14 November is Children’s Day, the birthday of Pt. Jawaharlal Nehru, the man who combined in him the solemnity of a statesman and the innocence of a small child. On this occasion I will refer to a few books and essays by Panditji, especially – Letters to a daughter, Autobiography among the books and Testament among the essays. Nehru’s literature has remained my companion through my life. I can never feel detached about them. If I apply Francis Bacon’s maxim, all virtues of a good book apply to his literary work. I wish the parents encourage their children to read Pandit Nehru’s work and that will be a great tribute to this illustrious son of India. My father was an ardent admirer of Panditji and he gave me this inspiration. Children’s day every year brings to my mind a story by Oscar Wilde - The Selfish Giant. The story touched me much and I think the story rightly says that when the children play in the garden, spring returns in all its bloom, fruits ripen, flowers break out, butterflies skip. It is painful that in this mad rush to build concrete jungles we are making our towns and cities empty of beautiful gardens. The question arises – where will the children play? They need playgrounds, gardens and parks, leisure and encouragement. When I see the children today, sometimes I feel they are missing what we enjoyed so abundantly and fully in our childhood. My childhood was full of fun, games and of course studies. I was ceaselessly inspired by my mother who understands academics better than even I. My father was a man who saw a number of dreams in his children and he felt himself fortunate in us. Thus both my parents were a perennial spring of love, affection and encouragement. Years back, I was invited as judge in a debate competition in one of the schools, the topic being- “20th Century has robbed the childhood of the present generation children.” There is a difference between rob and steal. When robbery takes place one knows it but cannot help it. But one is stolen without his knowledge or awareness. Indeed, 20th Century is robbing the childhood, the golden childhood. Children are virtually helpless; I don’t know who is to blame. Let the children enjoy each moment of their childhood, let the spark in them glow more and more, let the promise in them come out with its full glory. My ENDLESS ENDEAVOR is to sing the song of innocence for the children.
Saturday, November 13, 2010
Song of innocence
14 November is Children’s Day, the birthday of Pt. Jawaharlal Nehru, the man who combined in him the solemnity of a statesman and the innocence of a small child. On this occasion I will refer to a few books and essays by Panditji, especially – Letters to a daughter, Autobiography among the books and Testament among the essays. Nehru’s literature has remained my companion through my life. I can never feel detached about them. If I apply Francis Bacon’s maxim, all virtues of a good book apply to his literary work. I wish the parents encourage their children to read Pandit Nehru’s work and that will be a great tribute to this illustrious son of India. My father was an ardent admirer of Panditji and he gave me this inspiration. Children’s day every year brings to my mind a story by Oscar Wilde - The Selfish Giant. The story touched me much and I think the story rightly says that when the children play in the garden, spring returns in all its bloom, fruits ripen, flowers break out, butterflies skip. It is painful that in this mad rush to build concrete jungles we are making our towns and cities empty of beautiful gardens. The question arises – where will the children play? They need playgrounds, gardens and parks, leisure and encouragement. When I see the children today, sometimes I feel they are missing what we enjoyed so abundantly and fully in our childhood. My childhood was full of fun, games and of course studies. I was ceaselessly inspired by my mother who understands academics better than even I. My father was a man who saw a number of dreams in his children and he felt himself fortunate in us. Thus both my parents were a perennial spring of love, affection and encouragement. Years back, I was invited as judge in a debate competition in one of the schools, the topic being- “20th Century has robbed the childhood of the present generation children.” There is a difference between rob and steal. When robbery takes place one knows it but cannot help it. But one is stolen without his knowledge or awareness. Indeed, 20th Century is robbing the childhood, the golden childhood. Children are virtually helpless; I don’t know who is to blame. Let the children enjoy each moment of their childhood, let the spark in them glow more and more, let the promise in them come out with its full glory. My ENDLESS ENDEAVOR is to sing the song of innocence for the children.
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