I want to study.
A free world.
About freedom
And dream a happy dream in
A world of my own
I want to learn.
When the world stresses on education, when our nation grapples with the issue of reservation, there are some voices that really dont matter. the quality of education which our literatti are facing with should be of prime concern. well, you say, first why not think of people who are deprieved of education. let them be educated then we shall think of the type of education that they receive. well to my defense i can say, the quantity has its own spokesperson ( and they are doing a pretty good job about it ) now let me campaign for the quality.
The quality of education that we are engulfed in cannot be limited to the amount of information upload that takes place. never confuse quality and amount. amount is learning about the statistics of the BPL people and their lifestyle, the extent to which it affects the nations ecomony and the opinions and synthesis from across the world. Quality will give you the essense to form your own reaction.
When an engineer learns about pipes and cisterns, when a law student learns of the Indian Constituition, when the media student learns of the various genres in film studies how effectively does that education or learning allow them to compare and contrast with the vagaries that life throws at them every instant? mathematics is not about two plus two. it is about how you can save yourself the gulibility of being cheated for change by a shopkeeper. physics is not all about quantum mechanics and sound waves. It is merely just explains why you have to shout to be heard at a far away distance. the very core of all the syllabi of studies was born out of the need to understand why nature ticks and turns in such a fashion. a deeper understanding of what we see and hear at every waking moment is the basis of our textbooks.
Then why are we reduced to mere scores and scores of theories and equations that are required to be produced at the whim of a lecture just for a pat on the back or an awe that you solicit from your classmates. Is it with pride that you can say that AUB equals n(A)+n(B) even before the professor completes the equation on the board or is it better to understand the reason why a visual representation like a Venn Diagram was necessiated to understand basic grouping in humans and objects? the carrot is won but with what honor can you relish the taste?
The whole fault can be pin pointed to various factors but the quintessential factor being the error committed from a teacher to a student. ancient days saw the Indian Gurukul system where the values of life was taught to the students thwough examples and folktales to underline the primary message or the moral. i wonder how many of us actually stop to think of the moral behind all the bed time stories that we have heard or tell to children. perhaps the Indian system of education should take a leaf out of the book written by our own ancestors and incorporate more examples and method based pedagogy into our curriculum.
oh yes the arguments. its an obvious fact that Asians ( i shall not merely point fingers at us) in general benefit more from text based education than method based. when compared to Westerners who are more oriented to learning lessons from life we are surely ahead in terms of IQ and Brilliance. but then what we should do is compare the lifestyle between the two stereotypes - an Indian engineer and an American freewheeler. the Indian engineer ( nowadays) works hard, parties harder but then lives a life that can be encapsuled in a page. Whereas the freewheeler, with no education, no skills whatsoever, merely trudging along the way , moving continuoulsy lives a life that can run into volumes equivalent to the Brittanica Encyclopedia. of course both countries have their share of each other and there have been a lot of changes happening in the life styles but it is merely to illustrate the point.
We cannot do without the arduous school system of teaching but what we should propose is a slight case of lineancy. it never hurts for teh child to remember the best things of their school days as the project work they undertook or the rehabilitation camp they visited rather than the ever increasing number of tuition centres they visited since time immemorial for their 12 th boards. An excuse for a refreshment such as tennis, dance and Art classes are now marketed more fiercely as the largest competitive grounds for children forgetting the main reason why it was introduced out of curriculum for a student. this change can never be possible unless the glory hungry mindset of our parents change. and perhaps all the better more reason to start at the grassroots.
