It is unfortunate that parents today are not inculcating values, culture and tradition in their children.
Last week, proved to be tragic. My daughter’s friend lost her mother. We all rushed to her house — her brother and father were travelling and she was all alone. The family had shifted to Delhi from Pune several years back. We had visions of her sitting all alone not knowing what to do. It is very unfortunate that the younger generation today is not aware of the Indian customs and religious beliefs.
It is not as if my daughter’s friend is a teenager. She is nearly 38 and one would have expected her to know a bit of how things are to be done in such situations. The tragedy proved to be an eye-opener for me. I could see the difference of how we were brought up as children and how the children are brought up today. During our time the bedtime stories were around Gods and Goddesses, stories from Ramayan, Mahabharat and the teaching from the The Gita.
Well, of course, there are many people who still narrate stories from The Panchtantra, Ramayan and The Mahabharat. As children, it was a ritual in our family to bow at the small temple at the backyard of our house every morning and recite Gayatri mantra. As we grew older, we were taught shlokas and their meaning. Havan and pujas was commonplace. Riti-rivaaz was handed down from the saas to bahus. It is rare to expect this behaviour today.
When I surf the TV channels I am shocked to see how some parents force their young children to become bread-earners for the entire family. They are forced to participate in dance and song reality shows at a tender ages. One can only imagine the amount of hardwork that these children put it to remain in the running?
I believe that at the age at which they are working, they should be enjoying their childhood and be showered with love and affection from the elders in the house. It is sad that they miss out the luxury of being pampered and instead spend their time performing on the stage whatever the time of the day — morning or night. They mature before age. I wonder how these children fare in school? It would be an interesting survey to do.
The other day, I was watching a programme on TV on how parents of a 10-year-old, along with the producer and director, were forcing her to run with a fierce looking dog chasing her. The girl was so frightened when she looked at the dog that she fainted. Is this not criminal?
I wonder at the value system of this generation is getting from the teachers, school and family. According to me the sanskar that you give your child is the biggest gift you can give him. No amount of wealth can compensate for the values handed down. With the children growing grow fast, the elders need to take time out and inculcate spiritual values in their children. But, as of now, parents are busy making money. It is unfortunate that they don’t have time to instill values, tradition, culture and moral duties.
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