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English speaking cultural icons in India have always made a lot more money than those who can’t. Their self assured regal presence, their grey-edged laconic attitudes and witty asides in the vernaculars have been in demand everywhere in the media, in literary fests and as emcees on stage – until in 2026 they suddenly can’t. They are dazed immigrants in this new digital world where the young control the social-media communicating in a new ‘khichdi’ language with limited number of words propped up with music and memes.

Problem with the old (read boomers and Gen-X-verging-on-boomerdom), is that they are used to an era of talking emotionally to vast audiences but without actual feeling. Saying for example, ‘Ma aaj bhi bahut yaad aati hai (I still remember Mother a lot)’ in a choked voice to find emotive resonance within their traditional audiences. Their bête noire, the cockroaches, have already sensed this. Their antennae share this gift with actual roaches whose sense of self preservation helps them overcome greed. When faced with new sugar-coated pesticides, the roaches cut out sugar altogether. Gen Z does this too. Threatened by the acute power differential between the system’s controllers and their generation’s vulnerable existence as citizens, Gen Z are impervious to sweet condescending speeches about India’s ‘youth dividend’. Older generations ‘forgiving’ the protesters as if they were children have no currency either. What if our leaders had realised the young see it as public humiliation and taken a deep breath and invited the Cockroach Janata Party leaders and their self chosen representatives while there was time. They could even........

© The Wire