Sunday, May 20, 2007
Friday, May 18, 2007
The Mindful and the Mindless
The other day at my CAT class I was asked to put forth a topic to demonstrate how exactly a group discussion will take place in a college qualifiers. And the obvious topic that sprung into my mind was Moral Policing in India. Out of my mouth rolled the example of Richard Gere and Shilpa Shetty kissing controversy. Shilpa defends the act saying that it was just Richard’s way of “communicating” with his audience, choosing to enact a scene from his movie “Shall We Dance”. Now Richard, having worked with Indian NGOs much earlier, should have realized what he was getting himself into with that simple action. True to the boot, the truck drivers enjoyed the show, but I guess someone should have cautioned Gere about our “Moral Police” whose sense of duty to the nation overwhelms them each time a couple holds hands in public or when a student tries to express his creativity showcasing his skills, or a play that is a little too “loud” for a city’s tastes. Out comes the banners, the effigies and the PIL’s. The sensationalism and the sentimentalism. Where has the secular India disappeared too?
It was Nehru's dream that India should be secular. But the country which is world renowned and accepted as the urn of culture, art and peotic beauty in every form is being shunned by the very people she bears. M.F.Hussain was spurned and a fatwa was declared against him for the obscene drawings that hurt the sentiments of Hindus in India. I being a hindu also, did check out the drawings and somehow did not find anything degretory about them. In fact it all depends on the eyes of the beholder. M F Hussain, as well as the artists who have careved out even more erotic art on the walls of temples and rock sites, are merely expressing their take on things. If the Moral Police is to object to his portrayal of their Gods, then first ask them to have a good look inside their temples and later question a person from another religion.
Perhaps that is the issue. That Hussain is from another religion. Or Chandramohan from Vadodara, though a Hindu, belonged to a clique of people who had a mindset that was never understood by common folks. Being a religious devout does not require you to go up in arms when someone creates a situation where your Gods seem to be in the bad light. At first understand the reason why the represenation was such. Secondly, even if it was in a bad light there is absolute no need for uncalled hooliganism. the only people benefitting from all the action are the TRP ratings of news channels. The people who propogate such anarchy must be ashamed to call themselves Indians. Why dont they first examine their own lives before pointing fingers at others.But more importantly the politicians who do not intefere in such issues counting on the large vote bank are to be blamed. On the outside, India takes a neutral stance when dealing with other countries. Polictians proudly quote Gandhian principles at U.N assemblies. the very same hypocrites now either keep mum or take the stand with the vote bank. Such Shame!
India 2020 was our Presidents dream. Well, Mr. President our country does not need superpower or investements to build up its position as a world superpower. We do not need children who will study and become successful engineers, doctors, agriculturists, scientists, feminists and such. Instead what we all need is a good lesson of Moral Science. What we need is cultured, tolerant people who are able to empathize with creative freedom. People who should watch out for injustice when an Actor goes scot free for killing an endangered species, when a well connected boy escaped with a mere 6 month sentencing for taking the lives of 8 people. The same people who marched against the pure blatant unjustness and bought two killers of innocent women to book. The very nation that prayed for the life of an 8 year old boy who dropped into a well and had little chances of recovery. Not the effigy burners, the celebrity next door making TV channels, not the needless publicity and public outcry. Instead of merely putting up a face on the outside, we should learn to cultivate it from the inside.
A country that was once a not just a dream of one but of many.
It was Nehru's dream that India should be secular. But the country which is world renowned and accepted as the urn of culture, art and peotic beauty in every form is being shunned by the very people she bears. M.F.Hussain was spurned and a fatwa was declared against him for the obscene drawings that hurt the sentiments of Hindus in India. I being a hindu also, did check out the drawings and somehow did not find anything degretory about them. In fact it all depends on the eyes of the beholder. M F Hussain, as well as the artists who have careved out even more erotic art on the walls of temples and rock sites, are merely expressing their take on things. If the Moral Police is to object to his portrayal of their Gods, then first ask them to have a good look inside their temples and later question a person from another religion.
Perhaps that is the issue. That Hussain is from another religion. Or Chandramohan from Vadodara, though a Hindu, belonged to a clique of people who had a mindset that was never understood by common folks. Being a religious devout does not require you to go up in arms when someone creates a situation where your Gods seem to be in the bad light. At first understand the reason why the represenation was such. Secondly, even if it was in a bad light there is absolute no need for uncalled hooliganism. the only people benefitting from all the action are the TRP ratings of news channels. The people who propogate such anarchy must be ashamed to call themselves Indians. Why dont they first examine their own lives before pointing fingers at others.But more importantly the politicians who do not intefere in such issues counting on the large vote bank are to be blamed. On the outside, India takes a neutral stance when dealing with other countries. Polictians proudly quote Gandhian principles at U.N assemblies. the very same hypocrites now either keep mum or take the stand with the vote bank. Such Shame!
