And this little excerpt from the exceptionally long poem appears at the bottom of the picture:
Every night and every morn
Some to misery are born.
Every morn and every night
Some are born to sweet delight.
Some are born to sweet delight,
Some are born to endless night.
--William Blake, "Auguries of Innocence"
Tho I, we, my countrymen are not at any war by its traditional sense, we are constantly digging a bigger chasm between the rich and the poor. I have seen the same scene as the picture here in Mirpur 10, near the 'volvo bus stand' on the opposite side of the street outside a restaurant one morning. There was an older woman in place of the young child. The woman was scraping a large amount of what appeared to be donated or thrown away (rather) rice into a little hill on the pavement. I didnt see any plates or any other kind of container. There could have been some newspapers under the rice at best. The scene was terrible, so much so that it is still fresh in my ever failing memory. And this picture just brought it all back.
Again, my belief is that the one thing we are doing wrong has to do with education. Those smart enough has made their place in the city, found some way to sustain their livelihood, by hook or by crook. Others just move into the city in search of fortune but not a solid bit of information about it. Just reading and writing is not enough, i think the time has come for practical customized education depending on place and resources, about different crafts that can form a livelihood and about morals (so that 'by crook' does not become a popular option) and the environment. Education that people can use, and that helps develop a knowledgeable man. Don't ask me any further cause I haven't thought of it all too well at the moment. But centres that keep a log of skills required by the local industries and coprorations and teaches those skills to unskilled people could be a step. Industries should define the knowledge that a countries workforce requires, and vice versa, the educational institutes should cater to local industries and be funded to do research that further improves those industries and practices. I am desparately trying to make sense, but I guess I just need to stop and take a deep breath now. tata.
2 Comments:
did you read the recent news of teachers (all sorts, school, college, madrasa) strike which virtually paralysed the country's education system.
education is undoubtedly the first step, but who will take it?
lets hope there is much to hope for
Surely education is important. But I've been talking to people lately and I'm not sure I think its the first priority. One obvious reason is of course my lack of respect for the average educated people persuing suitable careers. Education for that matter has long since gone off course. All we can expect from education these days is a little more self awareness.
I've been talking to all sorts of people inside and out of the city. The political awareness of the avg illiterate amazed me. They do keep their eyes and ears open it seems. At this point I'd say the problem is (what it has been always) the greed of the privileged few which is satiated through dirty politics and corrupt civil servants. And call me crazy but I think the solutions to these is not so far fetched anymore. The election process has been working (more or less) for 3 terms now, people do have a say in who they want to elect. They just dont know it yet. Instead of the muggers and scoundrales we think we r stuck with and must vote (the one we think is less evil), one of these days people can really elect some good ones! They just have to know they can! Just one needs to stand up and say the words, I think they're going to have more support than we think.
As for the public sector, forget weeding out corrupt ones; there'd be nothing left. Dont bet on recruiting - its just as shitty. HOWEVER, there might still be a way. COMPUTERS! Make everything electronic, the tender submission, bill payment, claims, everything. I think this would turn things around drastically. Its amazing what can happen when you stop losing track of papers. And what I'm betting on is that technology, specially, the use of computers, is not something you can slow down for to long. With the way things are, it'd find a way in.
I dunno if any of that made sense. Anyhow thanks tan for the blake poem. Been looking for that since 2001. Been quoting it wrongly for years. Btw...I think Blake had something else in mind while writing that. But never mind.
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