You said I was the future
You said I should be nurtured.
But why didn’t you ever see this suture
And give me a nourished composure
I battled with clausure.
I was tarnished with aventure.
Went, on to live a life of censure.
Now I seek a thought on my life.
As, I need to survive.
Please show me light I need to thrive!
Life has several connotations and utilities for human beings. When god uncovered such a fragile entity what would have been his reaction? Did his calls of “eureka “, “eureka”, bombard the cosmos? Well God must not have been that modest to neglect the whimsical sense of pride. After all it was an endeavor which was about to change his long list of creative productions.
Life for me encompasses every ambit of my mere existence, and for its sustenance I need to be equipped with adequate resources ;so as to showcase my finest talents which are deeply ingrained within my “self –mask”.
Then how can GOD be that flexible in approach to vest the reigns of my life in another meager human being? My indication in this regard is towards those authoritarian figures that maneuver our life’s during the most critical segment, i.e. “Our Childhood”. What if they commit an error in the execution of such a job? Wont that ruin our lives forever ! When our parents are bestowed with the opportunity to decide on our behalf, shouldn’t they make the maximum exploitation of their resources so as to provide us with the best forum for our enhancement?
Aren’t they selfish with regard to the career decision that we take? Don’t they even try to regulate and take control of our life?
Our life is important for us – So only we can realize its worth .So why can’t we lead our life on our own terms, deciding upon every aspect of our endurance; So that our life and its every faculty will be ours. We take the responsibilities for our mistakes and delight in our achievements. I know this reflects the perfect reiteration of the individualistic ideology. But that would have been never an issue if every child would have been benefited by the decision taken by his parents and teachers.
So before we take a decision on someone else’s life we should be a bit compassionate to ask for the other person’s views. If parents and their autocratic mannerisms continue. Then we shall be blessed with a generation who have lost the faculty to decide for themselves and are left with a catastrophe.
(I wouldn’t dare to call that life!)
For millions of children ‘schools’ are a dream in India; especially children who hail from the disadvantaged sects of the societal setup. When we propagate the ideology of Learning with dignity we perceive to weave a world that not only bestows a child with her right to education but also provides her the dignity to flourish within her local cultural climate so that she doesn’t feel alienated within the learning process. In India the geographical disparities breeds’ miniscule cultures within itself and that at times that becomes a subject of anxiety as, the rule of majority retards the healthy development of the minority groups .History has been a witness to break-down of states and formation of new states due to linguistic dissonances of the people. Similarly in the under-developed state of Odisha a chunk of population holds tribal identity locally recognized as “Adivasis”.These section of people invariably possess a common ancestry and culture of their own. Statistics marks that, out of 74.6 million children of tribal origin inIndia about 8.1 million reside within inaccessible forest pockets of Odisha. Thereby making it crucial for the government to bring-out ways to provide these young minds a chance to flourish and reach out to their maximum potential.
Census report confirms the existence of about 62 groups of indigenous people inhabiting Odisha major ones being Kondhs, Saura, Santhals, Gond, Munda and Juang.
What I want to understand doesn’t a child from that underprivileged section; have a right to be able to transit from the unknown to the known? Doesn’t that child deserve an understanding about the world around her? Doesn’t that child need a better tomorrow? If the answer to all these questions is affirmative then acknowledging a mother-tongue based early childhood learning is the need of the hour. Forced merger of children from tribal communities into the mainstream is not the solution to counter the impending illiteracy and the vicious cycle of malice in the Indian Society. That hasn’t been the answer over last 65 years and shall never be the answer. Time is here to advocate the needs of these deprived sections not through just reservations at various levels but giving them a platform that makes their foundation strong so that they are at par with the other citizens of the nation rather than being positively discriminated at all levels.
Studies carried out on early childhood care and education stands, to validate the fact that minority communities believe in retention and transmission of their cultural and linguistic heritage to the young members of their communities. Therefore, initiative to begin education in ones mother tongue will act as a positive rein forcer for the community members and they shall be a party to the whole process of early child learning. Fluency and literacy in mother tongue shall also lead to a stronger cognitive foundation for the child’s development simultaneously. This can ultimately counter the early school leaving and low academic achievements of the minority tribal groups. It shall also pave way for inter-cultural understanding and interpretation of inter-group value based systems. On the other hand, if the child is thrusted with an alien language initially he would often have a realization that his mother-tongue is undervalued and therefore will develop a low self-esteem that shall affect learning.
If Odisha has to blossom then it needs to address the issue of strong educational foundation for its entire people. And that shall be evident when optimum meta-linguistic accommodation is done in the educational process. Therefore I believe in upholding the whole campaign of Learning with dignity and spearhead a mother-tongue based early childhood learning process that is so strong that it has a life long effect on an individual’s life.