India 2020 was our Presidents dream. Well, Mr. President our country does not need superpower or investements to build up its position as a world superpower. We do not need children who will study and become successful engineers, doctors, agriculturists, scientists, feminists and such. Instead what we all need is a good lesson of Moral Science. What we need is cultured, tolerant people who are able to empathize with creative freedom. People who should watch out for injustice when an Actor goes scot free for killing an endangered species, when a well connected boy escaped with a mere 6 month sentencing for taking the lives of 8 people. The same people who marched against the pure blatant unjustness and bought two killers of innocent women to book. The very nation that prayed for the life of an 8 year old boy who dropped into a well and had little chances of recovery. Not the effigy burners, the celebrity next door making TV channels, not the needless publicity and public outcry. Instead of merely putting up a face on the outside, we should learn to cultivate it from the inside.
A country that was once a not just a dream of one but of many.
Mother, I salute thee!
Rich with thy hurrying streams,bright with orchard gleams,
Cool with thy winds of delight,
Green fields waving Mother of might,
Mother free.
With many strengths who art mighty and stored,
To thee I call Mother and Lord!
Thou who saves, arise and save!
To her I cry who ever her foe drove
Back from plain and sea
And shook herself free.
In thy soul, with jewelled hair
And thy glorious smile divine,
Loveliest of all earthly lands,
Showering wealth from well-stored hands!
Mother, mother mine!
Mother sweet, I bow to thee,
Mother great and free!
Bankim Chandra Chatterjee
Wednesday, May 9, 2007
me delectatio
change the world.
an ambiguous statement.
from an environmentalists point of view changing the world means a better and healthier and cleaner planet.
from a humanitarians point of view, changing the world means a better future of the human race, one that leads a life of diginity and without the ephemeral peace of mind that is being thrown at us.
a communist may want an all for one one for all lifestyle, while a fashion guru takes it on their head to teach the fine art of clothing to the less fortunate masses.
for a student changing the world may mean protests and marchs, for a sadist the end of his hedonism.
but to one individual changing the world can simply mean taking with a smile an inadvertent trod on one's foot on a crowded bus,
wiping off the slush stains with no disregard to the car that took no care for the pedestrian,
picking up a discarded chocolate wrapper while watching the children munch on in glee,
getting caught in the rain to help a neighbour take in the groceries mindless of your new leather slippers,
giving up a seat for an old woman regardless of the half hour journey to be completed standing
chasing a plastic bag along a college road to drop it into a bin happy of the laugh others have at the expense of your silliness
changing the world is just a quiet thing,
just for your own pleasure.
an ambiguous statement.
from an environmentalists point of view changing the world means a better and healthier and cleaner planet.
from a humanitarians point of view, changing the world means a better future of the human race, one that leads a life of diginity and without the ephemeral peace of mind that is being thrown at us.
a communist may want an all for one one for all lifestyle, while a fashion guru takes it on their head to teach the fine art of clothing to the less fortunate masses.
for a student changing the world may mean protests and marchs, for a sadist the end of his hedonism.
but to one individual changing the world can simply mean taking with a smile an inadvertent trod on one's foot on a crowded bus,
wiping off the slush stains with no disregard to the car that took no care for the pedestrian,
picking up a discarded chocolate wrapper while watching the children munch on in glee,
getting caught in the rain to help a neighbour take in the groceries mindless of your new leather slippers,
giving up a seat for an old woman regardless of the half hour journey to be completed standing
chasing a plastic bag along a college road to drop it into a bin happy of the laugh others have at the expense of your silliness
changing the world is just a quiet thing,
just for your own pleasure.
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