GIRLS, DREAMS AND REALITY

The title may seem pretentious and even condescending maybe. But this is the first title that came to my mind when I sat down to write. During a recent workshop for girls from the lower income strata, I had the most invigorating and illuminating interaction.  These girls had the clarity of thought that would put any of us to shame. Their dreams, their aspirations, their ambitions were as steeped in reality as they were. Listening to them share their ideas, I was left wondering why we ignore them so much? Do these young shoulders really need to carry the weight of the society, its ill-conceived norms, biased traditions, and subjugating values?

Beti bachao, beti padhao is the mantra brought to prominence by our present government. And I absolutely am for it. Fortunately, we have enough women in the current generation who have achieved amazing results for them to become our role models. They have broken through the traditional barricades to reach new heights. Be it sports or academics or corporate or even the defence forces, girls have scaled unthinkable limits. So, why are we still so apprehensive about letting them go and explore the world? Or is it that we fear them? After generations and generations of subjugation and repression, maybe we are scared they might come back with full gusto, overwhelming the current male-dominated generation which is enjoying its borrowed time under the sun? Or maybe somewhere deep down in our hearts we know that they are good – intelligent, smart, hardworking, ambitious – and don’t know how to deal with competition of such magnitude.

Maybe it’s this insecurity which is gnawing us within which is making us all the more aggressive and regressive as a society. We are trying our very best to keep the young girls from escaping from the age-old shackles in the name of traditions. Maybe we are feeling so threatened by their optimism that we are behaving more and more like animals, fiercely protecting our turfs, our manhood. If only we had the sense to understand that our manhood is not restricted to the physical appendages but to the way we think. Just like these women, who celebrate being a woman not because of their physical attributes but because of the way they think.

For us to feel liberated and emancipated, we need to first think of these girls as human beings. Give them a well-deserved chance to soar. Allow them to move freely without the chains of traditions and culture. And, then step back and watch them conquer the world. There cannot be a greater service to the mankind.  

Good Old Days!

GOOD OLD DAYS

Ha, just finished with the event for the year at the school the kids are going to. The Annual Concert, titled “Think Out Of The Box”. Now I can breathe easy till next December, hopefully. The whole thing was by the children of the school – the scripting, directing, organizing, designing, et al. A wonderful effort and major confidence booster. It’s just that when watching the plays that I got a little rattled. And let me not even go close to discussing the dresses, the songs they danced to, the dialogues in the skit and of course the costumes. Did I just time travel or is this the actual reality? I mean the kids were mouthing dialogues which even my college plays didn’t match in content. They were talking about boyfriend ditching, father cheating on mother, etc. So yes, I was a wee bit disturbed when I heard them. I fail to understand the rush the li’l girls are in to grow up. You have got your whole life for that. Enjoy your childhood and adolescence and allow us to enjoy having you around as kids. No wonder it’s called the jet age and I just don’t like travelling at this speed.

The long ride back home in the cab got me thinking about the many Annual Days (well that’s what it was called in our days) I had participated in my school days. School days were fun. Some of my close friends are from my school days.  Life was rocking and oh, so simple. Annual days were school events - for the parents, by the school. No cleaning the bank accounts to pay for everything from the costumes to the venue or the snacks. Phew, it would’ve been cheaper to go on a small vacation!  Parents would happily cramp up and settle down under the shamiana erected in the school playground. The stage would be made up of the school desks put together and tied up. Of course, we (I mean the school) later graduated to using the local tent walla to do the job, so we had one less job to do.

Preparations would start off a month in advance since we had to make the props and decorations. I remember in one of the school’s I had attended, the primary classes were tasked with making the multicolour streamers and ribbons, and the senior classes had to make the props. The artistically gifted children did the drawing and the lesser skilled ones filled them with colours. I don’t remember any themes or titles for our Annual Days. We did plays, which were shortened and rewritten to fit the time allotted. There was always one comedy and one thriller. The parents of the students participating in these plays would be sworn to secrecy not to reveal the story or the ending. The parents promised and we, in all our naivety, believed them. Those were the days! Alas, how I miss them.

The children with good English writing skills were roped in to do the script, with the help of the English teacher. Those were some really high standards to maintain, believe me when I tell you that. In my last school, we were taught English by the Principal and nothing would please her. And when she expressed her displeasure, well we needed a translator (I don’t think Shashi Tharoor is in any way related to her but I won’t be surprised if they are!). So, with such expectations, we worked and delivered.  

