Human and mother nature..

Dawn breaks over the horizon grey

The world wakes up to another day

I look up to the wild blue yonder

My mind begins to ponder

I think of human greed

About how they have destroyed the

And my heart is filled with shame

My soul cries in disgrace

In the jungles the lion once roared

Filling it with it’s majesty which all used to envy and fear

Then came us hunting them down

And called it ‘for fun’

There were once deer scampering about

With happiness and gay abandon nibbling here and there

Now they lower their heads in fear

And dread the sounds of men coming there

Other animals big and small

Were always happy and gay

As they knew their place in order

Until humans came bringing mayhem

Oh it’s a shame

We think they have to be tamed

We are all equally to be blamed

We should remember the time long gone by

When animals used to run around wild

They where full of pride

While we where cowering by

We own our existence to them

And yet we treat them with disdain

Our world today....

The world we live in is funny

Filled with contradictions and anarchy

Uncle Sam supposedly controls us all

His own house seems to be in chaos

He goes around the world imposing order

It all started on a faithful day

The skies came falling down

The world watched and wept

As innocents died and suffered

After that started retribution

At first it was just and fair

Alas little did we realize

Putting our faith in a man

Who believed himself the “chosen one”

Without completing the task at hand

He set about to liberate the world

He defined an “Axis of Evil”

He fought and fought

In the belief of making a world a safer place

He destroyed places after places

His men gave up their life

In the name of democracy

As he imposed his dictatorship

The world just stood by.

Slowly it all changed

Trouble started at home

A new epidemic stuck us

Making once proud men hollow

It reminded us of our follies

A man rose before the ashes

Promised us a new beginning

A monumental task to say the least

He begun in earnest

The road ahead is long and full of thorns

I hope to see the promised new world!

school..and a lot more....

“Education should not only consist of book learning. It should instill in the student ability to understand and pique their curiosity rather than just learn for the sake of examination. It should enable the students to step out and stand out to be recognized in their own right.”

The author of these fine words I cannot recall.

Firstly, before I start, I would like to say that this article is not a criticism of the Bangladesh education system, of which I know very little having spent a really short time studying under it. My knowledge about it is limited to what I hear from my friends and numerous cousins. This article states my own view points about residential schools and the various ways it affects or teaches students about life.

Now to begin, first let me ask what exactly is education? Is it only what we are taught inside the four walls of the classroom? A syllabus determined long ago or changed rather a little too frequently? My views on this are in line with the above mentioned quote which I can’t remember where exactly I have read. I believe education should not consist only of what is in the books. It involves much more. It should teach how to deal with people, teach us to fall but again stand up on our own, learning to differentiate on your own what is good and what is bad, it teaches us to learn from our mistakes. It involves learning to come out of the protective comfortable cocoons our parents have created for us and teaching us to live on our own ultimately something which we would all have to do. These views, I might say, is contested by most parents who believe education is gained in the classroom and the countless hours their child spends in coaching centers or private tuitions and given today’s world of cut throat competition I won’t blame anyone for agreeing to them.

You must be wondering what all this has to do with residential schools? Residential schools, as you and me think of are basically schools which is supposed to have facilities that offer a host of opportunities for the all round development of the student. In Bangladesh apart from the cadet colleges no educational establishment can fulfill the basic criteria. As I mentioned at the beginning, my schooling till class five has been done in Chittagong in St. Plasids, Sunshine Grammar School and Little Jewels after which I joined a residential school in India named Mayo College situated in Ajmer, Rajasthan from where I graduated class 12(equivalent to A levels or HSC) two years back. Till this day I believe, sending me to Mayo has been one of the best decisions my parents have ever taken and I thank them as I have spent some of the best years of my life there. Before I share my experience of living in a residential school, it would not be a bad idea to give you a short background of my school: Mayo is one of the oldest residential schools in India, established in 1875. It is spread over a huge four hundred acre campus consisting of an adequate library, academic blocks, comfortable accommodations for about eight hundred students, huge number of staff which includes both teachers and maintenance staff, a museum, a nine hole golf course, numerous cricket, football, hockey fields and modern facilities for all other sports such as squash, tennis, swimming etc. It starts from standard four and goes up to twelve and the students are housed in eleven separate hostels (three for class four to six, one for class seven and eight hostels for students from standard eight to twelve). It is a boys school but it also has a separate girls section located in a nearby campus run by the same governing body but all facilities being completely separate.

