Amidst the drumroll & high notes of the Saxophone, a little boy kept giving me furtive looks. Perhaps wondering why I was humming to the elegant notes that was being rendered by the musicians. As I looked at him, his furtive looks turned into a mystical gaze – the eyes having scores of unanswered questions gleamed in them. As I stretched my hand to get to know each other, the child was promptly introduced by my wife as Atharva, the son of one of her cousins.
The name rang bells in my ears – when asked what his name meant the child rattled off a series of Sanskrit expressions that astounded me. Once he got to know that I was from the medical fraternity, the child shot out a question as to how, when and why do we give oxygen to patients? A question that I have never encountered with the medicos too. As I gave him clarity, Atharva was absorbed in thought, his expression suggested that he was imagining how he could apply what he heard from me in providing relief to his grandfather. The inquisitive mind never stopped questioning on a variety of medical procedures that kept me on my toes to answer some that really indicated the intellectualism of the child were – how will such a long needle not poke into the bone when injection is given to the arm? How do you bandage a wound on the upper portion of the forearm without it falling down to the wrist when the arm is lowered? The questions posed by him were clear of his intent, content and the feeling of truthfulness. The barrage of questions made me so happy and made me believe that he is poised to become a wonderful doctor who can be a gift to mankind. But when I asked him – what would he like to become when he grew up? Promptly he answered “I want to join the Indian Army & protect my country”. He wanted to wipe out the wrong doers and thieves such that our country is safe & secure always. Such ideological responses coming from a 4 year old astounded me. The clarity of thought, the purpose and the act/ deeds he wished to accomplish as an Army Mans duty was simply overwhelming to listen to.
As his father joined us in listening to what his son had to say and
what he was troubling me on, Atharva asked a beautiful question. A question
which none had answered when he had posed it to them. Why is the soldier draped
in the tri-colour when he dies but we are draped in a white cloth when we die?
To answer this question was not easy & so began a dialogue between Atharva
& me so that the child not just gets to know the answer but internalizes it
too. It was now time for me to ask the questions so Atharva answers. Here is
the dialogue that transpired between Atharva & Me
Me:- What is the duty of a soldier of the Indian Army?
He:- To serve the Country?
Me:- You can serve the country in any way but then – Why does he need
a gun?
He:- To kill the enemy?
Me:- Is that all? Is there any other thing that he needs to do?
He:- Protect us – all people & land of the country.
Me:- Why the land? What gives soldier the identity that this land is
his?
He: The Tri-Colour.
Me:- Good Atharva. You are perfectly right. It is true that the Soldier of the Indian Army has to protect the flag wherever it is and should keep it flying high always. This is because it is what lends him an identity that this is his land and his country – which includes every thing that is present in this country – people and all. Therefore, when he dies on the border he has died for his country and that is why he is draped in the Indian tri-colour. As far as we people are concerned – we live & die for ourselves – our family etc therefore we are draped in another cloth.
The seriousness on his face suggested that the answer gave him the clarity he needed. Atharvas eyes now beamed a commitment, an internal conviction that he too wanted the tri-colour draped but as a sign of victory a brandishing identity that he was to be the Son of India standing guard eternally to protect his motherland.
Atharva taught me a lot that day. His innocence & honesty in asking profound questions which even adults dread suggested never to underestimate the intellectual acumen of anyone – be it a child or an adult. His deep thinking eyes was clear that the child probed his mind to craft the question and ask it genuinely in simple words – This is suggestive to every adult to think before opening your mouth to say anything – the norm “think before you ink” is applicable all the time; along with this, it is also suggestive that even difficult questions can be simple worded and needs to be answered in the same tempo – answer simplicity with simplicity. The way the questions were posed by Atharva was evident that the mind was looking for appropriate satisfiers and not just answers or avoider statements such as “do your homework and its not time to ask questions” or “You will get to know the answers when you grow up” or “Don’t ask such stupid questions, you are asking questions inappropriate to your age” etc etc. This suggested to me 3 very important attributes that parents or teachers need to inculcate – (1.) Don’t drub the child and kill his inquisitive mind just because you don’t know the answers to his questions; (2) It becomes the duty of the parents & teachers to explore the range of questions, get into knowledge bases and find answers to the questions of the child – the internet, social media and above all the new CHATGPT can be the sources to know the answers and then reply to the child in a manner he understands – this I suggest is because the child considers only his parents and the teachers to be the “know all role models” that instill belief in him easily. And finally (3.) The barrage of questions from Atharva suggested that he had many unanswered questions and just needed someone who could understand his stance and answer the question. By this I understood that “Questions need Answers and Problems need Solutions”. When the child asks questions the parents usually say “this is the problem with my child” but they never say “my child needs answers” one change in this perspective will certainly enrich the child and make him an intellectual. This interaction with Atharva I can never forget – it is after a long time that I found an intellectual being that sounded no less than a prodigy in a child – when channelized he could become one of the greatest contributive visionaries of this great country. God willing 30 years down the line our country may witness another Vivekananda in this child Atharva.
