What's in the number?

I am turning 27 in a fortnight.TWENTY SEVEN! No no no...it isn't what you think.The trauma of having to lie bout my age hasn't set in yet. I can't care less about that really. Infact i DON'T feel that old(or young) at all.Besides the usual 'What have I achieved in life?' , the current anxiousness is about the magnitude, the bigness of the number. This is the age at which people are declared 'nubile'. Since I got married way before this age, I always expected the maturity associated with being marriageable to probably creep in by the time I turn 27. From a distance, 27 appeared to be a time when one finishes the transition from the young and effervescent to sober,sluggish ,ready-yet-dreading-middle-age. But there's nothing I detect.I am as mature(or immature if you will :) ) as I was 2 years ago.Ofcourse, I am much more aware now. But,I am now 'dangerously close' to being 30. There again clueless of what difference should that make.IS there a specific way 27-year olds are expected to behave? Should they stop screaming "YIPEEEE" everytime they are excited,including all the times when the realization of being a proud owner of a pair of "skinny jeans" dawns on them(and just so you know, my average here is twice a day)? Should they turn their attention and energy from trying to get a flat tummy to making babies instead? Is it STILL okay to get totally drunk without worrying about which of your friends will carry you back home? Is it STILL okay to participate in your office's annual dance event with the number of participants more than 26 years old is just...er...1?

Well, it doesen't matter what the answer to all these is because I don't see myself getting moulded anyway.

Turning 27 doesen't hurt really except that I am afraid people might not take me as seriously as my age beckons now. :)

The disagreeable yet congruous

Its rather unbelieveable how,even in today's world where all one is interested in is himself, there exist the likes of the inhabitants of this small "universal township" called Auroville, near Puducherry in South India. This was an idea of Mirra Alfassa, known as "The Mother", who organized the followers of Sri Aurobindo into the Sri Aurobindo Ashram. the idea was later accepted by UNESCO.The inhabitants include nationals of 32 odd countries across the globe. Their stated purpose is "to realize human unity in diversity". They are foresters, mediatators and workers. Among other activities, they make hand-made paper and incense sticks and commute by bi-cycles. Interesting huh? Yes it is. My point is, who are these men and women? Which segments of societies do they hail from? They have left behind their families, friends and careers to spend a lifetime among people from different countries, different political and social views, different religions and beliefs. What happens to their aspirations for life, their aptitude for sports? Or is it that they never had any. Perhaps, these recluses have found the answer to their aspirations on that land confined within a few hundred acres of land. No matter how quixotic the idea may appear at the first glance, they, afterall, are 2000 odd people who have made Auroville their way of life. Kudos!