My point in giving a long physical description is to show the amount of facilities that is available to a single student under one roof which again due to variety of reasons is quite rarely found anywhere in Bangladesh. Apart from a very good academic system (it follows the syllabus of the central board of secondary education one of the two main education boards in India which is recognized even outside India) the school also gives students the chance to develop in the field of sports or other co curricular activities they maybe interested in such as public speaking, music, etc by letting them participate in various inter school competitions. I know, living away from mom and dad can be painful and heart breaking, a situation experienced by both sides but you learn various skills such as learning to live away from home and to recognize how to deal with various of life’s ways for which mom and dad unfortunately may not always be available. In the hostel you have to adjust yourself to live with people who belong to a diversified background/culture from yours, a situation which may not always be easy but it helps you to learn about different cultures and ways of life different from your own and helps to develop friendships which will last for a lifetime (this I vouch for from personal experience). It teaches you discipline and how to maintain punctuality by following a fixed time table throughout the day, starting from your wake up time the time when you go to bed. In a funny way it even teaches you managing finance (seen in how you spend the coupons given to you for canteen visits). Above all, the fact for which I am most grateful to Mayo is because it has taught me how to live, in the literal sense of the word. It teaches you to trust others and to deal with the daily complexities of life that one day you are sure to face.

Now to speak about some concerns which I am sure is topmost in all parents’ minds: academics, food and medical care. As I have mentioned the school follows the syllabus set by the central board of secondary education (CBSE), one of the two main education boards. It recognized throughout India and various other countries of the world. The comprehensive and vast syllabus includes all subjects such as history, english, maths, geography, science etc and for the higher classes commerce, sciences and humanities. It has a qualified staff teaching all these subjects. From what I have seen and heard from my friends and cousins who have studied in Bangladesh the syllabus is as good as anywhere in Bangladesh, if not better. In terms of food I admit nothing in the world can match the food cooked by mom. Although one may not be a great fan of the food you get in residential schools, one may be sure that they are healthy, balanced and prepared in a hygienic way. Coming to health care all good residential schools have an in campus hospital which is staffed by at least one qualified doctor and numerous able sisters who are more than capable. They are also in contact with hospitals in the city in case of emergencies. These schools also demand that you submit the full medical history of your child so that they may be ready to deal with any contingencies ensuring your ward gets the best available treatment.

Apart from Mayo College and Mayo Girls school situated in Ajmer some of the other well reputed residential schools in India are The Scindia School situated in Gwalior, The Doon School situated in Dehradoon, The Lawrence schools (situated in Sanawar and in Ooty)and the Welham Boys and Girls school(situated in Dehradoon).

My older sister has also passed out from Mayo Girls before continuing her higher studies in Singapore. Both of us and our parents have been time and again asked how we manage to live away from each other (the school year is divided in two semesters starting from July to December and January to April. Meaning we spent nine months in school and three months in Chittagong on holidays with parents). My parents always answered that it is for our own futures and although they felt the pain of separation much more than we did they took comfort in knowing that we were being better prepared to face the world outside. There would be mishaps in school (for instance getting your nose fractured while playing cricket as in my case). There would be homesickness/a longing to run away to the safety of one’s parents. There would be difficulties and disappointments, there would be trying times. There would be hardships on both sides. In contrast there is also a lot of happiness and joy. The joy of winning an interhouse cup. The pride in representing one’s school against an arch rival school. The pride of doing things on your own. The excitements of going to trips with your friends (arranged by the schools).Before ending, not to sound clichéd you live only once so why not learn to live on your own and the best way you can. As my school moto said “Let there be Light”

English Sitcoms v/s Hindi serials.....

