Whatever You Like

A problem

2009-06-28T10:31:00.001-07:00

After watching Barkha Dutt and her panel of "experts" debate on the issue of scrapping 10th standard board exams for an hour, i don't think anyone is closer to arriving at a solution. Kapil Sibal thinks he's doing a favor to us all, but a bunch of kids on the sets of "We the people" refuse his help - which makes us question the kind of demographic that the students sitting in the NDTV studios represent. Where are the voices of the village kids ?

Time and again, the issue of 10th boards being a mock exam in preparation for the 12th finals appears; but nowhere do we raise the question of whether we're justified in taking away (atleast!) two long years worth of learning from these children. I'm sure we learn more in the long run from our events and extracurricular activities than from textbooks.

The teachers present on the talk show seemed to alternate between turning a blind eye, or being downright rude. When a student complained of having to give up her extra-curriculars during the years of her board exams, the teachers responded by making irresponsible statements, blaming the student, her parents, that particular school and all and sundry. Instead, they should recognise that it is our society that has given birth to this myth of having to drop everything during exam years, because of the competition in academics during these times. They must find a way to encourage the student to perform well at the activities he/she excels at, and help them maintain a healthy balance between this and academics, instead of being absolute kill-joys.

Another reason for scrapping the current education system (YES, the entire system needs to be reviewed!) is that during the years of the board exams, even if one is prepared to give up on all extra-curricular activities and concentrate solely on studies, one is restricted to thinking only within the "syllabus" prescribed by the all-knowing education boards. Any doubts/questions one has will not be entertained by the teacher because it is deemed unnecesary by a bunch of doddering old men who wrote the text books.

Since state boards are even worse than central ones, sometimes one is forced to write an answer that is factually INCORRECT, just because it says so in the text book. I clearly remember our teachers asking us to refrain from using long and complicated words in our answer paper to avoid confusing the examiners, who were from a rural background, as we ran the risk of losing marks. We are forced to reduce our level of answering to live "up" to the standards of the board exams.

What we need is a major overhauling of the education system in India. The time is NOW and the place is HERE. I really hope that the education ministry knows what its doing and manages to change the system for the better.

Wild Africa ! - A documentary

2009-06-23T11:18:00.001-07:00

A sincere request before you commence reading this post. Do not rush through the following paragraphs. Take it slow; let the images wash over you, so you can experience a small fraction of the beauty of the documentary, without even having watched it. I hope it inspires you to actually get your hands on the "Wild Africa" series and watch it. For those of you who HAVE watched it (or think you have!), I'm sure it will bring back some wonderful memories...

Co-produced by the BBC Natural History Unit and the Discovery Channel, the series called "Wild Africa" is narrated wonderfully well in that hint of an endearing Irish accent by Fergal Keane. Breathtakingly beautiful, the documentary is divided into 6 wonderfully crafted episodes, each one dedicated to a specific ecosystem- there's Mountains, Savannah, Deserts, Coast, Jungles, Lakes and rivers, which gives a satisfactorily concise, balanced feel to the series.

The episodes begin with wonderful moving music, and some stunning high-definition images. A blood-red sunrise, a herd of migrating elephants, beautiful cloud formations, geladas nuzzling each other, sprinting gazelle, waves breaking on the coast with foam spraying all around, ibex locked in a head to head combat, an underwater shot of seals gliding upwards through pristine,blue water, a mountain gorilla rushing towards the camera, a lion lazing around majestically on the savanna, hippopotamuses tussling and baring their teeth, and then that wonderful design - Wild Africa. Everything about the introduction screams "WATCH THIS ! We need you to learn about us, so you can do your bit to help !" (No kidding !)

Episode 1 starts off with - "Africa, the heart of the world"...How true ! "Stand on its southern shores and picture the lands rolling north.." and as the camera pans across the country, offering some breathtaking views, its hard to tear your eyes away from the screen. Within the first couple of minutes, we are presented with such a staggering variety of wildlife, that its no wonder that the producers had to split this into a 6 part series, just to attempt to do justice to the vast continent and its myriad biomes !

On a spiritual/religious note : As you watch in amazement, you cannot help but wonder at the fundamental beauty of nature. I may lapse into cliched astonishment here, but i think its absolutely justified to take a moment to reflect on the beauty of everything around us. Kinda convinces you that there must be a Creator, or a supreme power of some sort to justify
the creation of such a variety of species, each beautiful in their own way. But watching the ruthless efficiency with which predators hunt, makes you wonder whether God, as portrayed by Religion(yes, with 'R' in caps) is really such a nice-guy, forgiving type.

As the renowned naturalist/presenter David Attenborough says - " My response is that when Creationists talk about God creating every individual species as a separate act, they always instance hummingbirds, or orchids, sunflowers and beautiful things. But I tend to think instead of a parasitic worm that is boring through the eye of a boy sitting on the bank of a river in West Africa, [a worm] that's going to make him blind. And [I ask them], 'Are you telling me that the God you believe in, who you also say is an all-merciful God, who cares for each one of us individually, are you saying that God created this worm that can live in no other way than in an innocent child's eyeball? Because that doesn't seem to me to coincide with a God who's full of mercy'" .

But no matter how much i wax eloquent about "Wild Africa", a picture is definitely worth a thousand words; and a moving picture, worth many more ! So all i can say in conclusion, is WATCH IT ! It will definitely be an amazingly enriching 5 hours of your life, and will leave your mind spinning with some hauntingly beautiful images which will help you better understand the spirit, and zest for life of the inhabitants of the magnificent continent called Africa.

Happy viewing !

P.S.- I hope i don't sound like im kissin BBC/Discovery Channel ass here, but I'm sure this post is not enough to answer your queries on the documentary. For more information, please visit - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wild_Africa

A beginning

2009-06-03T06:58:00.000-07:00

Hi !
This is my second (serious) attempt at blogging. Before starting off, i think i should set myself a few ground rules.

i have decided not to post unless i have something significant to say.

i have decided not to cover up a flawed post with flowery language.

i have decided that no post will be unnecessarily long.

hopefully this blog will serve a purpose, without reading too much as a journal/log of activities.

Here goes nothing !