This morning at 7:00 I got into a bus which goes from my village to the nearby town, Kottayam. At the next bus stop there were about ten persons waiting to board the bus. About half of them were senior citizens, including Devakiyamma, who is about 80. There were also three school girls, whose uniforms made it clear which school they went to.
As soon as the bus stopped, there was the usual
competition to get in first. At that time, there was only one vacant seat and
one of the school girls grabbed it. In fact, she ran like PT Usha to ensure it.
In our bus, 50 percent of the seats are reserved for women, at least in the
7:00 AM trip. I looked at the plight of Devakiyamma. She requested another senior
lady for some space to sit, who graciously gave up her seat for the older
person.
During the
rest of the journey, my thoughts were around the winner girl. Her school’s
motto is ‘Towards Excellence’, which is written even on the buses they own. I felt
sad that nobody in the school taught this girl the meaning of this often
misunderstood word. To ‘excel’ does not mean ‘to do better than others’. The competition
for excellence is directed towards oneself. I must do better than how I did
earlier, I must score higher than my last exam’s score!
Our schools
teach competition, not cooperation. There are students who do not share their
notes with their classmates, or even know their classmates’ names. Knowing your
classmates is not part of the syllabus, no examiner will ask them if they know
their classmates, or what it is that they appreciate most in them. There is no
syllabus to teach the children that they should be considerate to the sick and
the elderly.
Long long
ago, in a country far far away, the King decided to a marathon between its
communities, in which all the members of the community were part of the team.
The community that reaches the finishing point first with all their people, or
the maximum number of people would be the winner. This was not an easy task as
each community had its share of the old, sick, pregnant etc.
Three communities
reported at the starting point. The first had a strategy, let all run. It was
every person for himself. Inevitably, the young made it to the finishing point
quickly but the rest were left behind. They lost.
The second
community took lessons from the first and altered their strategy. They decided
that all men should run and the women should take care of the elders and the
children, while providing refreshments for the runners. As you might have
already guessed, this was the decision of the men, and the women did not agree
to it. There ensued a debate, which took up all their time. They too lost the
race.
The third
community had a different strategy: everyone should run and simultaneously take
care of those who cannot run. Of course, this team moved very slowly, holding
hands, carrying the sick and the elders in chairs or stretchers. But they
enjoyed the race which was almost an ‘evening stroll’.
The King
was pleased to give the laurels to the leaders of the third community.
They won
with others, while the other two communities were trying to win over others.