Recently I find myself attracted to watching or devoutly following various sitcoms that are aired on TV channels such as Star World, AXN etc…I started to think of reasons why they are so attractive or engrossing and was actually stumped at first…Then I realized some things when I tried to draw a comparison between Hindi serials showed in channels like Star TV, Zee, Sony channels against the English ones shown in Star World, AXN etc and the whole thing kind of made sense. To give a disclaimer I am in no way trying to vilify Hindi serials while singing laurels of English ones, there are bad eggs in each basket but what I am trying to do is find reasons about why these serials seem attractive to certain type of age group. Most of the Hindi serials I am referring to are prime time soap operas which are mainly family dramas whole the English ones are mostly comedies, or dramas.

Let’s face it, objectively looking the biggest fan following of serials that are shown in Indian TV channels are basically “mom’s and aunties” while there is nothing wrong in that I can say from personal experience (which may although be limited) some of those serials can be really painful to bear for days at end (have you ever realized how long some of them have been drawing on??)Hindi serials mainly the family drama drags out and oh boy do they take the drama part a little too seriously… I mean how many twists, sub twists, plot and sub plots can you give in one serial?? How many change in character, rebirth/reincarnation of the same character can you stomach?? How much change of acts from machavili to angels can there be for a single person?? These serials draw on for years at end and it has so much drama and “masala” by the middle of it you cannot for your life figure out how it all started. These serials maybe engrossing at first can soon loose their sheens as most of them do some exceptions to the rule are always there but they are only that exceptions. Based on the huge TRP ratings some of these shows have I cannot say they are not popular but come to think about it, why are they so popular in the first place? Again to go back to the fan base and the basic plots of these serials; as I mentioned most of the Hindi serials are family dramas based on (at least in the starting) on a whole and loving nuclear or joint family living in harmony with each other. But soon discord seeps into the loving “khandan” usually in the form of some distant relative or someone outside the loving family who seem to have scores to settle with everyone under god’s given earth …There is usually a willing accomplice within the household who helps in spreading the discord and we are on our way of episodes after episodes of so called “intrigues” which any teen ager can predict in their sleep. Now nothing against “Ekta Kapoor and her Balaji telefilms but they have stuck a huge goldmine when they came up with the whole concept. In India where these serials originate and concepts like joint families are far more popular what could be better then this?? You have house wives and newly weds who basically have nothing to do at home and when they turn to the TV this is what they see. Unfortunately apart from the machivilian sub twists in the plots the basic concepts in these serial such as marital and family strife are actually a harsh reality of the society. But the way it is portrayed isn’t it doing more harm then good?? You have old matriarchs of the household watching and what she sees in the television is a young bride plotting to usurp the authority of the “dadi ji” in the house hold. You have a young bride watching the TV and what she sees is a ”Samadhi” planning to breakup a marriage…and there are these old crones who will make the life of the new bride a living hell just because she is not of the same society as her proud family. Spare a thought for the poor children in these shows; they are usually silent props who as they grow up assume the role of the Machiavellian bride, dadi ji, or the Samadhi….

According to me here are ten things you can learn while watching a Hindi serial of today:

1. If you are a new bride always beware that you be on the good side of the matriarch. Remember she controls the so called “keys” to your power.

2. Do not get on the bad books of your sister-in-laws or other in laws. Ultimately your happiness in the household is in their hands

3. You cannot be subservient nor can you be dominating. If you are the former you run the risk of getting bullied, while if you are the later someone will always hate you and try and make your life hell.

4. Now if you are the husband: Your new wife will never respect your mom. She will (according to your mom!) always trying to make her suffer.

5. She has no respect for your family traditions and maybe even a “loose women”

6. If you are a mother: beware your new bride of the household is here to usurp your authority as soon as possible. Make her life a living hell from the word go. Possible way to do is to have your son’s /husband’s/other family members and fill them up with bad facts about the daughter in law.

7. If you are the matriarch/patriarch of the family: Your family name is bound to be dragged through the mud and you are not liable to come out smelling of roses on the other side.

8. The great “Dream Company” of yours which you have built “brick by brick” is liable to be broken along with your household and may or may not come together ever again.

9. If you are a child please brace yourself to witness some power struggles amongst various members of your family and be ready to face some very traumatic events.

10. Applicable if you are in a joint family and you are the distant relative of some sorts: You will never get your justifiable share in the family property for all the hard work you have put in so it is better to destroy the whole family who has looked after you and take everything for yourself.

