He looked at his watch. It said 3:00 am. He was constantly humming songs and talking to himself to keep himself awake, and to beat the cold. It was tough sitting there for four hours on the trot. His hands and feet were going numb, and he was in desperate need of a hot cup of coffee, but the guy selling it was all sold out. He put his hand into his pocket and dug out one – last – piece of chewing gum and started chewing on it. His eyes were droopy, his chest a bit congested, and his head was pounding with nervous excitement. He looked at his companions, none of whom he knew from before, but who had all gathered there for the same reason, and with the same objective in mind. All of them were focused, to the point of lunacy, on their goal. Every face was set in an expression of tight resolve, and it was evident that they were willing to do anything to achieve their desired end. They were from different backgrounds, all united today by a single purpose.

No, this is not a description of terrorists assembled near a soft target! This is an assembly of fathers waiting outside schools in long queues, at late hours, to get admission forms and, subsequently, seats for their wards in the nursery class. This scene can be witnessed in most major cities of the country now.

The plight of the children is no less painful. At a very tender age, their playful childhood is interrupted by the pressures of going to a pre-school, and learning a lot of things which we, the grown-ups, learnt many many years later, sometimes even after we had reached the ripe old age of 10. They, then, have to start cramming and hamming for school entrance tests and interviews, which put them through a harrowing time that can make Alcatraz look like a walk in the park. At the end of all this, if they are a part of the few successful and lucky kids who make it, what is in store for them?

An average kid’s life today is something like this – Wake up at 6:00 am, get fresh, squeeze something into your stomach, carry a mountain of books, and run like mad to catch the school bus, only to land in front of a disgruntled teacher with a ruler, who might be in a bad mood because she had a fight at home!

What kind of life is this? Is this what we want for our children? What has led to this?

The first and foremost cause of all this chaos is the rat race we run daily, and the resultant need to be in front all the time. Life has become so income-centric that a good educational qualification -  regardless of the knowledge content – has become absolutely indispensable. The kids go through a tough time at school, and have to face a lot of pressure from parents and peers to get to, and stay on, top of the class. For a long time now, the middle class of our society has associated respect and reputation on vocation, and vocation, in turn, is based on qualification. Kids are brought up with the single goal of becoming a Doctor, or an Engineer, or an IAS/IPS officer. Despite the winds of change that have swept the nation over the last decade, this trend is still noticeable in the society today. This social trend has led to schools becoming powerful business centers, and resorting to ludicrous practices to let students in. There are schools that charge very high fees, and there are schools that have high hidden charges, and then there are some that simply ask for donations. There are a few that want parents to be graduates, and there are some who want grandparents to be graduates!

Each city can have a common window for interviews/test/admissions and use that for taking in children . They also need to get a ceiling on the money that they can charge as fees .Some stupid rules, like parents and grandparents needing to be graduates, have to go. Children should love and like studying, and not have to do it out of fear and intimidation. Learning should be a joyful experience for anyone, including children. The child should have a say in deciding what he/she wants to do in life. In short, give them air and space, and they will do well, society will progress, and we will have harmony.

But currently, getting into Kindergarten, or Nursery, is no child’s play.

(Have you or any of your relatives faced a situation like this while getting a child admitted to  school? Share your experiences with the readers .)

Image courtesy: anissat from sxc.hu

Every country is conveniently divided into states/provinces to facilitate governance and administration. So is India. Some of the states of India are older than independent India, and some are relatively new. Together, they all represent the country of India. But off late, states have become tools at the hands of politicians to further their own personal ambitions and greed for power. The demands for separate states have become more and more vocal, from all corners of the country, and each one of them has either History, or Geography, or Economics to back their claims. They either lean on linguistic differences, administrative issues, or imbalance of funds to back themselves up. I am sure that Sardar Patel must be squirming in his heavenly abode on seeing all this. Almost all his efforts to unify the country are being negated zone-wise now. The worst aspect of this story is that the ruling alliance used statehood promises to lure regional separatists into their fold, and get to power .

The day when you wake up and find that your city, no, your street has become a state unto itself is not a big impossibility now. But I would not simply close my eyes, and oppose or condemn anyone who asks for a separate state. We need to look at the history and the legitimacy of the demand, examine both these factors carefully and consider the sentiments and stifled voices of the people in that region. Only then can we make a call about any demand for statehood of any region. This brings us to the most hyped – and in the news – subject of Telangana. Let us look at it in detail .

A few facts about Telangana first. This state was ruled by the Nizam of Hyderabad, and was never under British Rule. Hyderabad was always a part of the state, and was, in fact, its capital. When the agitation to separate Andhra from the then Madras state picked up steam, and Potti Sreeramulu gave up his life fasting, the original demand for Madras as the capital was changed, and what is now coastal Andhra and Rayalaseema were merged with Telengana to form Andhra Pradesh . Right from that time, a very virulent and often vehement movement to separate Telangana, so as to facilitate proper balance of resources and development, has been in force and many people have laid their lives down for it. So if the Gen Y and Gen X are thinking that KCR fasting for a week brought this state about magically, they are grossly mistaken.

But sadly, many a politician has picked up the jingoism and tokenism.

There are state requests, and bandh calls, and fasts, springing up everywhere and people are being misled by selfish politicians to believe that this will benefit them. This is a sad trend and I fully hold the ruling UPA responsible for first promising, then conveniently forgetting, and finally – at a totally wrong time – giving in to the demand. What they have done is glorified the wrong people and set a wrong precedent. There are many other pressing things crying for attention – the looming threat of terror, the economy, the climate and so on. They are using this as a diversionary measure to keep people distracted, and I admit that they are succeeding to a large extent. People have forgotten starvation deaths, and are now making starvation a fashion statement or a tool.

We need to wake up and stop getting into this vicious circle, and focus more on getting our country to its due destination in the global arena. That would be possible only and only if we stand together and not split ourselves on languages/zones/religion lines. I am keeping my fingers crossed in the anticipation that we, the people, are capable of thinking beyond the differences. How about you ? Think about it