Landmark to a friend's place made me to sit-up and ponder. How aware are the young about our country's golden past and the freedom struggle!!!!
The entire anecdote unfolded when I was unable to find the statue of Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru .And I enquired the same with a boy almost 12yrs old. "WHO?" greeted his quizzed face. Patiently I asked him again in a child's language -" Where is Chachaji's statue?” Suddenly a flash of familiarity brightened his expression and he answered in a scholastic tone " Over there, behind the building, stands a statue of a bald uncle. Is that the one you mean?" but I never knew that Nehruji had gone bald. Anyways without another query I walked a few meters more to confirm the newfound info. Lo!! There stood a statue of Ambedkar. That pushed out the final puff of breath left in me. But Thank god!!! He didn't guide me to the nearby Hanumanji's statue. I whispered to myself and to almighty.
I was confused, surprised, and angry all together at once. A torrent of questions showered deep inside me. Didn’t the boy know Ambedkar too? Isn’t he going to school? If not isn’t he missing primary education and we a valuable citizen? But he had already merged with the market crowd, absolutely ignorant that he had misled me. And I felt pity on myself, not to have corrected him.
And as the truth slowly dawned on me on how lucky I am to have received the bounties on earth and also on how much India lags behind in certain arenas, even if the figures showcase a potential power in the making.
As for Gandhiji’s teachings and principles, Munnabhai essayed the role in enlightening the masses. Maybe if it were a Gandhi statue, the boy would have identified correctly. Now who will hold the Munnabhai mantle for the other great personalities who walked our country? Still pondering!!!!
The entire anecdote unfolded when I was unable to find the statue of Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru .And I enquired the same with a boy almost 12yrs old. "WHO?" greeted his quizzed face. Patiently I asked him again in a child's language -" Where is Chachaji's statue?” Suddenly a flash of familiarity brightened his expression and he answered in a scholastic tone " Over there, behind the building, stands a statue of a bald uncle. Is that the one you mean?" but I never knew that Nehruji had gone bald. Anyways without another query I walked a few meters more to confirm the newfound info. Lo!! There stood a statue of Ambedkar. That pushed out the final puff of breath left in me. But Thank god!!! He didn't guide me to the nearby Hanumanji's statue. I whispered to myself and to almighty.
I was confused, surprised, and angry all together at once. A torrent of questions showered deep inside me. Didn’t the boy know Ambedkar too? Isn’t he going to school? If not isn’t he missing primary education and we a valuable citizen? But he had already merged with the market crowd, absolutely ignorant that he had misled me. And I felt pity on myself, not to have corrected him.
And as the truth slowly dawned on me on how lucky I am to have received the bounties on earth and also on how much India lags behind in certain arenas, even if the figures showcase a potential power in the making.
As for Gandhiji’s teachings and principles, Munnabhai essayed the role in enlightening the masses. Maybe if it were a Gandhi statue, the boy would have identified correctly. Now who will hold the Munnabhai mantle for the other great personalities who walked our country? Still pondering!!!!
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