N.B: Although these situations may not occur always chances are often high!

And these might just be the tip of the iceberg of possible side effects from these serials and yet so many people actually swear by them and these become hot topics for boring “kitty parties.”Wonder why our social structure is like it is?? Not hat to say all Hindi serial are like this. I still remember older serials like “Just mohabbat” “hip hip Hooray”. “son pari” “chamatkar” with great fondness but alas they have long finished and their subsequent replacements the “Vidaih’s” “kusum” and various others are a sad reflection on the whole society, industry, and various people who work in them.

Now let’s take a look at English sitcoms most of them originating from the USA. Most of these are based on what exists in western societies but they have a huge fan following all around the world. Especially amongst the youth and middle aged. These serials as I said are based on western culture most of which are taboo in our society.ie. having a girlfriend amongst various other cultural differences, and here in according to me lies their attraction. With the greatest respect to our traditions and cultures I must note that we have been fed on Hollywood movies and the internet and because of that often tradition and culture might appear a bit too cumbersome. We see these serials and we know that it is a huge improbability that we will achieve the things shown. I.e. Swanky lifestyles, rich cars, fat paychecks, fabulous parties and beautiful men and women, but that is the exact fantasy many of us want to achieve in the first place in the materialistic world we live in. Why we like these serials is because they are fantasies and dreams. We look at these sitcoms and we are immersed in the fantasies, may that be a swanky job with fast cars and “fast women” or catching bad guys. Many of the sitcoms are well researched and funnily enough can be a learning experience as well. (There are various sitcoms such as “Bones” though dealing with morbid subjects such a forensics is informative if you are interested) As I mentioned in the beginning there are bad eggs that exist here as well. Sitcoms here also have their fair share of logic defying improbable story lines; one that immediately springs to mind is HEROES. It began with a very promising note where you have people spread all across the globe who have special powers and how their destinies are linked but soon the sheer magnitude of logic defying twists in which you find the hero being a nuclear bomb exploding and actually surviving it without a scratch. A secret organization with the sole mission to keep a track of “special powers” and soon and so forth you soon loose interest and horrified at the least. So yes all said and done some of the English sitcoms can also be a bad influence on the youth but according to the younger generation they are surely a lot palatable then the Hindi family dramas.

As I said there are good and bad eggs for both Hindi and English serials. They both have their fan followings and they are both popular. They have their own reasons for popularity. Each has its supporters and detractors. Maybe a time in the future will tell us which is doing good and which is doing harm or are they both conceptions to provide our materialistic mindsets with a semblance of happiness and peace.

Politics, current affairs, history...And the generation present.....

I once read a proverb which went something like this “A butterfly flapping its wings in China can cause ripples in the air in Hawaii.” At first I was stumped, how can a tiny butterfly in China effect anything in the other corner of the globe. Then I realized that what it basically means is all actions in the world are interrelated specially in our globalized materialistic times. I know this sound like some kind of doomsday saying but in fact it is a fact. Our each and every action affects someone else even if in some small ways. Why this narrow focus on politics, current affairs and history only then? Well policies, treaties, laws, bills, acts, laws passed in various parliaments all around the world would basically have an effect on the next generation of grown ups and continuous generations to come. People who at present are in their early and late teens mostly. As per history I am a strong believer in the fact that our past determines our future. We must learn from our past so that we do not commit the same mistakes in the future. Again unfortunately we all are good at giving advices but when it comes to following them there are very few practitioners.

Before I go any further I believe a few confessions are in order. I am an addict of current affairs and to some lesser extent of politics. I am based in India for the last 6-7 years and my day does not seem to be complete if I haven’t gone through one Indian and one Bangladeshi newspaper at the least and then kept abreast of developments through the various news websites. Also I am a major history buff fascinated with the period of World War 2. So you may feel my views a little conceited of my brethren and in general and are free to vilify me if that is the case.

