"Do you have an extra cigarette", "Lets go for a drink", "How about a weekend", "Are you shy" are some of the expression that might fall into your ears when you try to dodge crowded streets of London. Not very often you hear them but you do hear them. They can really scare you when you hear them from some strangers. Why am I brooding over this without giving my readers a context? What do they signify? Who expresses them?
One summer evening I was strolling along a busy street in Wimbledon. Street full of people pass through me with various intentions in mind. Illuminating yellow mercury lights and a touch of romance with wonderful smell of fragrance made my life bubbling. People rush to reach their purpose made me aware that this city does not have time to stand and stare at each other. This makes me rush even though I don't have to. When I was pretending to be rushing two beautifully dressed blondes adorned with fragrance and artificial jewellery whispered into my ever sharp ears, "do have a cigarette" which took completely with a scary surprise. First of all I don't smoke and hate when people smoke around me, making me passive smoker, secondly they were absolute strangers. I replied to them with a my intimidating pleasant smile, "I don't smoke." This was an icing on the cake for the girls because they felt I was a good man. As I walked pass them, they decided to follow me and whisper some more pleasant surprising things into my ears, like "are you shy" "where do you live" "you are so handsome" etc. By now I was absolutely sure that they were looking for more than a cigarette but ignorent me never new the language of this world in which I live. They were looking for a night with them. I just ignored them further and walked my way thinking about my own ignorance and lack of knowledge about the young people who go about doing what they like. I assumed that they were either young prostitutes who are desperate for money or some teenagers who just like to experience something from an adult or they could be anything, let me not run my imagination wild.
London keeps me on my toes every minute, either studies or some extravaganza which is every day business for Londoners. But London streets really scare me because there can be anyone on the street who are like prowler looking to devour you. It seems like London is ever green with several activities that are going on in and around us but we have keep our eyes wide open and do the needful. Most often I think that London is a wonderful city for studies and it is right but it can be quite depressing too if you don't have money, like these two girls who approached me. One of the students I met said that she went for stripping not because she wanted to, but simply because she could not suppost her studies and her ailing mum. I presume that there are more students like this who go for the thing which they don't usually like to do but situation has lead them to do against their own interest and will.
I think this is not only case of London but most cities around the world where young people try to meet their needs. Rise in college fees and rise in food materials has changed the situation of the young people in the world. Many drop out of college, some decide to take the path where they can get easy money like selling their skin and so on. How are we to respond to this perpetual problem of the youth? Does the government have any answer for this or its just doing what pleases the politicians? I have not an answer to them but I do agree that there is a problem which will remain a problem until one day youth decide to take to the streets as it happened in August on London roads and as it is happening on Wall Street in America.
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