Rinchey's Rhapsody

We live today in a critical situation when modernization and urbanization have begun to get the better of our culture and tradition. Rapid development has brought about many changes which are suppressing our tradition and customs. We are thus deviating from our true identity. A westernized lifestyle has found its way into our precious tradition and customs and the younger generation is particularly influenced. An alien lifestyle makes us imposters and not innovators. The younger generation lives in a false world of make-believe. We believe things western are more advanced and better than home. We prefer shirts and trousers to Ghos and Kiras. The discotheque attracts more than the chanting of hymns. The language we use betrays our culture and even our melodious folk songs are getting defeated by the loud noises of drums and guitars. It’s as clear as crystal that our tradition and culture are fast fading away into the museums. Everyone criticizes our culture on the ground that

The repercussions of our action are, not by any law, immediate or prompt. It can only be felt over the years. Most often, even our seemingly mundane activities have an enormous impact on ourselves and our environment. For instance, writing with a ballpoint pen. Ballpoint pens, though invented as a solution for the smearing and leakage problems of fountain pens, have contributed to our oblivious efforts of destroying our planet. They are made of plastics from top to bottom and from inside to outside and we are all aware of how plastics harm the environment. They are non biodegradable and thus cause land and ground water pollution. Burning plastic products releases toxic fumes into the air which can cause cancer. Substantiating on these facts is the bizarre truth that there is no known ways of recycling these used pens. The figures too are alarming. Americans alone buy a staggering 106 billion ballpoint pens annually. It brings goose bumps to even imagine of how much more India

I am neither a psychologist nor a socialist. I am neither against the abolishment of corporal punishments in school nor against the child’s right. I am but a mere human with my own share of flaws and skepticism. The recent incident of a parent bashing up a teacher has led to widespread fear and insecurity among the teachers. We are no longer safe in our own schools. There have been many incidences of students challenging the teachers physically and many more which has gone unnoticed and unapprised by the authorities. Teachers being threatened and abused are no longer a secret. Perhaps the time has come for teachers to come to schools in bulletproof vests and Scooter helmets. Security and rights of teachers has become a matter of paramount importance that needs immediate consideration and rethinking. If a student is abused by teachers, teachers are persecuted like a criminal who has jeopardized the security of the whole mankind but if