Coming to politics and talking more specifically of student politics. Firstly I do not blame a single teenager or person from the young generation if they are not interested in it especially after the state of politics due to the “oh” so many numbers of esteemed leaders. Not all of us are like the current US President Barack Obama who when asked in school in Indonesia about what he wanted to be in the future promptly replied”United States President.” I find it hard to believe that in a country like Bangladesh where thousands of students laid down their lives during the language movement of 1952, where lakhs laid down their lives to win our freedom in 1971 student politics main concern now is controlling tenders for various government jobs, gaining control of student halls in various universities, and acting as hired guns for the highest bidder. It was indeed a great shame to see the condition of the Chatra league in the streets of Dhaka a few months back. I wonder what would student leaders like “Salam, Barkat, Rafiq, Jabbar” and others who laid down their lives during the language movement think if they could only see their successors in actions. But wait why would you blame the students only for this? They would do what is taught to them only. There are very few leaders but many flowers. So you have people who have money to burn entice these students from their educational pursuits with the promise of making a quick buck for doing their biddings and once you are in to these sorts of nefarious activities it is very hard to come out of it. Lets face it does a student have any options then rather then continuing. The less I say about the academic scene in universities the better. Mismanagement at the highest level through politically motivated appointees has only made the plight of the average student worse thereby driving them further. Even internationally reputed universities such as North South have seen ugly scenes of student violence which are unforgettable. This does not mean that the students are angels. Each party has their own faults and mistake and it is high time we solve this. Student politics in earlier times were based on a purpose or ideology, may that be the language or freedom movement in Bangladesh or in more recent times the Tina man square protest in the 1980s in China which led to massive human rights violations. Few countries in the world have a massive, responsive, well organized student movement as present in Bangladesh but alas it is put to all the wrong uses. What ultimately is the result is that governments are run by people who may not be incompetent but have their own vested interest at heart based on the present not in the future. Ultimately we will be the ones who would end up suffering. There are certain glimmers of hope such as shown in the massive protest seen in Dhaka University campus last year against the 1/11 rule. But again such glimmers are too few and far in between to give any positive diagnosis.

Now moving to current affairs or for clarity’s sake lets simplify it to international relations/international politics. Why is this important? To use one very hackneyed phrase the world today is much closer then they were ever before. Policies of one country especially of the developed ones affects the faith of various developing countries and by that the developed countries try and shape the policies of various developing countries to meet their own needs. The generation of today of which I am a part of must be made aware of all these things as it is our future that is being decided in places such as “The White House” ”Lokh Sabha” “Songsod” the “United Nations” “Kremlin” and “10,Downing Street” and other parts of the world. The Copenhagen summit to be held in sometimes is supposed to deal with the serious issue of climate change and global warming. It is touted as the successor to the Kyoto protocol and already it is in trouble due to the negative attitudes of various countries and the ambiguity of the text. Do many of us care? I was watching “Day after tomorrow” a movie by….. Which deals with the same subject. Made in 2004 it basically deals with catastrophic changes in the weather pattern but no one takes actions until the catastrophe strikes first. We are like that unfortunately. Although we may know deep within ourselves about ozone layer depletion and green house gas effect we would rather look the other way and let someone else deal with it. Not realizing that it night be too late.

President Obama won the Nobel Peace prize a month back. Need less to say it seemed a very bizarre decision at the very least. Although I agree it might be a hasty decision taking in the fact that he has assumed office only about nine months back he has indeed taken some bold actions. Showing a willingness to reestablish contact with Iran who his predecessor George Bush had labeled to belong to the “Axis of Evil” he has shown the willingness to move away from conventional biases. His speech to the Muslim world a few months back from Cairo University was a significant occurrence extending the hand of peace to the Muslim world at large and some veiled well disguised displeasure on the actions of USA’s erstwhile ally Israel in the West Bank and Gaza strip. These steps while nothing concrete or substantial as many might say are a significant start and we can only hope that he has the ability strength and willingness to follow up on them. To repeat my well worn out question how many teenagers are actually aware of all this but can recount the history of UEFA Champions league or the English Premier League from at least 5 years earlier. As we lie in our bed tonight in the relative safety of our home there are million of children in Pakistan’s tribal areas such as Waziristan who do not have a roof over their head or even the promise of safety of life because of violent conflicts going on between government forces and extremist elements. Same was the case in Sri Lanka a few months back. The same story is being repeated in Yemen now and in places such as Palestine, Israel or Lebanon the story is decades old. What fault has these children committed? For the matter of fact what fault has their parents committed? Their only fault was that they were at the wrong place and for that their whole future life now lay in ruins? But again who will take the blame? They would be termed as “Unfortunate Casualties” and left to that. Months later some effort might be done to rehabilitate them but by that time will it actually matter at all? The child will remember nothing but running for his life and the hard life in the displacement camps. Can anyone return their smile? We owe it to them if nothing else to see that the same mistakes and same faults are not repeated when it is our chance to run this world.

