Visiting again the story of our past
| Date :28-Jun-2020 |
By Vijay Phanshikar :
IT was a golden opportunity to soothe the frayed nerves of a 12-year-old boy who had thrown inexplicable tantrums and pushed the family into a terrible mood. On the calm Sunday noon when everybody at home was trying to find some respite from the forced COVID isolation, this boy felt terrible about life and hurled things, abuses, broke glass panes and even attacked his mother. The frightened and angry father wanted the boy to be soothed by someone-- of course on the phone. Options were terribly limited. It would be stupid to tell the boy to behave.
For, that would have angered him all the more. So, the best way was to engage his mind in an absorbing story -- possibly from the past. Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj came to the rescue. For the next two hours, the boy got so engrossed in hearing the story of how Shivaji Maharaj escaped from the prison in Agra that he wanted to hear more. His foul mood was gone, and the calmed fellow ate his meal well and slept. The next day, he phoned again, wanting to hear another story. He said, nobody had ever told him the story of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj -- not at home, not in the school, and not anywhere else! For me, that was not just the first and only experience of its kind.
Over the years, I have had the opportunity to talk to youngsters either individually or collectively and engage them in knowing various glorious chapters of our history. That exercise often soothes the youngsters and gives me an opportunity to revisit our own story -- of our very own heroes! The trouble with us is that in most of our homes, elders have little time to engage their youngsters in story-sessions. On many occasions, the elders do not know the stories from our own history. In CBSE courses, history is one subject that is taught terribly badly. In State Board schools, the content of the course may be a little better, but the necessary pedagogical skill is missing.
In sum and substance, our youngsters rarely get the opportunity to know how Shivaji Maharaj, for example, carried out terrific military missions against all odds. We also do not know that in most military academies around the world, the detailed stories of Shivaji Maharaj’s strategy and tactics and operations are taught in great detail -- to prepare military leaders. In many administrative academies, too, the story of how Shivaji Maharaj created a great system of good and welfare governance is taught in detail. Out in the larger society, in a few homes, this story is told. Yet, it is generally a perfunctory affair that communicates nothing substantial. And that is the grief.
We are fortunate to have had many, many heroes whose stories we really do not know. That is so because our elders rarely care to recall those great feats of our forefathers and ancestors. Why? Nobody has the answer. Let alone all that, but I must thank my stars that I got a young, 12-year-old friend who wants to know the story of our own history. He is such a great listener, and great recaller, too. When he tells those stories again, he adds such a wonderful spice to the detail -- by his emotion, by his words, by his imagination. There is little to say beyond this ...!