Let me take you back a few steps on the timeline of your life to the days when you were a kid, an age until you became a teenager and then had the freedom to blame your hormones for everything you did. What was the definition of a "good" or a "bad" girl/boy? For the sake of simplicity, (before I launch into another sexist approach of how 'man' in history in always a 'he', another complaint of a 10-year old me,) let's talk about the concepts of "good boy" and "bad boy" among children.
I remember, how it was so important for me to make sure that I was told I am a "good" girl. Or at least, it was my mission as a child to avoid being called "bad". My parents (to whom I shall be eternally grateful for making me the person I am) had very clear concepts of good and bad defined for me. Let me see how much I can recall:
Good:
1. Be respectful not only to elders but to everyone you know. As a kid, everybody from the watchmen to my father's friend was addressed as "Uncle" out of respect. Believe me, I never felt it was forced.
2. Do well in all that you do. Studying, singing, dancing, whatever it was I did. And when I did well, I was always well rewarded and appreciated.
3. Be clean and hygienic. You can do certain activities in certain places, but never throw things on the streets, amongst others.
Bad:
1. Being whiney and stubborn. I've heard a few - what's the opposite of a compliment - in my time.
2. Breaking any of the "how to be good" rules already explained.
Now, what suddenly brought this up?
I used to be the person who loved kids. I enjoyed playing with them, being strict with them and have them use their simple logic capable of defying so many of my beliefs. But now, at times, I feel like I'd rather be away from them.
An incident that happened yesterday.
I was out with my cousins near home and we happened to see a boy, around 8 years old, very well dressed standing on the footpath. The next thing we noticed about him was that he was peeing. On the street. A busy street which can block your way for 5 whole minutes with shops on all the corners of the junction! It was one of the most disgusting sights on a Friday evening at 9 on a busy road of Navi Mumbai. No parents seemed to be around. After a little debate, we decided to follow the boy to see what we could find. We thought we saw him disappear into a shop, so we checked in. One lady on the counter smiled and said yes, the boy was theirs. Good. My sister spoke to the older lady, the mother, and explained what we witnessed and to take the reins of the child in control, especially regarding this matter. While we looked appropriately shocked at the behaviour, they looked at us incredulously, at first refusing to believe. A natural reaction for a parent, okay. But I did see the transformation in their expression when they realized how serious we were - and the Lady no. 1 was smiling, almost giggling away! The mother: she looked taken aback but did not respond much to what we had to say. And oh, I never explained which shop. A MEDICAL STORE!!!! As to the kid himself, he joyfully acknowledged his (no better word in English) "kartoot" and went off somewhere again!!!?!
What is happening, people? I see kids dominating parents like never before, showing little respect to elders or, for that matter, anyone. Why is a child more "bad" than "good", today? If the "bad" is becoming the new "good", then surely tomorrow the country's civic condition will go from "bad" to "worse" and what then? Who do we blame? If at the age of 8 it's ok for him to pee on public roads, I shudder to think what his concepts of "ok" and "good" are when he grows up.
One more incident that happened in the train.
This lady got up from her coveted seat in a crowded train when the train passed the bridge to throw a bag of plastic outside. A young girl stopped her and requested her not to do so. The lady then asked her how else she could dispose the plastic bag. The girl told her that she would take the plastic bag and throw it in a bin but implored her not to throw the bag over the bridge, as it affected the marine life. The elder lady in question was a "modern" lady with a big phone, trendy salwar suit and shoulder length open hair. I was talking about children. What to do about these people?
The one lesson I can take with me from this experience is that tomorrow I will not hesitate to walk up to a parent or the adult and tell them that them or their children are defiling public property. So should you. If this is the condition of the so called educated middle class, can you imagine the condition of those not priviliged to the knowledge of hygiene and civic sense? In our limits, let us try to put our education and civic sense to good use and help those who have forgotten for, not just a better country, but for the sake of our own humanity, before it ceases to exist as we have thought of it to be.
I remember, how it was so important for me to make sure that I was told I am a "good" girl. Or at least, it was my mission as a child to avoid being called "bad". My parents (to whom I shall be eternally grateful for making me the person I am) had very clear concepts of good and bad defined for me. Let me see how much I can recall:
Good:
1. Be respectful not only to elders but to everyone you know. As a kid, everybody from the watchmen to my father's friend was addressed as "Uncle" out of respect. Believe me, I never felt it was forced.
2. Do well in all that you do. Studying, singing, dancing, whatever it was I did. And when I did well, I was always well rewarded and appreciated.
3. Be clean and hygienic. You can do certain activities in certain places, but never throw things on the streets, amongst others.
Bad:
1. Being whiney and stubborn. I've heard a few - what's the opposite of a compliment - in my time.
2. Breaking any of the "how to be good" rules already explained.
Now, what suddenly brought this up?
I used to be the person who loved kids. I enjoyed playing with them, being strict with them and have them use their simple logic capable of defying so many of my beliefs. But now, at times, I feel like I'd rather be away from them.
An incident that happened yesterday.
I was out with my cousins near home and we happened to see a boy, around 8 years old, very well dressed standing on the footpath. The next thing we noticed about him was that he was peeing. On the street. A busy street which can block your way for 5 whole minutes with shops on all the corners of the junction! It was one of the most disgusting sights on a Friday evening at 9 on a busy road of Navi Mumbai. No parents seemed to be around. After a little debate, we decided to follow the boy to see what we could find. We thought we saw him disappear into a shop, so we checked in. One lady on the counter smiled and said yes, the boy was theirs. Good. My sister spoke to the older lady, the mother, and explained what we witnessed and to take the reins of the child in control, especially regarding this matter. While we looked appropriately shocked at the behaviour, they looked at us incredulously, at first refusing to believe. A natural reaction for a parent, okay. But I did see the transformation in their expression when they realized how serious we were - and the Lady no. 1 was smiling, almost giggling away! The mother: she looked taken aback but did not respond much to what we had to say. And oh, I never explained which shop. A MEDICAL STORE!!!! As to the kid himself, he joyfully acknowledged his (no better word in English) "kartoot" and went off somewhere again!!!?!
What is happening, people? I see kids dominating parents like never before, showing little respect to elders or, for that matter, anyone. Why is a child more "bad" than "good", today? If the "bad" is becoming the new "good", then surely tomorrow the country's civic condition will go from "bad" to "worse" and what then? Who do we blame? If at the age of 8 it's ok for him to pee on public roads, I shudder to think what his concepts of "ok" and "good" are when he grows up.
One more incident that happened in the train.
This lady got up from her coveted seat in a crowded train when the train passed the bridge to throw a bag of plastic outside. A young girl stopped her and requested her not to do so. The lady then asked her how else she could dispose the plastic bag. The girl told her that she would take the plastic bag and throw it in a bin but implored her not to throw the bag over the bridge, as it affected the marine life. The elder lady in question was a "modern" lady with a big phone, trendy salwar suit and shoulder length open hair. I was talking about children. What to do about these people?
The one lesson I can take with me from this experience is that tomorrow I will not hesitate to walk up to a parent or the adult and tell them that them or their children are defiling public property. So should you. If this is the condition of the so called educated middle class, can you imagine the condition of those not priviliged to the knowledge of hygiene and civic sense? In our limits, let us try to put our education and civic sense to good use and help those who have forgotten for, not just a better country, but for the sake of our own humanity, before it ceases to exist as we have thought of it to be.
