Life is beautiful!

There are no good tidings from our campuses. What was once considered to be temples of learning seem to be the workshops of all devils. No exaggeration. Last week, the whole city woke up to the shocking and shameful news. A school principal used a XI class girl to gratify his carnal desires at gunpoint for almost a year. Scared to death and shattered to the core, the girl finally decided to come out in the open.

For the outraged society it was just a tip of an ice-burg. Several stories of rape and intimidation stumbled out of the closet. And we, the civilized society, covered our face in shame. Still most of us preferred to close our eyes to the alarming practice on the rise.

The holy relation between a teacher and his pupil has become a thing of past. Educated class that is supposed to nurture the best in students and mould them as better human beings seems to be no more on the job. The truth is disgusting. Of course I never mean to generalize the incident and demean principled pedagogues. Yet, reports from posh campuses across the city for the past few years show that something is terribly wrong.

A corporate college which has branches across the State has just the other day issued a strange internal circular among its staff: “Don’t keep close to students.” The indication is clear. If you are close to the students, you are sure to turn a demon.

Is there something else that this particular circular intents to convey? That is the other side of the story. Are we growing up our children not to be provocative? In fact, not. The onslaught of televisions in our drawing rooms, easy access to internet, availability of modern gadgets, growing number of online networks of all sorts… Our girls are not growing up in the right way. And unfortunately we are all so busy that we don’t have time to check.

The beauty of life is not in the glow of the skin that umpteen numbers of cosmetics can get. The meaning of life is not hidden by a piece of cloth. The richness of life does not lie in the kind of parties we attend in the evenings.

As long as we understand that, and as long as we make our children understand that, life always takes good turns. Simplicity is deep. Life is far beyond all those voyeuristic ‘reality’ shows, scanty outfits and sparkling wine glasses. It is love, respect and compassion. Life is beautiful. Live it beautifully!