Who'll save the human child?

-
I am watching a kitten frolicking on the ground and pausing from time to time to look beseechingly into my eyes. Can anything be more pleasurable than watching a playful kitten? Or, for that matter, a baby playing and gurgling with delight? The sheer innocence, the wonder in the eyes, the energy in the limbs, the joyous spirit, nothing compares to these.


And what happens when the human child grows up? Burdened under parental and teachers' expectations, and the pressures of performing in a rigid school environment, the child forgets its natural vivacity and innocence. The playfulness soon gets buried under tomes of books, worksheets, exam papers, project workbooks et al. Everybody gets busy in grooming and moulding the child into becoming something of a genius in all activities. What happens to the natural child? Does he/she get the time and space to be on his/her own?

Coming back to the kitten, it will soon become a strapping cat, full of survival skills and boundless energy. It will follow its instincts, hunt and catch its prey, evade its predators, and make peace with other cats and animals in its neighbourhood. It will LIVE its life.

Does the human child not deserve a chance to do the same?

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Self-Supported Publishing - Boon or Scam?

-
Image
When I started writing stories, I felt some people would find solace in my words. The purpose wasn't to earn money through selling books, but yes, money would be welcome when it came. The idea was to provide readers with something they could connect with. As it is, the process of writing involves immense churning within, and exhaustive editing and finishing after you have finally written what you want to. Any creator will tell you it is almost like birthing a child. Self-doubt assails you, you get nervous and unsure about your work, you aren't sure the denouement is looking apt, or the characters are relatable.  Then comes the commercial aspect of it all - as a new writer, you have to keep an eye on the reader's liking, avoid esoteric words and concepts, and make your content readable and catchy. Finally, what starts is the toughest part. Yes. Finding a publisher for your work.  Common Publishing Models For the uninitiated, there are basically two types of publishing models
Read more

The Unbearable Weight of Appearing Happy and Successful 24/7

-
Image
Smile, and the world smiles with you. Really? For how long? I mean, how long does one go on smiling? Till the cheeks hurt? Our virtual lives are all about posturing, aren't they? Open any social media app and all you see are smiling, glowing pictures of happy, successful people. Enjoying dinner at The Taj/Oberoi/Grand Living it up in Maldives/Paris/Bangkok/Singapore Soaking Vitamin Sea in Goa Killing it at so-and-so conference/meet/seminar Delivering the key-note address at that so-important meet Conducting a Ted-Ex talk  Achieved the top salesman/person of the year award  Proud mother/parent of an achiever progeny Cooking up a Michelin-star chef type meal Running the full/half marathon You get my drift? Success, achievement, conquest, living it up, enjoying, indulging....that's all Facebook and Instagram profiles are for. What about the bad days? When you sit staring out of the window, wondering who will take care of you in your old age? When you feel life has passed you by? W
Read more

The Otherisation of Bengalis in Present-day India

-
Image
"What Bengal thinks today, the rest of India thinks tomorrow." At one time, Bengal had shown the way to the rest of India. All kinds of progressive action, along with social reform originated here.  Raja Rammohan Roy, Swami Vivekananda, Sri Ramkrishna, Vidyasagar, Aurobindo, Tagore were stalwarts who could teach the western world a thing or two about humanity, ethics and social change. Freedom was wrestled from the British by the Bengal tigers - Netaji, Khudiram, Master Da, Rash Behari, Bagha Jatin and Binoy, Badal, Dinesh.  Education and literature owed several path-breaking work to this community. Jagadish Bose, and Prafulla Chandra Ray spearheaded scientific thought in our country.  Image for representative purpose only But why am I raking the past and digging up history about Bengali forerunners all of a sudden? Ahh, typical Bengali sentimentality and nostalgia, right? Wrong. Its because in today's Bharat, the Bengali is being pushed aside - both literally as well as
Read more