OH
GOD TEACH ME, HOW TO TEACH
My
nine years old grand-daughter Aakriti had a conversation with my wife which she
narrated to me thus:
Aak:
“ Paati, I wish I could vote this time”
My
wife: “You are too young to vote. Any way
if you were to vote who will you vote for?”
“I
will vote for Narendra Modi uncle”
“Do
you know which party he belongs to?”
“Yes,
BJP”
“The
names are in Kannada, you can’t read Kannada, and how do you know you are
voting for BJP?”
“That’s
why they have the symbols. I will press on LOTUS symbol”
“Why
do you want to vote for BJP?”
“Modi
uncle is a good man. He will make broad roads, provide many books to read. With
the same pocket money I can buy many more books than now. I can buy more Barbie
doll sets for playing”
“What
do you mean by saying more?”
“Everything
is very expensive. When Modi uncle becomes PM, all prices will go down”
“Why
do you think so?”
“
Modi uncle is a good man, he doesn’t take bribes. My friends are saying that
all things are costly now because the Congress government takes bribes and we
are charged more for that”
“What
do you think of Rahul Anna?”
“My
friends say he is not intelligent man. He behaves like king. Our country
follows democracy, and why should people of same family become PM. Then it
becomes monarchy”
“Have
you thought of Communists?”
“Yes,
in communism, all national wealth is enjoyed by all. That means each person
gets a share. India, has very low natural resources and population is high. Our
share will be very small”
“How
do you know all these”
“They
taught us in school”
“Amazing.
Alright, now you have to wait till you become 18 to vote”
“Okay,
Paatti I will go play with Swarna as of now”
I
was astonished to learn about this conversation. She will do well if she
studies political science and law when she grows up. May be I will not be alive
to see that great day.
Two
days later she asked me doubts on partition of India, formation of states etc.
I was thoroughly impressed by her uptake and knowledge. I told her about how
the rulers were empowered to decide on going to which side etc. Then suddenly I
realized, how limited my knowledge was. The limitation came from the
distortions made by the media, ruling governments with their own agenda and
some fiction writers impersonating as historians.
Then
I remembered an old song, sung by Jim Reeves
‘Teach
me how to pray’
(Daddy
my daddy teach me how to pray)
One
night a sleepy little boy knelt beside my bed
He
smiled and looked into my eyes and this is what he said’
Daddy,
my daddy, teach me how to pray
You
brought me home a brand new kite showed me how to fly
And
there ain’t no wonder kid whose dad can knock a ball so high
I’d
like to thank God for you, but don’t know what to say
So
daddy, my daddy, teach me how to pray
I’d
to turn and leave his room, he began to cry
I
didn’t want my boy to know so did I
His
best pal forsaken him, but what was there to say
For
daddy, yes daddy had forgotten how to pray
(Daddy,
my daddy teach me how to pray)
Oh
God save me from ignorant media, historians, politicians. Teach me how to teach
JaiBharat
good one indeed
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