As i was trying to name this blog , found this word whose meaning is alias.so this kind of fitted the bill perfectly.
| South Keralite |
| Gemini |
| RMHS - 93 |
| RSKite - 95 |
| TKMCE - 99 |
| CTSen |
| Athelete |
| Left Midfielder |
| Medium Pacer |
Monday, February 13, 2006
Rang de
After a favorable review in the papers, the film Rang De Basanti turned out to be rather filmy or rather should I say Hindi filmy. There have been various films in the recent past trying to kindle the patriotic fervor in the youth, who in recent times are just like leaves tossed around in the wind. The common thread in these films is the message to the youth that future of India is in their hands, it’s for them to realize the same and take up their responsibility. Fair message one should say considering the way our youth skitter through their lives without any contributions to the society they live.
The statement these films have been making is for the youth to take up politics as a panacea to solve the problems faced. This is where all these films have got it wrong. The films seem to always favor the top-down approach i.e. put the right people that govern us and then we will be able to solve all our problems. Well, the line of though is typical of Indian mindset where we expect a messiah to solve our problems with one swipe of his magic wand. What we forget is that our politicians of today are hyperbolic version of the average Indian. He is just a representation of the values an average Indian holds in his life. An average Indian bends rules, lies, cheats and does so many illegal things at a minuscule level in his daily life. It’s just that a politician does the same things at his own minuscule level. So the top-down approach is sure to fail because a few good people can never change the world because their actions would never be understood for them to be successful.
So, how do we tackle this problem? There is no magic wand or there is no elixir that would make our nation great. Its about doing small things right, as they say in sports, its about doing the basics right. What is the basics of a great nation, it’s the values that each individual follows. Each of us knows what are the good values, but somewhere in between the hectic life and our selfishness we have pushed our values to our backseat. We need to get them back; we need to show our kids, our children some right values. Why do you think our president Dr. Abdul Kalam stresses in interacting with kids, because he knows that that is where he can inculcate change and that is where he can sow the seeds for a brighter and vibrant nation. I think we need to take a leaf out of his book and then each of us practices the same in every small way. We need to teach kids independent thinking, appreciation of their surroundings and preservation of the same, good manners, good habits, right spirit in competition, choosing the right path even though its hard, etc. While we preach our kids these values we need to practice those values we preach and also harden their resolve to do things the right way even though they might be able to succeed easily and faster taking the other path. Also we need to throw out of the window our old beliefs that pull us backward and use techniques and methodology that are in tune with our times.
The statement these films have been making is for the youth to take up politics as a panacea to solve the problems faced. This is where all these films have got it wrong. The films seem to always favor the top-down approach i.e. put the right people that govern us and then we will be able to solve all our problems. Well, the line of though is typical of Indian mindset where we expect a messiah to solve our problems with one swipe of his magic wand. What we forget is that our politicians of today are hyperbolic version of the average Indian. He is just a representation of the values an average Indian holds in his life. An average Indian bends rules, lies, cheats and does so many illegal things at a minuscule level in his daily life. It’s just that a politician does the same things at his own minuscule level. So the top-down approach is sure to fail because a few good people can never change the world because their actions would never be understood for them to be successful.
So, how do we tackle this problem? There is no magic wand or there is no elixir that would make our nation great. Its about doing small things right, as they say in sports, its about doing the basics right. What is the basics of a great nation, it’s the values that each individual follows. Each of us knows what are the good values, but somewhere in between the hectic life and our selfishness we have pushed our values to our backseat. We need to get them back; we need to show our kids, our children some right values. Why do you think our president Dr. Abdul Kalam stresses in interacting with kids, because he knows that that is where he can inculcate change and that is where he can sow the seeds for a brighter and vibrant nation. I think we need to take a leaf out of his book and then each of us practices the same in every small way. We need to teach kids independent thinking, appreciation of their surroundings and preservation of the same, good manners, good habits, right spirit in competition, choosing the right path even though its hard, etc. While we preach our kids these values we need to practice those values we preach and also harden their resolve to do things the right way even though they might be able to succeed easily and faster taking the other path. Also we need to throw out of the window our old beliefs that pull us backward and use techniques and methodology that are in tune with our times.