Strong Current of High Aspirations is Palpable and Visible
23 Jul 2024 16:23:27
The latest report by ASER ( Annual Status of Education Report ) mentioned that the reach and spread of education have increased to a great extent. Students think of where they want to see themselves in the near future, but they lack the basic skills required to achieve the goal.
What I perceived today was extraordinary and very heartening when travelling from Ajanta to Jalgaon. As one bridge on the way is under repair and construction, we had to take a detour. The road runs through the district's interior, the roads are smooth, and small villages and bastis are on both sides of the stateway. Some boys were running along the road, it made me curious. On the return again we drove on a different road, there were stretches of cotton and banana plantations. The weather was pleasant and greenery made it even more soothing. As we passed by small villages and bastis, again young boys were seen running along the road. A couple of boys were running with a mobile phone in their hand, probably the phone had an app that measures the distance run. Slightly away from the road, there was a small mound and there was a small enclosed space at the top with a big statue of lord Hanuman, 4-5 boys were busy with the floor exercise. A little away from the spot some girls were sitting with the sports shoes, who paused for a while and were ready to continue their running exercise. Approximately 10 girls had filled out the forms for the recruitment examination. A little ahead again met a group of boys running with great enthusiasm. Unable to contain our curiosity, we stopped and I asked them what are all the young boys and girls preparing for.
All the faces lit up a little, all said with great zeal that they all were preparing for the recruitment of the police force. When I asked, don't they want to prepare for the Agniveer? The fact was, that most of them had already crossed the age limit of Agniveer recruitment. Within a couple of months the recruitment for the police force would start on a big scale, they enthusiastically told me. So all want to achieve the level of fitness as per the standard. Regularly all work together to build up stamina. When asked about the written exam, all spoke in one voice that there are many videos available, they all get help and some direction. That is how they get guidance. All want to get through the exam, so are working religiously. Their morale was very high, all dared to dream, their strong inner drive could be sensed easily, and their perseverance was amazing. All these young boys and girls belong to Kondapur, a very small village near Ajanta caves or Fardapur. I saw a significant number of youth who had their goal of life selected, and silently but with great dedication working to bring it to reality. I clicked a photograph of one of the groups, it had some very young boys who were all looking at their heroes with great admiration. One of the boys said that they all would like to join the police force, he loved watching them exercise daily. They all dare to dream and are aware of the skills the dream job requires. This is the picture of an aspiring Bharat. They all want to be a part of a prosperous and strong Bharat. It is not just daydreaming to pass the time. They don't want to get confined to a small space, they want to fly high. Even though girls aspire to get selected, the parents too probably know about their aspirations and support them. I have no names attached to the photographs, but I will always remember their faces and hope to see them at some crossroads managing traffic or in some police station dealing with difficult cases with confidence. They rekindled my confidence in the young generation of our country, the detour became an unforgettable incident.
Can some institute be formed which would help such children who like Eklavya practice on their own and succeed to some extent? It ought to be either free of cost or a very small amount to be charged. Such sessions are to be online and a couple of sessions can be devoted to physical fitness. Some education institutions may treat this as one of their duties or social responsibility towards the self-motivated children. Post corona all are used to online sessions. Even girls too aspire to join this kind of course, need slightly different training. Such efforts would help to tap the unidentified talents from every corner of our nation.
What I perceived today was extraordinary and very heartening when travelling from Ajanta to Jalgaon. As one bridge on the way is under repair and construction, we had to take a detour. The road runs through the district's interior, the roads are smooth, and small villages and bastis are on both sides of the stateway. Some boys were running along the road, it made me curious. On the return again we drove on a different road, there were stretches of cotton and banana plantations. The weather was pleasant and greenery made it even more soothing. As we passed by small villages and bastis, again young boys were seen running along the road. A couple of boys were running with a mobile phone in their hand, probably the phone had an app that measures the distance run. Slightly away from the road, there was a small mound and there was a small enclosed space at the top with a big statue of lord Hanuman, 4-5 boys were busy with the floor exercise. A little away from the spot some girls were sitting with the sports shoes, who paused for a while and were ready to continue their running exercise. Approximately 10 girls had filled out the forms for the recruitment examination. A little ahead again met a group of boys running with great enthusiasm. Unable to contain our curiosity, we stopped and I asked them what are all the young boys and girls preparing for.
All the faces lit up a little, all said with great zeal that they all were preparing for the recruitment of the police force. When I asked, don't they want to prepare for the Agniveer? The fact was, that most of them had already crossed the age limit of Agniveer recruitment. Within a couple of months the recruitment for the police force would start on a big scale, they enthusiastically told me. So all want to achieve the level of fitness as per the standard. Regularly all work together to build up stamina. When asked about the written exam, all spoke in one voice that there are many videos available, they all get help and some direction. That is how they get guidance. All want to get through the exam, so are working religiously. Their morale was very high, all dared to dream, their strong inner drive could be sensed easily, and their perseverance was amazing. All these young boys and girls belong to Kondapur, a very small village near Ajanta caves or Fardapur. I saw a significant number of youth who had their goal of life selected, and silently but with great dedication working to bring it to reality. I clicked a photograph of one of the groups, it had some very young boys who were all looking at their heroes with great admiration. One of the boys said that they all would like to join the police force, he loved watching them exercise daily. They all dare to dream and are aware of the skills the dream job requires. This is the picture of an aspiring Bharat. They all want to be a part of a prosperous and strong Bharat. It is not just daydreaming to pass the time. They don't want to get confined to a small space, they want to fly high. Even though girls aspire to get selected, the parents too probably know about their aspirations and support them. I have no names attached to the photographs, but I will always remember their faces and hope to see them at some crossroads managing traffic or in some police station dealing with difficult cases with confidence. They rekindled my confidence in the young generation of our country, the detour became an unforgettable incident.
Can some institute be formed which would help such children who like Eklavya practice on their own and succeed to some extent? It ought to be either free of cost or a very small amount to be charged. Such sessions are to be online and a couple of sessions can be devoted to physical fitness. Some education institutions may treat this as one of their duties or social responsibility towards the self-motivated children. Post corona all are used to online sessions. Even girls too aspire to join this kind of course, need slightly different training. Such efforts would help to tap the unidentified talents from every corner of our nation.