Inspiration
Why are we aping the west, at the cost of our own wealth of knowledge? – Lakshyaraj Singh Mewar
I hope we can inculcate the quality of hard work in our children. Where I come from, I am not ashamed to mention that we are taught to touch our teachers’ feet. This happens only in India. To be born as a human being is a big thing, but to be born as an educator is a blessing: Lakshyaraj Singh Mewar
It is absolutely a pleasure and honour to be here amongst this august gathering. I see some of my old school teachers here; if you see even one in the crowd it certainly makes you nervous even if you have spoken before in front of a larger gathering! I want to thank the platform as well for inviting me to be here, speaking on a topic that is very relevant in today’s times. While I was on my way here, looking at the august panel of speakers, I realised the only person who was out of place was myself! I am the last one who should have actually been here, the person who has always sat at the back of the class; if I could have pushed the walls behind the last bench I guess I would have! But what I did realise was that by asking an average student, or a below-average student to come here and speak, what this platform has really done is give respect – not to Lakshyaraj Singh Mewar but to the average student. This is a specialty of Indian culture. This is the strength of our education.
Since yesterday I have been attending the Fest, I’ve been listening to the speakers, to my teachers. Watching the whole atmosphere, two lines come to my mind: ‘Mehez hungama khada karna hamara maqsad nahi, koshish yeh hai ki rut badalni chahiye’. It is not our intention to make a noise but to bring about a change. With so many esteemed personages, principals from different schools gathered together under one roof, it goes without saying that there will be change.
I would like to start by pondering over the importance of discussing the Dignity of Labour. There has been a lot of discussion about Time. There was a time when not everyone had a watch, but everyone had the time. Today everyone has a watch, but nobody has time. ‘Waqt aata hai aur waqt jaata hai, waqt ko sambhalkar rakhiyega, waqt bewaqt kaam aata hain’. This is something we need to truly understand. Time passes, use it with utmost sensibility. We talk a lot about technology. I am not against technology at all, in fact I must be the youngest speaker here; I should be the most tech savvy. When we talk about Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, how many likes, how many friends and followers is all we care about. At home we might not be on talking terms with our family. We are moving away from reality. Technology has indeed brought the world closer but it has also distanced us from each other. Where do we want to go? Looking for life on other planets, who will find out first whether there is life on Mars… My question is, why can’t we find happiness in our lives?
About languages, I want to add that I am not against the learning of new languages. English is an international language, one should know all languages. But having said that, why are we aping the west, at the cost of our own wealth of knowledge? Why are we leaving behind our culture? I was not a popular student; my teachers will vouch for the fact that I spent more time looking out of the window during class. Hindi was not my strongest point, but later I realized the value of our language and how vast, beautiful and scientific it is. We belong to such a great nation; we should use the language in our daily lives, and feel proud of it. Can we carry a message from this stage that our Hindi is a language we should be proud of?
Yesterday a speaker made us aware of Rai Chand… In Rajasthan, we are aware of such a person, Rai Chand. Giving advice is easiest in India and the cheapest. Everybody knows how to advise Sachin Tendulkar on how to make 100 runs. Somebody who has never got a finger injured will dish out advice on how to get a bypass. If you are making a house, be prepared to get advice from someone who has never constructed a house himself.
The second type of people found in our country belongs to the Gyan Chand category, the know-it-all. Let me tell you a small story about a sweet shop. A man strolls into a mithai shop and tells the owner, “This is such a nice shop, you should put up a board, ‘Fresh sweets available here’.” Then a second person comes in, reads the board and says, “Remove the word ‘here’; it’s self-explanatory.” Similarly, more people come in and keep making suggestions. Finally, only the word ‘Sweets’ remains on the board! To cut a long story short, it’s very easy to dole out knowledge.
Other types of people commonly found – Hukum Baaz, who will not do anything, but only give orders! We should beware of such people.
And don’t forget Hoshiyaar Chand, the type who does not need anyone, and believes they know more than Google.
Finally, there is Karam Chand, the kind of people who believe in doing as opposed to merely talking. We need to constantly evolve and work hard. I congratulate Ravi Santlani and SGEF for organising such a fest and gathering so many people under one roof. I hope we can inculcate the quality of hard work in our children. Where I come from, I am not ashamed to mention that we are taught to touch our teachers’ feet. This happens only in India. To be born as a human being is a big thing, but to be born as an educator is a blessing.