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Changing face of Indian future
Sowmya Krishnamurthy
My 15-year old cousin showed me what the future generation of India could be like and it was not a pretty sight. He played Bach, Chopin and Beethoven on the piano effortlessly; his fingers ran up and down the keys while I had a front row seat in this concert. I suggested that we wind up the concert with a song that is closer home, maybe Vande Mataram or something by A.R. Rahman.
I was surprised and even a little irritated when he said he had not written down the chords to the former correctly. I attributed it to the fact that he was a 15-year old who was going through a ‘phase.’
Later when I was admiring his collection of books — Don Quixote, latest Dan Brown’s, a collection of Shakespeare’s plays — I noticed stashed behind all the Harry Potters was a yellowing copy of Rajagopalachari’s Mahabharata. I asked him if he had read the book and he said no.
I was very surprised that a boy who reads English classics had not read the Mahabharata. I asked him why he had not read it and he replied asking why he should have read it. Never before had I been asked by anyone why they should read the Mahabharata, and I had no answer.
Lakshman Rekha
This very same dude (as he calls himself) thought that Lakshman Rekha was nothing more than some piece of chalk that was used to keep cockroaches away and had no idea of the origin of the name!
Sample another circumstance — he is so sure after visiting Singapore last year that the next place he wants to go to is Malaysia or Bali.
When I asked him if he didn’t want visit the ruins of Vijaynagar Empire in Hampi or head to little known places in the our own backyards, I was met with a look even more grave than the one I got when I suggested Vande Mataram!
I hope this is an isolated case but I doubt it. Most of his friends have been to Singapore but very few have visited even Mysore.
For those of you who think that I am some 80-year old grandmother rambling about the youth today, you could not be more wrong. I am just another 20-year old Indian citizen who fears this sense of disrespect met out to anything remotely Indian.
Being one of those who feels a very strong sense of patriotism flowing through her veins (even before Rang De Basanti was released!) I was amazed at a lack of interest in anything remotely Indian.
I do not claim to be a pundit on the Ramayana and the Mahabharata. I do not claim to follow our scriptures to a T. I do not claim to celebrate every festival in the same manner as it is traditionally supposed to be celebrated.
But I do claim this much: I at least know enough about our tradition to know the difference between Lakshman Rekha the cockroach repellent and Lakshman Rekha the line drawn by Lakshman for Sita.
Is this the changing face of Indian future? One thing is sure — today’s generation will survive with or without the knowledge of our rich history. But I am not so sure if our tradition and culture will survive the generation.
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