THE UNITY IN OUR DIVERSITY

 

“The final stage of wisdom is becoming a kid again.”

Mixime Legace

 

A dear friend of mine called me, yesterday. He and his elderly mother had been to their native village; and, when he called me yesterday, they had just returned from this trip. My friend was excited to tell me about a good cause, with which he and his mother were getting involved.

The primary school, which my friend’s mother attended over seven decades ago, still functions in their village. But, the condition of the school remains much the same… The medium still remains vernacular, the condition of the classrooms still remains basic… The midday-meal service and dependency on the government dole draw only very underprivileged kids learn in this school…

The world around this school has changed beyond recognition. Little kids know what mobile phones and computers are, what the internet  and a television are…

My friend is a fairly-successful industrialist in Mumbai. He wanted his mother to involve with a good cause at her ripe age. Hence, he and his mother had visited the school, where they had taken the decision to adopt this school…

“I need some good ideas to make a difference in this school,” my friend sincerely asked me, yesterday, “I know, that funds alone won’t make the difference… It will take something more.”

The primary school, which I went to in our village, was a humble school, too. And, there are countless men and women like me who will say the same thing: “My school was a humble one.”

So, today, nearly after six decades, when I look back at the seeds sown in our supple minds, I find this: We were not poisoned about each other… We were taught to respect and celebrate our differences… All differences!

I reminded my friend about it. “The thought of unity in our diversity shapes when minds are supple… Plant ample seeds of this thought,” I said to my friend.

 

GERALD D’CUNHA

 

Pic.: pixaby

 

Video: Gaur Gopal Das