This is a beautiful thought from my elder sister whose stories get published in Tamil magazines. She desired that one of her articles get through the net and as she celebrates her 80th birthday on the 5th of August I am happy to fulfill her desire. Please read savour and enjoy!
The father in law was upset as
he read the morning paper.
“Can you commit suicide for the
sake of your mark?
“Can you commit suicide if you
don’t get the group you wanted?”
“Crazy children……… I don’t know
what this world is coming to? No value for this God given gift of life.”
This loud lamentation made the daughter in law to
hasten from inside.
“ This ‘Demon of the Marks’ has become the comrade of Yama
and taken away two lives today……. A boy
and a girl……. I couldn’t imagine the magnitude of havoc they are going to
commit this season.”
He was thoroughly annoyed. “ Is high mark an
indication of your intelligence?” These schools and the teachers are to be
blamed. What sort of special classes they conduct day in and day out? Just
making the children “by heart and vomit”. They don’t allow the children to
think……. Mmmmm.. what is the use of blaming them? It is the useless education
system of “marks only matter” that has to be denounced by the educationists.”
But the dil (daughter in law )
was not convinced “ You can very well philosophize mama. Look at your grand
son. I want to him to do the improvement tests in science and maths to go for
engineering. By hook or crook I want this fatherless child to be a computer engineer. For his sake I
don’t mind selling our lands and even this house. But that son of mine dares to
listen to me.”
“Computer engineer……… for what……. Just to
earn money……..? FIL continued “Is he going to be an expert in that field or
just a dud sitting there for money with no happiness in the job he is
performing? Our Indian students are like the rats of the “The pied piper of
Hamlin” crazily running behind this money making endeavour. Money cannot bring
you happiness. It’s the happiness in
doing the job that is of prime importance.”
The lady sighed “You are also patronising your grand son and that Anand who has come
back for America trying to convert the youth to go back to the lands and
do organic farming and your grand son is
always running behind him. And you know what is happening in the opposite
house? Guru is their only son and unlike
your grandson he has scored very well but he doesn’t want to study further.
It’s all because the American returned Anand boy !”
“Amma, that Guru is doing the
right thing. His grandfather was a great agriculturist and when all of us could
harvest 100 bags of paddy he would be doing 120 bags. Such a clever man with
lot of interest in agriculture. Guru has indeed got the genes of the grandfather!!”
he carried on “The other day Anand was telling that in many countries boys
undergo military training for a year after the age of 18. What he suggests is
that after the school final all our students both male and female should undergo agricultural training for a
year. Being an agricultural country they will thus understand it’s importance and when this interest is kindled,
our country will become the “anna dhatha”(food provider) for the whole world!!”
“Hello athai……(aunt) amma, gave this banana bunch for you and this
is from our garden and how are you thatha? Where is Loga?
“ You will live to be a hundred
Anand. Just now we were talking about you. By the way I wanted you to advise
our youth especially Loga to study well and get good marks. They have to go
abroad and bring in lot of prosperity to our village. On the contrary you are
pulling them back to these useless lands.”
“Athai …… when I came back to our
village people were indeed making sarcastic comments. They kept their fingers
crossed as to what special thing I was going to achieve over and above what they had already done.
Heart in they wished me to be a utter disaster.
But with lot of grit I doggedly persevered and it took me three solid
years to bring back the land to the original shape from it’s chemical soaked
self. Now everything is profit for me. Loga has the natural bent of mind for
agriculture and can you name a single person in and around our village who can
do water divination like him? Why are you worried about his marks?
“ Rightly said my dear boy! This
demon in the form of marks is indeed tightening the nooze around the neck of
Indian youth and it’s high time we throw off the system for something really
beneficial to the student community” Thatha said.
“ Athai…… Loga has the
inclination and the capacity to be a star farmer. I will guide him with my hard
earned experience. Instead running to America to earn big money he will do it
sitting near you enjoying our beautiful
village and it’s wonderful breeze. Is it ok with you? With a single stone you
are getting two mangoes. Are you not going to be happy?” Anand continued
“By the way I came looking for
Loga to repair my tractor. And do you know that your son’s single touch can do
magic to those slumping machines to sit up straight and do a jig!?
“ Sometimes I understand but sometimes
I think that I ache for something else too “ said the bewildered mother to herself!
