We, the souls of the 90s generation, grew up watching the empowerment of kisans on our TV sets and nodded in agreement that ‘LITERACY’ was indeed a powerful tool.
In a world which is multiplying faster than rabbits, and where competition is the norm of the day, literacy is proving to be the decisive factor between the haves and the have-nots.
Is literacy the answer to most of the impediments we face in the path of progress in our country? Has the term been understood or did we choose an easier option of just defining it? Is education an orthodox term for mass hypnosis?
By defining ‘literacy’ as a qualification which enables one to read and write we have limited its quintessential existence. Literacy is like the only open window in the claustrophobic room of ignorance, an exotic delicate flower which shall lose its bloom if touched. The view outside can be an infinite stare if not supported with opinions about what we see. How long would you feed a hungry man? Teach him to fish, let him decide whether he likes sea food. If not, teach him to fend for himself and he shall never go hungry again. Literacy should be a similar process and not just a tipping point.
Hitting the keyboard is the new form of writing. The latest there-is-nothing-Rajni-can’t do joke is that he apparently broke the nib of his pen while writing the CAT exam and hence it’s now become an online exam. If the criterion – writing - only meant the usage of a pen/pencil, does that make us an ANGHUTHA CHAAP generation ? Thumbprints might just be resurrected and soon we all will be sporting blue thumbs. Are you already imagining such an existence-sans-life situation we are heading towards?
Instead of using metaphors like burning candles ,lighting bulbs and other such Tweedledum and Tweedledee options, we the students of SIMC,Pune formed a fight club which pompously celebrates the Festival of Communications a.k.a FOC . Risking the first rule of the club, which is never to disclose its existence, the think-tankers decided to arm themselves and the world around for a FIGHT AGAINST ILLITERACY at FOC 2011. Ahhh, the responsibilities of dreamers for witnessing the dawn before the others!!
Literacy can be an adventure in itself when a person is driven by the passion to know and know some more. And we all know where the problem lies, and how we should fight it. Yes, indeed, the buck stops here!
FOC 2011 is gearing up for a historical event on the battlefield in the month of February where illiteracy will be slain by the gladiators of SIMC. An opportunity for the brave and the fearless to overcome the cascading deterrents that illiteracy brings with it in the form of demons who can’t dream. See you at the battlefield on the same side as ours soon!
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