The cool generation!

These days, the most trending word is “cool”. It is used in a variety of situations with different nuances. To be in step with the current generation, your language must be peppered with a liberal sprinkling of the word “cool”. True, we used “cool” in the earlier days too. Erstwhile Bangalore’s weather was described as “cool” or you used cool in sentences like “He lost his cool”. Dark glasses were “cooling” glasses. Cold drinks in South India were called “cool drinks”! But the context was limited.

English language is currently undergoing a massive course correction thanks to social media. Brevity is of essence. It is here that a word like “cool” makes an impact. In social media chats, “cool” is used as an acknowledgement- an enthusiastic substitute for the somber “ok”. A typical chat goes as follows: “To come to my place, get to MG Road”. Pat comes the reply- “cool”. Then, take the left turn onto Brigade Road. The response is the same- “cool”!

Another usage of “cool” is to make a style statement. “This skirt looks cool on you! You look cool in this T-shirt”. Something original is also termed “cool”. Budding entrepreneurs make a pitch for their start-up companies, with this opening sentence- “We are currently working on this cool idea...” You have half a mind to interject that the idea can only be as cool as a cucumber, but such a riposte would be uncool!

Another shade to “cool” is to denote a modern outlook. You would say, “He has cool parents! He dropped out of school and told them he wants to pursue Wildlife Photography. They were very cool about it!” When “cool” is repeated twice in quick succession, it conveys a mood of conciliation. After an argument, you are filled with remorse and hesitantly ask your wife, “Hope you are not still upset!” If you get the answer “Cool! Cool!” it means all is well and you can heave a sigh of relief! In degrees of coolness, the superlative degree to cool is “chill”. You ask your friend on his way to Goa- “What are you planning to do there?” His answer is brief- “Just chill!”

Dictionaries in the future will look different- all adjectives will be expunged as archaic words. They will be replaced with “cool”. The irony is, every generation thinks itself as cool, and the previous one as uncool! With this rate of increasing coolness, future generations will resemble frigid ice sculptures! Finally, “cool” can be used as an exclamation. I plan to tell my daughter, “I wrote this cool essay on “cool” and guess what, it actually got published in the newspaper!” I am certain how my daughter will respond. Eyes filled with disbelief, she will exclaim, “Cool...Appa!”