And then there were the dances. No Justin Bieber, Lady Gaga or Bollywood numbers please. There was always a welcome song and dance, with girls dressed up in tradition dresses (mostly resembling the bharatnatyam costume). The rangolis had teams of children slogging over to create visual masterpieces. That was rivalry at its creative best! Then followed the remaining programs. They were mostly folk or tribal dances. The accompanying songs were normally folk songs, sung by the students. I remember one bhangra dance where the kids were dancing with so much gusto that the stage started shaking dangerously. The all-time favorite Goan dance would have a peppy number in Konkani language. We had even done the famous Cheraw dance, or more popularly known as the Bamboo dance, from Mizoram (I’m wondering if our kids know where this state is?). It was a herculean task managing the traditional costumes but we did it. It is still one of my most cherished memories. It was just a wonderful learning experience. No wonder we learnt so much about our country without even the internet or google!

At the end of the programs, the children waited with bated breath for the chief guest to make THE announcement, that it would be a holiday the next day. And the hall would break into a rapturous clapping and shouting as soon it was announced! It all looks so funny and silly now, but back then it was close to heaven. The camaraderie shared with the teachers on those days was so uncomplicated. No WhatsApp, no Instagram. Just them and us. No wonder they knew each one of us inside-out, much better than we did ourselves. They knew our strengths and how to use it for our own betterment. I remember once the complete responsibility of managing the backstage was given to a group of notorious boys from the senior classes. It was a big risk but our Principal (Father Francis, God bless him!) stuck to his decision. The results were totally unexpected. Not one item lost or misplaced, the programs progressed seamlessly with no chaos behind the scenes. Their organizing skills would put our present grossly-overpaid event managers to shame. I don’t know where those boys are now but I’m sure they are doing well with the lessons learnt then.

I know, I know I digressed but can’t help it. Every time I start off about my school days I just can’t seem to stop. So many memories, each jostling to gain a few extra seconds of my attention. I guess we each feel that way. But will our children also feel this way? I mean it’s all so disconnected and commercial now, will they feel this nostalgic years later? Their minds are so visually overloaded because of the myriad options, they will need to declutter their minds before they can preserve such gems for posterity. Either ways, at least now I don’t laugh or smirk when I hear someone older say “In my time….”

*****

Why the Confusion?

If you have read the newspapers recently, it was impossible to miss the innumerable columns discussing the changes being suggested for the educational system. Not again, was my reaction. I mean why do they want to tamper and tweak a system which is already so confusing? By the time the teachers and students get a hang of the prevalent setup, they bring about further changes. 

This whole idea of making Sanskrit compulsory is so childish and naive. For years we have had Sanskrit as part of our syllabus. I remember spending hours learning by heart the tongue twisters. I still remember writing an essay for an exam, after spending hours mugging it up, and not understanding most of it! But did I use the language after the last exam got over? No way! Back then (oh my god! It sounds like it happened in another life!) there was no choice, at least in the schools where I studied. It was a compulsory subject in the middle school. And we studiied it. So will making it compulsory going to make it more popular or increase its usage? Don't think so. So why the brouhaha? Also during our school days the exposure was so restricted that we studied what ever was taught in school. Period. No questions asked. Now it's not the same scenario. Our kids are global citizens. They are exposed to so much information that they know what they want. Then why be so restrictive? Allowing them choices will help them to experiment. Maybe because it's not being shoved down their throats, it may evoke more interest in the subject than there is, I mean if there is any presently. If I was Smriti Irani, I would ask our media guys to creat some interesting content in Sanskrit to make it more palatable. Say like have a series of small 10 minutes episodes of Jatakas tales or tales from the epics. Something which we all have grown up listening to. This will make it a novel experience for the children, and adults too. Children are open to ideas and will learn this new language without being asked to. Now won't this work better than asking them to learn by rote? 

Just because Sanskrit doesn't have a popular market is no reason to stop them from learning any foreign language. I think it's a totally stupid and childish argument. But then it's not the first time, and it certainly won't be the last either, that we have heard such things coming from people in public positions. I mean even the academicians and educationists who are in such positions are no better. Look at the VC of AMU. That was really the limit for me. I mean how could he even say such a silly thing like girls are not allowed to the library because then more boys will come and there won't be enough seating available? Did he even think before saying such a thing in public? I certainly don't think so. How, and what, can you dare to expect from an institution which is being headed by such regressive morons. And then their justifications add to the sorry state. The newspapers should have some kind of check where they don't publish such humiliating statements from prominent people. It's no wonder that people abroad don't take us seriously. I mean we don't take ourselves seriously. Imagine the VC of some university like Cambridge or Oxford saying something like this. Ugh! Oh god where do I hide myself? 

It's a wake up call of sorts. We need to start taking ourselves seriously. Why do we have to put up with such stupidity? I mean we have no dearth of intelligent people here. Practical, well a few of them may be reasonable. So why can't we get them at the helm of academic affairs and do something worthwhile instead of running the show as per individual whims and fancies? I sometimes dread to think about what are kids are going to study what with the syllabus changing every now and then, the content being not so relevant, and most importantly the whole format being so out of sync with the reality. 

Keeping my fingers crossed!