Family Life
"The strength of a family; like the strength of an army, lies in loyalty to each other."
-Mario Puzo
[In Clockwise Order] Atharva Shirsat – Analyst; Aneesh Nadgouda – Group Leader, Editor & Writer; Yash Gupta – Analyst & Writer; Aditya Kedia – Videographer; [Cropped out] Samarth Gulla – Photographer
I am Aneesh Nadgouda of S.M.Shetty International School. I’m 14 years old and my hobbies are cycling, trekking and playing video games. I also like to cook and love music and play the guitar. I aspire to become an engineer or lawyer. I’m privileged to be part of the 3 Generation project. Even if some of you may have differing opinions I deem family life to be very important. Your family is your first teacher and is responsible for the development of your personality. Issues within, or with the family can cause a lot of problems in the upbringing of a child. Family life is definitely worth examining and can help countless families everywhere.
I’m Yash Gupta from S.M.Shetty International School. I am 14 years old and some of my hobbies are playing video games, playing basketball and reading books. I aspire to be a software programmer. Family life is a pretty important topic and I’m very happy to be a part of this project; after all it is our families which teach us values and help us to become well balanced individuals. No one can ever love us like our own family.
My name is Atharva Shirsat. I’m 14 years old and some of my hobbies are playing video games and outdoor games. I aspire to be a CEO of a big company that I start myself. I feel family life is a valid topic and it’s something I’d gladly work for.
My name is Aditya Kedia. I’m 15 years old and some of my hobbies playing video games, playing football, reading books and disturbing people. I aspire to become a software programmer, and I’m too lazy to write further…… Why else do you think I’m the videographer?
My name is Samarth Gulla. I’m 13 years old and some of my hobbies are playing video games and playing guitar. I aspire to be an IIT graduate engineer.
I’m Yash Gupta from S.M.Shetty International School. I am 14 years old and some of my hobbies are playing video games, playing basketball and reading books. I aspire to be a software programmer. Family life is a pretty important topic and I’m very happy to be a part of this project; after all it is our families which teach us values and help us to become well balanced individuals. No one can ever love us like our own family.
My name is Atharva Shirsat. I’m 14 years old and some of my hobbies are playing video games and outdoor games. I aspire to be a CEO of a big company that I start myself. I feel family life is a valid topic and it’s something I’d gladly work for.
My name is Aditya Kedia. I’m 15 years old and some of my hobbies playing video games, playing football, reading books and disturbing people. I aspire to become a software programmer, and I’m too lazy to write further…… Why else do you think I’m the videographer?
My name is Samarth Gulla. I’m 13 years old and some of my hobbies are playing video games and playing guitar. I aspire to be an IIT graduate engineer.
Interviews
The Layout
- Gender
- Type of family; number of members in family
- Jobs of parents
- Location of residence
- Any historical events witnessed
Parents
1. Ajay Gupta
- Male
- Nuclear family, 4 members
- Father – Entrepreneur
- Mother – Entrepreneur
- Mumbai, Maharasthra
- Assassination of Prime Minister, Indira Gandhi, 1984. Sikhs and their households were set on fire by congress party workers, and the army was called in to patrol the streets 24/7. Everyone was shaken.
2. Vinayak Shirsat
- Male
- Nuclear family, 5 members
- Father – Government Officer
- Mumbai, Maharashtra
- Bhopal Gas Tragedy, Many people lost their lives due to the leakage of poisonous gas into the atmosphere. I realized the importance of nature and the environment.
3. Anubha Nadgouda
- Female
- Extended family, 5 members
- Father - Banker
- Mother – Banker
- Mumbai, Maharasthra
- The historical achievement of Rakesh Sharma, first Indian astronaut to travel in space. I was in awe and discussed the even t extensively.
- Assassination of Prime minister, Indira Gandhi, 1984. There was a lot of civil unrest and we were terrified.
4. Meghna Dalmia
- Female
- Extended family, 15 members
- Father - Businessman
- Charkhi Dadri, Haryana
- Assassination of Prime Minister, Rajiv Gandhi, 1991.
Intra-Parent Similarities
- They all had high respect for their parents and were afraid of them.
- They never questioned their parents.
- They all played out in the sun all day with their friends.