Now to History! As I said our present and future is hidden in our past. The position of the United States as a world super power can be traced back to the post World War 2 era. They were one of the only countries who came out of World War 2 without a scratch. Which gave them the power to dominate a post war world and slowly but surely they emerged as the only super power from the 90’s after the break up of the Soviet Union. History teaches us about our past. It tells us to take pride in being what we are. The history of mankind itself is fascinating from early days as cavemen who were afraid of even fire to the modern versions we see today. Through history we should learn to be proud of our origins rather then running like drones after corporate MNC jobs and the dream of a citizenship that many of us do. The Republic of Bangladesh won its freedom after a bloody 9 month struggle and the cost of 3 million lives. Even though we have huge potential for growth but it is indeed unfortunate that the people in power are more immersed in their petty squabbles then working together for a better future for our country.

Again don’t get me wrong. I know we are all patriots at heart and have only the best interest of our nation at heart. Many of us I pray will go on to enlighten the name of Bangladesh in the global stage at a later time. But we can no longer sit at home and twiddle our thumbs when it is our future that is being decided. The funny thing is we are not even consulted for the purpose. I know grown ups might know what is best for the future and will take the right and necessary steps, but can we really remain silent? Pretty soon it would be our turn to run the world and to decide its future. The least we can do is have some knowledge and preparation to run it, rather then waiting for the right time to actually come. Now don’t get me wrong; in no way am I advocating you guys to switch to BBC World and Al Jazeera from Star Sports or MTV on a 24 hour basis. With so many issues that there are it will turn even the most cheerful of us morbid. But at the very least try and learn, understand and care. After all it is your and my future too. It is OUR future.

The whole generational gap

I was reading this book the other day “From Fishponds to Warships: Pearl Harbor; a complete illustrated history” by Allan Seiden when some lines in the dedication caught my eye. The author while dedicated the book amongst various others dedicated it also “To the 2500 people who died on the faithful day of December 7, 1941 and to the generation of which they were a part, for its willingness to sacrifice for the common good and to fight all necessary battles.”As I read this it got me thinking, my mind turned to the whole generation gap that people talk about between my and my parents generation. Today’s generation of which I am a part of is described to be modern, innovative, brilliant, up to speed, and through various other catch phrases. While our parent’s generation: well let me just say that I have heard some very unkind words spoken about it from few of my peers!! I mean don’t get me wrong. I do agree and am grateful to the fact that we are technology savvy, we propound a much more modern type of thinking then “mom and dad’s” generation, we are more then capable of taking care of ourselves I do deeply appreciate the power that modern technology has given in our hand but to what use are we putting them to? I know that to readers of my age group this sounds like another of those oh! Such boring sermons that we get so often from our parents (I have had countless of them) but give me a chance. If you do not agree to what I say by the end of the article you are free to vilify me as much as you can. I will like to make this very clear that what I am about to say does not necessarily describe all high school/college going children but unfortunately it may describe the majority of them. Ok enough beating around the bush to dive right back into the point I am trying to make was this: as I read the lines in the dedication I wondered what it actually meant?? It talked about a generation specifically that of our grandfathers and the courage and sacrifices they made. Old news you tell me? Well I couldn’t agree with you more strongly! I mean who in today’s world has time for sacrifice and courage right?? We are too busy listening to the next sound track on our iPod or planning the next weekend party. Who cares if some three million people died in a period of nine months to give us the independence that we enjoy today. Not to sound arrogant but I am referring to our own War of Indepence fought in 1971. For those of you who think I doubt your patriotism or courage and determination I sincerely apologize but the fact is we live in a world dominated by materialism, a world where F TV and MTV holds more importance then National Geographic or BBC world ever will. I mean who has time to see a report on the destruction of Bamyan Buddhas in Afghanistan when you have Guns & Roses live on the other channel!!No competition there. We can narrate the entire Transformer movie story line without a pause but we will have trouble of naming leaders of the 10 most powerful countries in the world. We will give play by play account of Manchester United’s last game but we are stumped when asked about the language movement in our country in the 50’s. A sudden thought just stuck me now: I wonder how many high school/college going children are actually going to pick up the newspaper in the first place to see what is happening around the world, especially if they have the latest Dan Brown novel to finish! I am not saying that recreational use of technology or reading a novel is bad but it should be kept to a certain extent. Recreational use of technology should just be that”recreational” We ask our parents for the latest computers and gadgets but for what? So that we can give our latest updates on facebook! I am not asking for us to turn luddites (that is a ridiculous suggestion!) but we can at least do some good if we try. Instead of using those ridiculous application on social networking site such as “Who were you in the past life??” or “Find out your time of death” let us actually do some good and read up on issues such as climate change or say the Bermuda triangle! As we rest in the comfort of our cozy bed listening to the latest songs and surfing the net there are people in other parts of the world the same age as you who do not have that luxury as they fight each and every minute of their lives for survival from the wrath of nature and man...

