It was the old debate revisited: those in the west think it is immature for adults to be living in their parents’ home. In the east, this is not only natural and practical, it is a desirable way of life. The debate was reignited on Twitter when someone made a comment and addressed it at Junior Bachchan (Abhishek Bachchan) - appeared to be some plain old attention-seeking, and was handled as such:
This tweet said “Don’t feel bad about your life,” because Abhishek Bachchan still lives with his parents. Apparently, it is really lame that a 42-year-old still lives with his parents.
Jr Bachchan clarified that he was proud of the fact that he is there for his parents now as they have always been there for him.
They were either fans of Senior Bachchan or Junior Bachchan – or they simply felt the need to defend the tradition of families of several generations living together under the same roof.
Many supported Bachchan, some asked why he even bothered to dignify the original dig with any kind of answer. To which he replied – sometimes people need to be put in their place.
Years back, Aishwarya Rai had to face a similar question on the David Letterman show, which she deftly parried.
Clearly she and her husband have to field this question a lot. They do it with significant aplomb – as Abhishek did here on the Oprah Winfrey show.
The joint family is almost a default system in India. It is economical, great for kids to have their grandparents around, and also great for parents to have support and wisdom from the older generation. In turn, the aged are taken care of in the evening of their lives. Besides, it’s the ‘sanskari’ thing to do!
It is seen as very uncool to be living with your parents if you're an adult, but maybe attitudes will change? Perhaps the West can learn from the East one of these days? For reasons of practicality if not emotion?
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