Why old is still gold
There is a remarkable tendency among the very young to brand anything that is a little old in practice, as "out-dated". For this generation, there is no world outside their personal computers, and laptops, tablets and cell phones, and now, smartphones, and what 's up.
Unfortunately, they fail to understand the other side of life, with disastrous consequences. They fail to understand values, and fail to understand the need to respect elders or listen to them. They make fun of religious practices and avoid interacting with their own cousins and near relatives, if they are from semi-urban or rural areas. Worse, they constantly make fun of those who cannot speak the English language well.
In many urban families, there is a huge fight between the children and the parents on what is termed as "modern". While the latter wish to draw a line and say that the former should still obey some rules, there are big fights and, increasingly, these fights happen between children who are just ten or twelve years old, and their parents.
For instance, a ten-year-old girl was seen exchanging her cell number with strangers on Facebook. Within just three hours, there were at least seven calls from young boys, most of them strangers, asking for her address and her photograph.
Immediately, the father sprung into action, and made her delete her Facebook account, constantly advising her on how dangerous it is to share personal details on Facebook. When the grandparents also started to advise the girl, all hell broke loose, with the girl losing her temper and asking the grand parents to "shut up".
Two days later, a very young boy turned up at her residence, asking the girl to go out with him for a cup of coffee!! It later transpired that the boy got the address of the girl through some contacts he had with some police officials. The girl was shocked beyond disbelief, and a very dangerous situation was avoided. The parents of the girl arrived right in time, admonished the boy and called his parents.
The boy's father was a real gentleman, who slapped the boy in presence of all people, and took him away, assuring the girl's family that nothing would happen thereafter. Everything became normal,. when the boy's family had to resettle in a small town near Chittoor in Andhra Pradesh, as the boy's father was transferred out of Chennai, and posted in that place by the Bank.
The girl understood her foolishness and apologized to her grandparents. They were kind and offered her all support and love and affection. The girl took to a liking in Bharatanatyam and within two years delivered her maiden performance, which went off really well.
What happened is a real life story. Most young people are like the twelve year old girl, in the aforesaid story. The environmental disturbances and the bad influence of cinema, in any language, are adding to the real difficulties of children, in the real sense of the word.
The children take to anything that is modern, only because of peer pressure. They fall prey to easy bad habits. A few years ago, a Tamil Magazine carried a horror story of how school children in one town got a "kick" out of inhaling the whitener liquid that is commonly used everywhere to correct spelling mistakes on typed texts. Such is the negative influence.
It is here that the parents and teachers need to do a great job. The need for counseling and for telling stories from epics like the Ramayana and the Mahabharatha, are not at all "old-fashioned". Even when these are available as serials, it is disturbing to see that young children, hardly watch them. They tend to watch the horrible movies shown in every Indian language.
Similarly, it is worth noting that the way the elders -- anyone above 45 years, today -- is totally different from the way the youngsters -- anyone less than 20 as of today, are brought up. Television cannot be stopped. Frequenting the shopping malls also cannot be stopped. What can indeed be stopped is the excessive consumerism and the tendency to call everything as "outdated" and "old-fashioned".
A little freedom can be given in matters of dressing and grooming. However, excessive use of chemicals needs to be avoided. For anything that is so-called "modern" there is a natural equivalent. For example, what is now called as "Shikakai" is now available as hair shampoo, and this is a natural alternative to the very harmful chemical-based shampoos, that cause immense harm to the young people.
Similarly, thanks to some local initiatives, there is a great deal of new interest in organic farming and in organic food, that are totally devoid of fertilizers. How is this possible?
It is possible because nature has taught us many things, and it is just that we have totally forgotten everything, just because we call something "modern". Preventive aspects of several Ayurvedha and Siddha medicines, are now coming to be known by millions of people. These are not "old" at all.
The so-called modern medicine is superb for surgery, and for several purposes. But for very small ailments like fever or common colds or even jaundice, there is superb cure in the ancient medicine as well. Let us not call everything 'old' and make fools of ourselves.
It will be great news for readers to know that the USA is now spending millions of dollars into researching Ayurvedha, which is our treasure, and our pride. We never confuse ourselves about what is ancient and what is 'modern".
For example, in several villages of Tamil Nadu, and even in the neighboring Kerala and Andhra Pradesh, it is still common to find village girls in what is called the "half-saree". This is a superb dress that is traditional, yet very graceful.
If the girls like to wear it ( most still do), what is the problem? Yes, the same girls also wear the churidar and even jeans. But it does not mean that being "modern'" happens only when they wear the churidar and the jeans.
Modernity should be more in our thoughts and in our actions. Treating everyone as equal, irrespective of color, or creed, or dress or religion, is "modern". That is, modern in thought.
Allowing everyone access to all temples is modern. Giving the tribal people their own rights and also helping them to develop themselves is "modern'. Studying for getting good jobs, or taking up job-oriented courses is "modern". Keeping oneself updated on various aspects of developmental opportunities in one;s life, like career oriented or skill oriented initiatives is "modern".
Here, "modern" is used in the limited context of keeping one's mind open to new possibilities and opportunities and developing positive attitudes. Of course, only by doing so, can any one of us stay alive and procure jobs or some self-employment opportunities, which will help us lead normal lives.
However, old is still gold. The old people have enough to offer and their lessons of life are those that never be neglected. The younger generation should develop positive attitudes towards the proven techniques like organic farming or herbal treatment.
While we can keep our minds open, turning back to wisdom of several years is also a must. We should always remember this aspect and go on with our lives.
Old is indeed, still, gold.
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