Just like 44,000 plus fans of JB, I managed to place myself in the Silver Plus stand of D.Y. Patil stadium in Navi Mumbai on 10th May-2017. It was first ever pop music live concert that I was attending in my life and as is being claimed, possibly the biggest live performance ever by an international artiste in India.
I belonged to a minority called middle aged..in that enthusiastic wave of teenagers i had no choice but to accept that i am indeed well past my young age. One could feel the enthusiasm,excitement,expectat
So I witnessed hordes of youngsters walking hands in hands with their boyfriends, girlfriends . They all beaming with enthusiasm about their idol's performance. Most of the girls in the best fashion-ware, many in such revealing and skimpy clothes..hardly anything left for imagination. As a part of my scheme of feeling young, I had managed to put myself in a borrowed little black dress or LBD as is generally called. Plunging necklines and shortest possible pants in the stadium took away all my embarrassment about my LBD. And yes, I did have a company. Indeed there were some hapless parents especially moms, who were trying their best to keep pace with changing times. Body language and facial expressions of these parents kept me occupied for long time. There were moms and dads walking with their kids. Kids sure to be grown up enough to handle themselves and parents just like other parents worried about their kids. A skinny girl in her hot pants looking all around and a father with his hands folded on his chest and looking at infinity!lolz! A boy and girl, enthusiastically telling their father about JB and a father nodding and trying his best to show some interest on his face! And, probably best among the lot were two mothers, wise enough to carry sheets, simply lie on the floor with those sheets wrapped around and enjoying their share of gossip when their kiddos swayed to the music of their generation. When we were getting exhausted with heat and thirst, youth around us was quenching thirst with beer and all kinds of alcohol. I also heard some pearls of wisdom from a friend to the other, "sweetie if you cant handle it, don't take so much!look at me, I had more than you and am fine!" I tried my best not to worry about those 18 something girls, sharing this dialogue with each other.
There are many other things happening around to keep us busy, many opportunities to get yourself clicked, write a love message for JB, get some T shirts with slogans about JB. And some mundane stuff like Coke to quench thirst, ice creams to escape from seething heat, boiled corn to stuff yourself. Middle aged like me would have a second thought before buying the stuff. Though I am trying to think young, my eyes are short of popping out when I know that a glass of Coke will cost me 150 rupees. Madness around me hardly cares for 150 rupees. Many of them had already spent thousands to be there. why would they really worry about hundreds!
From 4 to 8, doing practically nothing makes me feel " eh, whats happening, what am I doing here,when is this dude called Justine Beiber going to arrive" . I look around to check who all may be in my party. To my utter disappointment, except for a few parents around, rest of the lot doesn't seem a bit bored. And the moment finally comes, heartthrob of youngsters all around me, a young boy in a white T shirt and probably a baseball pant arrives. Some girls around me faint, some scream,some shout,tears start rolling, emotions start bursting, hustle bustle to have a glimpse of JB. There was music all around us from 4 to 8 but the music after 8 is special for the crowd. Its a music touched by the presence of their dear J.B. It doesn't matter for them even if it is obvious lip syncing. Doesn't matter for them even if his performance appears low on energy. What matters for them is his presence. What matters for them is he speaks their language. What matters for them is one lucky girl got hold of his scarf! What matters for them is he speaks a language of emotions, what matters for them is they can identify with his lyrics,with emotions behind those lyrics. Me with my bare 5 feet height cant even get a glimpse of J.B. But I remind myself of my plan to think young. So I offer to pick up my 11 year old on my shoulders, for her to have a glimpse of Justin Beiber. Mind you, she is still not part of the JB bandwagon. Possibly yet to arrive at teenage. I am trying to be young,smart,modern mom. With a hand from another middle aged mom, I stand there with my 11 year old on my shoulders for 5 long minutes. When I get her down, I ask her, did you see him? she simply says Yes. And then comes a shocking relief for me and my middle aged friend, our little daughters say to us, lets go home, we are hungry.
Whoa, climax to our long wait for the concert, efforts to keep our interest in the concert, efforts to be part of the young generation. I leave the D.Y. Patil stadium with mixed feelings. I still don't have the emotional connect with the music of Justin Beiber. I still feel little surprised as to what is so special about this boy. In spite of my best efforts, i do feel worried about the youngsters around me. What warms my heart is a comment from a young girl to her mom, " mom, I know you didn't enjoy it,I enjoyed it to the hilt, am glad that you allowed me to be part of this experience" I sit in the quietude of my car leaving behind a wave of youth,wave of enthusiasm,wave of madness. I switch on some retro music and the teenager in our car gets back to J.B. with her earplugs! that's life. Generations after generations have their own share of madness. Best to respect each madness if not enjoy!
