From the eyes of a 1986 born

Milestones in life are always waiting to be reached. Or perhaps just waiting to be created.  We as humans are always looking for something to define our journey. After all, "it is the journey that matters and not the destination!".

I have recently reached a personal milestone myself. I don't quite feel different. It is in fact the fluidity of life that the milestones in age are hardly pit stops allowing us a moment of pause and breath. But nonetheless it is a moment which in my head counts as important enough to be marked and declared.

Looking back on the past 30 years, I would be exaggerating, and rather unrealistically, if I said that I remember all of it. But nonetheless, the parts I do remember, sure do make me realise that even though I have lived so little, I have experienced that so much more.

The (19)80s were a particularly intriguing decade. And I have always been drawn to its simple yet fast-tracking vibe. The 80s were brilliant; though quietly so. Everyone remembers the first half of the century which was riddled with political dynamism, peaking with the Second World War. The second half of the century found its evolving identity in each decade. The 50s were about the Hollywood boom; the 60s iconised by the hippie culture; the ever disco-ey 70s; skipping forward to the popping pop 90s. The 80s have always been slightly under-toned and occasionally forgotten.

But surely, being an 80s child myself, I cannot fathom dimming the fabulousness of my birth decade.

Growing up as an 80s born child in India, meant that most of 80s American television found its way into our homes growing up in the 90s. From 'Different Strokes' to 'Full House' to 'Three's Company' and 'Small Wonder'; just to name a few. And then there were classic Indian shows like 'Vikram aur Betaal' and 'Malgudi Days', spilling over into shows like 'Zabaan Sambhal Ke' and 'Dekh Bhai Dekh'. So while I may not have grown up in the 80s, the 80s found me as I was growing up.

And the affinity and attraction logically spilled over into music. Anyone who has ever seen my playlist would know that 80s music runs in my veins!

But I digress. Life has not all been about being stuck in one decade. The beauty of being an 80s child has been the wonderful transition that we have been a part of, which possibly the children of today will never understand. Technologically, culturally, socially, academically, soulfully, I have had the privilege of living through a lot of change.

One example being music. Perhaps it comes down to personal choices, but to me, having grown up with parents who love The Carpenters and Boney M and Harry Belafonte and Abba, I am naturally drawn to their music. Nonetheless, I am equally mesmerised by contemporary tunes.

I have also had the privilege of experiencing how to program my VCR to record the right episode at the right time, on the right channel, while occasionally, albeit accidentally, taping over previously recorded shows. Using the audio tape-recorder to record my own voice singing, while desperately making sure that there is no background noise. And now here I am typing this piece on my iPad Air 2, while my Tata Sky Plus has been put on pause, with another tv show on record in the background.

But this journey has not all been about technological and cultural transitions. Being born in a family that travels immensely, having moved a lot, yet stayed constant somehow, life has been generous with its shades.

Perhaps these aged milestones are not to take a pause before embarking onto the future, but just a tap on the shoulder saying, "Hey, just look how far you have come and all the things you have seen and done; all the people you have met, all the places you have been. You're not getting older; you're just getting fuller and richer in life. Be it things which you enjoyed or not. This is who you are because of what you been through. You have lived. Life does not begin now. It continues!"

To be 30, from the perspective of a 1986 born girl, born and raised in New Delhi, India, it has been quite a journey. And now, equally excited for the voyages ahead.

Here we go... ^_^