Why PDA?

Nowadays its almost becoming like the next best thing to do on the road. Before, it was just there in the film or maybe the SITCOM - the hero used to run around the trees hand in hand with his woman. Then came coffee shops, temples, book stores, the library, and many other public places. Oh yes, how can we forget the beach. And now we see all of it around us.

Today if you take a walk around the most visited public places in Chennai, you can hear noises that you'd usually hear inside the bedroom rather within the four walls of any place where you'd find some privacy. Sometimes you'll also get to see more. If you walked along the beach, you'd find people engaged in a lust filled activity. And perhaps this is not just with Chennai, it might be true with every city that is trying so hard and fast to be on the track of becoming a Metro.

This was the topic of yesterday's discussion on TV - whether we should allow such things or should we try and stop this?

Our country is going through a phase of transition where we have been questioning the certainities of the past with the happenings of the present. Our's is a place where a guy walks into an Infosys or a Wipro and calls his CEO by first name but does not do anything of that sort to his elders when he is at home. The indian mindset is one place where you will find a bluetooth dongle and a religious pendant co-existing in the 21st century. So, for a fact, we know that we are one of the most self-adjusted species in the world. Given that, should we allow Public Display of Affection (PDA)?

People argue that its me and my partner. How does it bother you? Well the point is that we have never lived like that in this country. We dont live in India like how I lived in London for 2 yrs. My neighbors didnt even smile at me in those 2 years and it was NOT because of me! There, most people live just for themselves. They call it their SPACE. Whatever, perhaps such societies were more outward and were not bound by rules of religion or anything in those lines. But even in a place like London, there are restrictions. Once when walking into the train station, I saw two people making out big timein one of the building corners. Quite soon, the police came around and asked them to leave.

So there is definitely a limit everywhere and with things like this, we cannot afford to create a law or draw a line telling what we can do in public and what we cannot. It is a personal choice.

The fact is ours is still a free land. People can do what they want as long as it does not affect the general life of a person. Kissing and hugging someone on the road obviously does not affect a third person on the bike. The only thing that could happen is he might get distracted and bump into the next vehicle on the front. And we cannot say that people should mind their own business. After all you are in a public place and respecting certain untold values that our society cherishes, we should keep ourselves in control of what we do. The only question is - would you do that in front of your family or friends. Not quite, right! So there is the answer.