LET'S COME CLOSER

 What would you say about the workshop on parenthood organized by the Chinmaya Foundation? That it was Educative, entertaining and much more.

Shri Kulpathi Balakrishna Joshi, in his inaugural speech at the Andhra Mahila Sabha on 6^th August, defined parenthood as a ‘sacred responsibility’. In phrases felicitous he remarked how unwittingly modern parents ape the cuckoo that deposits its eggs elsewhere, thus bidding farewell to its duty all so conveniently. This is often so, for the creche and the school have succeeded-though they can never replace-the home as citadels of culture. He called for a social warfare against demoralizing cinema and strikes that corrode a child’s morality. Mrs. Y G Parthasarathy hit the nail on the head when she emphasized the embodiment of values over their enforcement. Being an educationist herself, she decried the pity of television taking over the mantle of surrogate parents. Like a calculator-cultured mind that has forgotten the numerical tables, she opined, we would rather push the child towards TV and Video games than share with him the magic of the waves or the music of a cataract. Perhaps Kamla Das was just too correct: ‘your rooms are always lit by artificial lights and your windows always shut’.

Here is a word of advice to indulgent parents from DR Papakumari – feed restriction and control too in childhood, though in a mild dosage; this would make the child stoic in the face of shocks and disappointments, later. She condemned the present-day-pupil’s routine: music, dance, sports, class work and the inevitable home work which make life a ‘rigorous rigmarole’. She was quick to point out how this tension makes the child’s entity more of a drill than a thrill.

The next day dawned with the Bala Vihar activities being outlined by two Sevikas. Bala Vihar catches the ‘giggling things’ young and imbibes in them traits of honesty and courage. Charity in Chinmaya Foundation begins with children. The fore-noon session saw a lecture rid of awesome jargon by MS. Shyamala Nagarajan on nutrition. She proved to be a connoisseur at that and the audience eventually became gourmets. Mrs. Padma Narasimhan had everyone spellbound with her talk on the relevance of Gita. Karma Yoga, she prescribed is a vitamin forte for the mind. Benefit we did, and we will by that panacea.

In the modern world, where generation gap has become the burning problem, the group discussions proved most assuring. Transactional Analysis, as expounded by Ms Lily Neelankavil, treated the ‘parent effect’ in a logical way. Her clarion call was, ‘don’t dwarf the child’s identity beneath your monstrous ego; give him a sense of belonging, not of possessing’. Mr Gary Miller’s ‘effective communication’ was everything of a grand treat. What with live demonstrations and self-evaluation tests, it was a pleasure to be reminded of our values. Mr Miller denounced the dichotomy between ‘do as I do’ and ‘do as I say’. The catchy poster ‘ I would rather you walk with me than point the way’ was his focal point.

The open session which was something of an epilogue, dispelled what few doubts there could have been. There weren’t any ‘resolutions galore’, yet a consensus was reached. All parents agreed to spare the rod- thank you dears, we too would spare you the bother. Here are a few points to ponder-what if the child is a bit dim or naughty? Roses do have thorns, yet isn’t the rose sweet? Childhood is a symbolic dreamland, your care and caress will enhance the sweetness-like a dimple on a smiling cheek…..