The rule of nature states about evolution of species. How species evolve over generation to be better stronger and more aptly suited for survival and by that definition we certainly have evolved from the time of our parents, but the question begs to be answered have we evolved for the better or worse? We have evolved in the sense that we have adopted a more modern style of thinking in keeping with the times, we have evolved in embracing technology in all it’s wonder but at the same time we have paid a high price for this evolution. We have become materialistic machine where the word “we” does not exist in our lexicon, it is always I that takes most importance, we have evolved but we have lost the ability to empathize with our fellow human beings. What matters is if we as individuals are happy, the whole world may just be dammed to kingdom come for all we care. You may think of me to be morbid but I sometimes feel jealous of my father or my grandfather’s generation. They lived in a time of great change and social drama and they fought to the best of their abilities to make a better place for their children. Looking at those times I am left to wonder would we have had the guts to do what was necessary. Fortunately or unfortunately we may never have to find out. But if we ever did my head and heart tell completely different stories, given what I have said so far I would have to go with my heart and it paints the gloomier picture by far. Remember the world we live in today is ultimately going to be run by us; and as much as you might think that there is still time to get your act together here is a wake up call for you. : the world is changing a a fast pace. What is there today won’t be there tomorrow.& it is high time we get up from the comfortable bed and actually start taking a interest in the world around us. The time to act may soon pass us by and we will be left stranded knowing not what we must do. Clichéd u tell me?? I know, but some of the best thoughts in the world are...Maybe that’s why they are called clichéd, they are said good number of times but no one listens to them until it’s too late.

Now it seems highly unfair that I put all the blame on my peer group for their lack of knowledge on issues not shown or discussed on twitter or channel v! I mean they will go for it since there is nothing else to do. I would like to ask few questions to our parents. Have you noticed our lack of concern with the world? Have you ever noticed our lack of apathy to each and everything? Have you ever wondered why is it so? Sure you all want what is best for your child but can you forever keep them away from the real world? Sheltered behind you looking out for them and taking care of them. I am indeed grateful to all of you for protecting us from the harsh realities of the world, for making sure that as we grow up we do not know what is suffering and what is hardship but there comes a time when you cannot/rather should not keep your child in under your protective wings catering to his every wimp and fancy. I am not asking to deny your child his/her childhood seeing how that is the only time someone can be sane in life but you have to help us so that we are able to stand up on our own two feet and go into the world as responsible citizen and do you proud of being called your children.

I have always been stuck by the line from the movie Spiderman.”With Great power comes great responsibilities” well even though we do not have any great power (unless you are a vigilante) we do have a great responsibility. All of us have a responsibility to make this world a better place to live in, and the best way to do that is to start acting aware of the world around us rather then being immersed in the small cocooned comfortable shelter we are so used to. Good Luck