SAFF championship, semi-finals, Sunil Chhetri enters the ground , turns towards over-crowded Nepalese youth fans, joins his hands and shows his civilization saying ‘Namaste’. And in return, the fans showed their middle finger, as our civilization. Where did this civilization come from, it’s not ours! It is said that actions speak louder than words. If the words, which are prevailed in the sentences used by youths in general conversation these days, represent the worst level of shamelessness, why wouldn’t the actions be of this kind?
The bigger question is: why did we copy it; seeing our best star doing so? Or thinking that it makes us look cool? These days, a young, irrespective of their gender, seems to have already graduated in these sorts of actions and words before entering adolescence. Copying from the elders, seeing the stars use it in movies, seeing it being every person’s signature word in the society, and finally realizing that it makes them look cool, they imitate it. How easily they start scolding others saying- ‘ta bajjiya’! They don’t even know that they are accusing their friends to have born from an illegitimate relation of father in law and his daughter in law, by using that word. Neither do they show aggression when others scold them saying so, since they too don’t know it’s meaning.
The Nepalese students are taught from the early school days to write essays on Nepal, and nobody misses hospitality, politeness, humbled culture and good character. But is this practically followed? Salute to those who know and even follow the essence of good words during conversation, but what to those who on being asked about how the exam went reply: ‘dami’, a word supposed to have been developed from prostitution, prostitutes being called so!
By the way, English is called a gentleman’s language, major stance to support it being: it doesn’t have discrimination in terms of age i.e. addressing by “youâ€, be it to juniors or seniors or colleagues. But these days, the most common word used in every sentence that starts from ‘F’, ends at ‘K’ and a ‘C’ in the middle. As Osho says, this word has been made common either to express happiness or sadness, or exclamation or anxiety, or love or hate. Is this really something that should be followed?
Well, parents are found to be scolding their children as “ullu ko patthhaâ€, translated as “children of an owlâ€. Whom are they actually scolding! If such is the family environment, this issue is to have a long lasting impact in terms of speaking manner, lasting for generations. Home is the first school of a child. Every parent needs to think about the shape they want to give to their children’s conversation ways.
Writer: Prabin Basyal