To Support the cause like this page: https://www.facebook.com/odishaadivasimanch
Penetrating through ravines and looming threat of Maoists when I entered into Daringbadi, a hill station in Kandhmal District of Odisha I was mesmerized with its scenic beauty. The snaky way atop had given enough excitement already; till the snippets from my colleague with regard to the recent Italian abduction from the belt made it, more convincing to take the journey altogether. For many this highly sensitive area is often a taboo to be discussed but at a personal level I believe why not love a place for its beauty, essence than delve in its sinuous representation. How many of us get to do the work that we enjoy, I am one of the lucky few who gets that chance. Working as a Communication Support in the developmental domain I travel to faraway places in unseen lands. More than anything it’s the people that I meet, the love they share and the experiences I experience with nuanced satisfying moments that makes this whole job more challenging and worth retaining.
I recently visited a model run school in socio-economically deprived zone, of Odisha. And while conversing with my local partner representative ,there was a realization that it was more of a life-changing understanding of my home state rather than just a field trip. Like many other of my contemporaries’ life came in platter to me. My parents stringently chalked my life, but I couldn’t sustain within the pigeon-holed dimension called Life. I seeked a life where I could be an inspiration, a life that gave me a good night’s sleep with a degree of gratification that I did the change that I dreamt of! And when opportunities allowed me to work in this sector and it was then that I took a plunge into my life.
When I held little Karisma in my lap at the demonstrative school all the pain while struggling to strive melted with her unstoppable giggles. I lost myself in to a world that was so different, so encompassing, and so real.I saw twenty odd children in a single room from mixed age-groups fearlessly dancing on a community song in their local dialect of Kui (A tribal Language) with their facilitator in Petrabadi a hamlet submerged in deep tribal pocket of Daringbadi. Inaccessible for you and me without basic amenities, the children sustain here and are part of a pilot project on injection of mother-tongue based education in the age group of 0-6 years of age. For many of you wondering why a child so young needs to study, then it’s a program which amalgamates care and school readiness desirably because a child is regarded as “tabula rasa” paint what you want and the canvas shows you the beauty of your dreams.
Amazingly Karisma a girl who could have spent her entire life working in the fields or as a cowherd jumps in glee with her peers while singing a rhyme in English. (Not surprising enough right ).You would be spell-bound when you speculate the life that she lives away from the modernity that we are so accustomed , she doesn’t even know that there is any concept of electricity.She doesn’t even know there are gadgets to get work done ,but the centre has facilitated her to understand her immediate environment,love her culture, have the scope to see opportunities scattered in the world for her.
She is ready for primary school this year, a right that she is born with, but in order to enjoy her right she needs to understand the right ,know that she has such a right in the first place and only then can the spirit of that right will be felt. This experiment prepares her for that transition.
What are you and I in a world where young children are so deprived of life?
Young children like Karisma are present around you just give them a thought!
–
Ever wondered about a world without Chocolates ? For a “Chocolate Connoisseur” it’s a hara-kiri. But have you ever thought that the “world’s best cocoa beans that come from the African Sub-continent that goes into making the finger-licking chocolates “have their foundations on a issue as provoking as Child Labour ?
No,You didn’t right?
Well so is the story, a child as young as five is dragged into a cocoa plantation due to extreme poverty every day. He works the whole day in hot temperatures with the threat of insect and snake bites. Lack of proper food, harassment from the kinch-pins in his business marks his day. But on the other hand what does that child deserve food, safe environment, proper education and healthy childhood. You think you aren’t responsible for all this right? Well lets get it straight it’s because of us as consumers we fuel the demand for the product.
Would you ever send you’re five year old in the sun to fetch his bread?
Would you starve him for ten hours ?
A is child crying to be free from the cauldron of harassment. He is waiting for you to raise a voice and make a difference.At a personal level I wouldn’t conspire to “Give up on chocolates”.I really wouldn’t but what about thinking for an alternative such as Fair trade chocolates. To be fair trade certified, a company must not engage in forced and abusive child labor, they must pay cocoa farmers a price that is adequate to meet their basic human needs, and they must employ environmentally sustainable production methods. So, I question to know from a company that they don’t hire children and generate their products in an ethically disposed manner.
Every one of you reading this post think for second. How you can contribute ? Yes you can share the idea around let people know what they don’t .Repost this thing and move forward as a “Global Conscious Citizen”. I did my bit by writing about it and sharing with my friends’ .
So should YOU!
I lurk unrecognized in one corner of the cosmos
I strive to make four square meals…
But I am an Indian who dreams of the nation’s prosperity ..
And takes pride in its up heals.
