmi said...

Wow... I can relate to each of these points... great going...I loved all of it.. :)

Gauri said...

Woman! (seeing that ur twenty something like me :D)... I can totally relate to this post (and u cannot see how frivolously i am typing this comment) but i totally agree to many points (sales-boy, blessing, govt. official)

Fun part about my friends: They got hitched even before GRADUATION! :O

once after presentation after , my colleague's maid (who is holding the my colleague's baby) asks me to hold the baby; and I oblige.
Seeing me handling the baby in my arms with relative ease; she pips: "Didi, aapki shaadi ko kitne saal ho chuke hai?"

and I am like.. :O

*sigh*

Tarun Mitra said...

Everybody goes thru it Shanu Aunty ;)...This is the freaky chakra...

Two year ago, I was returning from my job. Just out of college, i didn't saw it coming to me. I was sitting with a married woman with her kid. On a station an elderly lady boarded the train. I proffered her my seat. She return kissed the kid in the woman's lap and told him how good is ur daddy?

GAAA I was embarrassing. but u know the word uncle become more suitable to you from that day..:P

Meow said...

Wonderfully put!! I am in the initial stages now.. after 3 or 4 yrs am sure I'll be writing something like this in my blog too (this also is sign of TWENTY SOMETHING right :P) loved it
Shanu :)

gayathri vishwanathan said...

When the most common blessing you receive is “Jaldi se tumhe koi acha sa ladka mil jaye”

aunty logon ko naya dialogues seekhana padega...nywys my q: shaadi kab hain teri? main kab aaon free khana khane?? :)

Soin said...

i once called some girls aunty and they turned out to be my college mates..and its really insulting when your nephew or niece call you uncle..worst feeling..free

Sid said...

Yeah u r old, even ur blog posts read like nani's advice :P

Naina said...

woaaaaaaaaaa.. i am a twenty something.. and this post was a laughter riot for me.. just coz i could relate to all of that.. :D i have crossed a few steps more about that 'right guy' thingy.. wonderful funny and so damn true..

Rane

v said...

uuggghh..gulp.. 20 something.. I am one of those too! :( of all the things you have mentioned.. being called aunty is the worst!

Archana said...

Haha being a 20-something myself, I could definitely relate! Good post,with lots of spot-on points. :)

There are lots of little kids that live in my neighborhood, and whenever I go walk my dog, they're always like "Aunttty, can I play with your doggie!?". Well I guess you can't blame them, from their view point in life I guess any one who looks like a lady versus a girl equates to Aunty. As for dreading bdays, for some reason, it doesn't really scare me. I think the whole mid-life crisis hitting people at 25 is a tad over-rated, heh. I say there's one day in the year where everyone is celebrating my birth, what's there to complain about? It's just a whole lot of "yay for archana", which I'm so with, haha. :P

Meira said...

hahaha
and as soon as you are married, the "now when are you giving us the good news" becomes the new mantra for the junta! sheesh!
and even I trip when in flats. heels have become a must :

Pooja Mahimkar said...

haha, so true. and i hate it with when those people saying saaris, call me baby... i mean WTF!

and neways the trick about smiling at the sales guys to get discounts...well,ill surely try that :D

and nice list.
keep blogging

HaRy!! said...

Guess i can relate to most of the stuff mentioned!:) gov officials yeah..cud nt agree more on that! And yeah i watch back all the wonder years..nice write

H a R y

Tall Guy said...

Funny how everything changes as we age.

I can understand the pain :) but this is life!!

Dhanya said...

LOLZ! I identified with almost every point! Oh my gosh...

LOVED this post of yours :D :D

*Hugzz*

Unknown said...

hello auntyji!
aap ka dukhbhara post padh ke mazaa aaya ya sympathy, ye to decide karke batana padegaa :P

All I can say is - just wait till you hit your 30's! I'm sure this thought will make you enjoy and appreciate your twenties even more :D

As the Mind Meanders said...

I don't know if it is normal... but this uncle thing started happening to me when I was 16... I would ask these women out and they would go... "chal uncle fut le" :-(

Unknown said...

Hello aunty,
Here is another one for you....

The celebs you have been following want to settle down and make babies because their biological clock is running out!!! ;-)

Shanu said...

@ Parry

Nahi re..I am 54 :P

Shanu said...

@ The Aspirant

Welcome to my blog :)Keep dropping by!

Shanu said...

@ Par

Havent reached that stage yet..Althgh i dread them..i love celebratin my bdays..yup a bundle of contradictions...thatz me!

Shanu said...

@ Lakshmi

Thanks babe :)

Shanu said...

@ Gkam

Lol @ ur presentation ka stry!

Shanu said...

@ Tarun

Aunty mat kaho na :P

Shanu said...

@ Sowmi

Ill wait for your list :)

Shanu said...

@ Gayathri

Wada hai dost...meri shaadi main tereko jaroor bulayegi

Shanu said...

@ Soin

I know wat u mean!!

Shanu said...

@ Sid

U are only a yr younger, dont u frgt..uncle!!

