Producing a child is easy. Parenting is not. Today I got an example of this.
The park opposite my flat has finally found some green hope. This park, been the biggest one, is the favorite of all the kids in our society. So children of all ages play here. Now everything comes at a price. Due to extreme gaming, the greenery of the park is non-existent. Grasses are no longer present. How will it be present when hundreds of footsteps are continuously grinding them? Besides tearing the leaves and throwing it here and there is a big hit with small children who do not get chance to play cricket due to their tininess. So the trees are mercilessly raped by these small devils. Bottom-line, these children do not have those values which will make them care for the trees, the plants, the flowers, Mother Nature.
As a child I was very merciless with trees. I loved hitting them. But my parents and specially my grandpa used to constantly tell me that these trees have lives. They are just like a human beings but like us they cannot talk or move. Soon I felt very sympathetic with the trees and never gave them any pain. Even my friends became sympathetic. We were a devilish group but we all made sure we are not damaging the green. And our parents and near and dear ones made this possible.
Now these days parents are a busy lot. And most are nuclear families so no Dadaji and Naniji. These parents do not teach their kids the value of nature. As a result the kids are least bothered when they destroy the greenery. Nobody is there to tell them that trees have lives. They feel pain when you tear their leaves.
The gardeners today have watered the park and planted grasses there. They did a good job throughout the afternoon. Lot of new plants was planted. Now when the army of children came in the evening they found the park muddy and full of grasses and plants. They did not like it was not fit for playing. Most of them went away and started playing in the garages and other places. Two little boys stayed back. Their mother was also present gossiping with other ladies at a distance. Evening chat. These ladies always have time for this important thing.
The two little boys who stayed back soon got a stick and started digging up the grasses. They dug ferociously as if their mother’s life depended on it. I was standing at the balcony and felt like going down and thrashing them. But then I will be at fault. Another guy was also standing in his balcony looking at them. He shouted “Bachho iye kya kar rahe ho”. I joined “Ghas ko ukhad mat”. (My Hindi is not good). The mom looked at us angrily. She didn’t bother to call the kids back.
Soon a guard came and told the boys not to tear away those grasses, which was planted barely few hours back. The mom came and took those kids away. She looked angrily at the guard and then gave a destructive look to both of us still standing at our balconies. As if it was all out fault. No sooner did the guard leave the boys were back in business. As usual, the mother was not bothered. After all she was not getting raped.
So this lady has produced two kids. And considering their little age difference, she has done a great job. It was almost back to back delivery. But one thing that she is not able to do properly is teach these kids the value of green. Love for nature has to be inculcated from an early age. We are losing nature at an alarming rate. And I am sure when these two kids grow up they will only increase the destruction of nature. Never will they understand that trees give peace to the souls of men. Anton Chekhov, the Russian writer was very true when he wrote “Man has been endowed with reason, with the power to create, so that he can add to what he's been given. But up to now he hasn't been a creator, only a destroyer. Forests keep disappearing, rivers dry up, wild life's become extinct, the climate's ruined and the land grows poorer and uglier every day.”
My request to all would be moms and dads. Please do not make your kids the “Destroyer”. Nature wants them as “Creators”.