- They all grew up in Mumbai.
Intra-Parent Differences
- Their parents had different professions.
- Not everyone had a whole family : Some had parents who passed away.
- Half of the parents had a nuclear family and the other half had an extended family.
Grandparents
1. Ratnaprabha Shirsat
- Female
- Extended Family, 10 members
- Father - Farmer and Trader
- Mother – Farmer and Trader
- KonKon, Maharasthra
- Independence of India, The British overlords were overthrown.
2. Narayan Nadgouda
- Male
- Nuclear family, 9 members
- Father – Government Hospital Medical Department
- Bijapur, Karnataka
3. Asha Gupta
- Female
- Extended family, 7 members
- Father – Businessman
- New Delhi
- Delhi Earthquake, 1960. Massive earthquake, 6.0 on richter’s scale. All of us got evacuated safely.
Intra-Grandparent Similarities
- They had a lot of siblings and lived together in bungalows.
- They all had high respect for their parents and were afraid of them.
- They didn’t have a very good childhood and didn’t get to play in the open because India was under the rule of the British and India was involved in wars like the Indo – China war.
Intra-Grandparent Differences
- Some had extended families and some had nuclear families.
- They came from different backgrounds as their parents had different professions.
- They lived in different parts of the country.
Comparison between Parents and Grandparents
Differences between Parents and Grandparents
- Different childhood, the parents played outdoors all day where as the grandparents could hardly play outside as they lived under the rule of the British with wars going on throughout the nation.
- Their parents had different professions.
- They witnessed very different historical events
- Most grandparents lived in bungalows with a lot of family members living together.
- Most grandmothers used to be housewives due to the mindset at that time whereas mothers, now days, have started working.
Similarities between Parents and Grandparents
- They all had high respect for their parents and always listened to them without questioning.
- Lived in strict and disciplined families where parents never respected children’s opinions.
- All lived in India.
- All the families of both parents and grandparents had a minimum of 4 members.
Conclusion
After analyzing all the interviews we have deduced that the families of both parents and grandparents did not have strong bonds and seldom interacted with their relatives. Nothing like ‘family time’ existed. Children were not deemed important and were never respected. Children feared their parents.
The grandparents lived in a war struck country fighting to maintain its freedom, which it had recently attained. They lived in tough times where they had to fight for their survival and struggle for a good education and a stable household. They did not get the same rights as we do now and several basic necessities; considered to be keystone today, were privileges in their time. They toiled tremendously to give their children a good childhood and upbringing, but consequently couldn’t spend as much time with them and family members couldn’t bond very well within themselves.
During our parents’ wonder years, times were not as hard but family members never interacted with each other anyways. Fathers and mothers both started working while children were left alone. The children became more self-reliant and efficient, confident and ready to face the world at a very early age; however, consequently, the family got no time to spend together.
The grandparents lived in a war struck country fighting to maintain its freedom, which it had recently attained. They lived in tough times where they had to fight for their survival and struggle for a good education and a stable household. They did not get the same rights as we do now and several basic necessities; considered to be keystone today, were privileges in their time. They toiled tremendously to give their children a good childhood and upbringing, but consequently couldn’t spend as much time with them and family members couldn’t bond very well within themselves.
During our parents’ wonder years, times were not as hard but family members never interacted with each other anyways. Fathers and mothers both started working while children were left alone. The children became more self-reliant and efficient, confident and ready to face the world at a very early age; however, consequently, the family got no time to spend together.
Comparison to Trinitas
Similarities with Trinitas
- Grandparents in both nations couldn't enjoy their lives due to crises.
- Parents in both nations had better lives than grandparents, but aren't as privileged as we are today.
- Grandparents and parents led disciplined lives, with a permanent schedule, whereas we have a more casual, free lifestyle.
Differences with Trinitas
- In the Netherlands the size of the houses remains the same throughout the three generations whereas in India, People used to live in enormous bungalows, but due to the surge in population, people now have to live in smaller apartments to fully utilize space.
- In India people go out to eat frequently as a means of recreation, unlike the Netherlands where they go out to eat only on special occasions.
- In India people take small breaks frequently, irrelevant to how much they earn, unlike in the Netherlands where it depends on their income.