Shanu said...

@ Rane

thanks gal!

Shanu said...

@ Perplexed

You said it babe!

Shanu said...

@ Archana

:) Yeah thatz one way of looking at it :)

Shanu said...

@ Meira

Yay..finally sum1 like me!!

Shanu said...

@ Pooja

yup try it..it wrks :)

Shanu said...

@ HARY

Thanks :)

Shanu said...

@ Survivor

Welcome to my blog :)

Shanu said...

@ Dhanya

Yay..thnks babe..Hugz back :)

Shanu said...

@ Spikey

Just one 1..tu shaana hai kya?

Shanu said...

@ Mindey

Nopes my frnd...u are one of a kind!

Shanu said...

@ Spikey

Huh???

Unknown said...

huh bole toh? samaj mein nahi aaya? chal, dheere type karta hoon is baar...

the celebs u have been following in ur teens have grown up and as their bio clock is ticking, they are showing signs of wanting babies... applicable to female celebs only... ab samjhaa??

Shanu said...

@ Spike

H-U-H ??

Blunt Edges said...

hell why on earth did i identify with a few of those...I AIN'T OLD!!!

the ones that actually got me wondering:
1. "When you watch movies and start identifying yourself with the characters." --- it happens so often these days...n i was thinking its just me!!!

2. "When you look at college going kids and wonder where those wonder years disappeared." --- sigh! that's all i muster up when that happens :(

3. "When your parents start taking your opinion on financial matters." --- i kinda like that :D:D

4. "When you read emails, which talk about quarter life crisis and identify with most of the points." --- they should ban those kinda frwds! ;)

cool post n a very relevant one...n 2 think i came here looking 4 some bakwaas...sigh! ab main kaha jau???

Shanu said...

@ Blunty

First and foremost..Hello i aint old either!!

I am 20something..and i didnt expt that comment from an 20something... im truly offended!

Secondly, dont u worry..sadu mood that..isliye aisa post likha..next time se tereko taza garma garam bakwaas milega..ok??

Blunt Edges said...

deal :D

i knew i could always bank on u 2 serve piping hot bakwaas ;)

Shanu said...

@ Blunty

Go home..its 8:40! And if u are home already toh ..aare wah...internet connection kabhi liya?

Unknown said...

billi eating 100 rats then going to haj !?? jaan kar bhi anjaan... hain!

Blunt Edges said...

was in office yaar...i'll be taking a net conn soon...m not at home much these days...toh time nahi mila...hopefully this weekend :)

Shanu said...

@ Spike

Shana tu hai billi..main toh innocent types hai!

Shanu said...

@ Blunty

Kya bat kar raha hai...6 baje tak baithne ke nam se rone wala blunty 8.30 tak office main tha?? Chamatkar!!

iceprincess said...

shit shit shit.....
i feel old....
:(
i can identify witj most of the points.....
sheesh...
scarily accurate..and if i dont bring in d emotions..it is fantastic read....
:)

Shanu said...

@ Anjana

There was a time when i used to refer to 20 yr olds as "old"..I dont anymore.

This post has ended up makin every1 feel old..that wasnt the point :(
I just wanted to bring to light the silent irritations and frustrations we all go thru..Oh well..i hope i do better next time :(

Reema said...

OMG!! u have nailed it!! so true all the points.

Shanu said...

@ Reema

Thanks babe :)

Americanising Desi said...

i have less to change in my life and more to change around me..
yea i m that psychotic!

bondgal_rulz said...

Alright!! Scary post. But then again, I ahd been warned in advance. ;)

Ohhh!! I hate change too!!

And ye doctor waala point kya yaar? How is that supposed to signify someone is getting old?? I'm confused. My dentist has over the period of 2 years actually started responding to my banter. Reason to worry?? :D

Awesome post Shanu.

Cheers

AMIT said...

Yeah sometimes we are called by the name we dont like.

Web hosting india

Zeba said...

Awwwn. I am still in my college phase, but some people have already started taking offence when I call them uncle or aunt! *sigh

Zeba said...

Awwwn. I am still in my college phase, but some people have already started taking offence when I call them uncle or aunt! *sigh

Anonymous said...

ohh this was such a gem of a post.. can relate to each line of it n how couldnt i?
nice post..
great blog!!

Shanu said...

@ AD

Trust me gal...u aint the only one!

Shanu said...

@ Bondgal

Nahi re..I guess earlier my doc wld just brush it off as childish chatter..but now he cant brush me off can he. And I guess the catchwrd here is not getting old..but getting 'older' :P

Shanu said...

@ Amit

Yeah! And there isnt much we can do abt it can we?

Shanu said...

@ Zeba

I guess they dont want a PYT (Pretty young thing) calling them uncle :P

Shanu said...

@ Wishes Galore

Thanks :)

Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious said...

Hey... this is an awesomely interesting post. I'm linking this on my FB and Twitter. Hope that's cool with you. Cheers!
Sonia

Shanu said...

Absolutely! Pls go ahead:)