TakingITGlobal - Panorama - Shelters of...

Published on: Jul 24, 2002

Topic:

Type: Opinions

https://www.tigweb.org/express/panorama/article.html?ContentID=478

Children are the shelters of all the innocence that prevails on Earth today. Our books have referred to the children as the avatars of Divine Providence. It’s always amazing to witness the innocence on a child’s face, which is a rarity in us adults. We have, in this wired world, lost all of our innocence. In our dictionary, words like innocence, beauty and curiosity have been replaced with tricks, cosmetics and false-play.

A recent encounter with some small kids at a railway crossing was a real eye-opener for me. The gates on the railway track were closed as the train was going to pass. I was waiting at the traffic point, still a few minutes from the train’s arrival. As time passed, traffic continued to increase. In the midst of the hustle and bustle around the traffic point, I saw a cute face of a small girl who was peeping from her plush car window. Looking, I also saw a scantily dressed poor child on the roadside. As I continued waiting, a person on a scooter halted adjacent to me, his small boy standing in front. Soon, the train whistle roared from the distance and I began observing the subtle reactions of these kids, each of whom belonged to a different level of the society. Now, as soon as the train passed, I was astonished to see the fascinating play of co-incident innocence. Each of these three children started waving their hands at the passing train, wishing ‘goodbye’ to the passengers on the train. One of them was more excited than the other two, but the fact is that they all did it, out of nothing more than sheer innocence. This made me realise that small children have no barriers of caste, creed or social discriminations. A Hindu Child or a Muslim Child, a European child or an American Child, they all share the same innocence and anxiousness. That’s perhaps the beauty of HIS creations. They are all beautiful, cute and likeable.

It is when we grow up and start learning the big bad game of life that we start to lose our greatest assets. Even if we want to wave our hands at the passing train, we probably won’t, as we are too concerned with what others will think. But that’s something these small wonders can do so easily, because they are simply themselves. They are not afraid to express themselves, and that’s what differentiates them from us. We are too busy, too connected, too polished and well-mannered, that we do not find time to think about the essence of our lives- i.e. happiness and its apt expression. We usually tend to hide our feelings, which is the root of all the inter-personal and intra-organizational problems. We are living in an emotional ice age.

We should not hesitate to show if we care for certain things, or even one another, just like small wonders often do.

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by Tanmay N. Vora
Published on: Jul 24, 2002
Topic:
Type: Opinions
https://www.tigweb.org/express/panorama/article.html?ContentID=478


Children are the shelters of all the innocence that prevails on Earth today. Our books have referred to the children as the avatars of Divine Providence. It’s always amazing to witness the innocence on a child’s face, which is a rarity in us adults. We have, in this wired world, lost all of our innocence. In our dictionary, words like innocence, beauty and curiosity have been replaced with tricks, cosmetics and false-play. A recent encounter with some small kids at a railway crossing was a real eye-opener for me. The gates on the railway track were closed as the train was going to pass. I was waiting at the traffic point, still a few minutes from the train’s arrival. As time passed, traffic continued to increase. In the midst of the hustle and bustle around the traffic point, I saw a cute face of a small girl who was peeping from her plush car window. Looking, I also saw a scantily dressed poor child on the roadside. As I continued waiting, a person on a scooter halted adjacent to me, his small boy standing in front. Soon, the train whistle roared from the distance and I began observing the subtle reactions of these kids, each of whom belonged to a different level of the society. Now, as soon as the train passed, I was astonished to see the fascinating play of co-incident innocence. Each of these three children started waving their hands at the passing train, wishing ‘goodbye’ to the passengers on the train. One of them was more excited than the other two, but the fact is that they all did it, out of nothing more than sheer innocence. This made me realise that small children have no barriers of caste, creed or social discriminations. A Hindu Child or a Muslim Child, a European child or an American Child, they all share the same innocence and anxiousness. That’s perhaps the beauty of HIS creations. They are all beautiful, cute and likeable. It is when we grow up and start learning the big bad game of life that we start to lose our greatest assets. Even if we want to wave our hands at the passing train, we probably won’t, as we are too concerned with what others will think. But that’s something these small wonders can do so easily, because they are simply themselves. They are not afraid to express themselves, and that’s what differentiates them from us. We are too busy, too connected, too polished and well-mannered, that we do not find time to think about the essence of our lives- i.e. happiness and its apt expression. We usually tend to hide our feelings, which is the root of all the inter-personal and intra-organizational problems. We are living in an emotional ice age. We should not hesitate to show if we care for certain things, or even one another, just like small wonders often do. « return.