A 9 hour flight into London from Mumbai and the excellent services of Jet Airways made it as comfortable as it could get. There is an air about things Indian, or let me put it this way, when you utilize services that originate from your home country there is an air about it ! They may have their flaws, as do so many others from other nations, but they are ‘our country’ and a certain pride rides our emotion. You almost feel that you haven’t left home, even though you are thousands of miles away from it. And that is the credit that I talk of.

And on to the grand children soon after arrival from the airport ! What is it about grand children that lighten up your countenance no matter what your condition may be. And even when there is just a gap of only a few days, one always finds that they have grown taller and… thinner, and then you worry. Not eating well, not looking after themselves, eating junk food… and so on. A common refrain from all. Guess this must be the talk in every home and we are no different.

Time spent with them is like spending our entire life again from the start. You want to talk to them about life, teach them habits, thoughts, opinions, behavior, answer questions, read to them, read about them, encourage them, guide them, tell them what is right and wrong, drive them to caution and safety…

And all you get from them is -

“Nana.. aaaa ! chill !!”

The vocabulary of this generation is so.. brief !

So… here we are in this great city of immense educational institutions, Cambridge.. again.. and so soon. Seems just like the other day we were here shooting for ‘Teen Patti’ with Sir Ben.”Teen Patti” in Hindi means ‘3 cards’ - Teen, is three, Patti is cards. It is the Hindi name for the game of ‘Flush’ or Poker. American distributors who saw the promos of the film in Cannes, thought it was the story on the life of ‘Teenage Patti Brown’… if ever there existed one like her !! Americans !!… what can one say about them. They are the most powerful nation in the universe - but remain so cocooned from the rest of it.

Time and communication and speed of travel has altered all of us psychologically and perhaps physically too. The wonder of absence, the mystery of expectation and the surprises of novelty have all been brutally brushed aside by the brooms of advanced change. Nostalgia does not seem to have the same meaning as it did some years ago. Is it an irony or dichotomy or merely a subject of a negligible pun !! Who knows. And I wonder if anyone cares.

You cannot but marvel at the vision of those that thought and considered the very object of such magnificence towards literacy, towards teaching and learning. Towards sharing the incredible quality of knowledge with others. Human nature at times takes great pride in preserving what he imbibes through his or her own effort towards themselves. They are hesitant and selfish at times in letting others know what they know. Does it entail an element of exclusivity, which if guarded from others makes them feel and look superior. Do these edifices and architectural wonders of education depict an eliteness that defines and remains constrained to a select few. Facts of knowledge shall technically remain similar, whether distributed in a Kings College or at a ‘pathshala’ in rural habitat. Why then the classification of location and name ? Why do we say that a particular institution ranks better than the other ? Why do the names of a Cambridge or an Oxford conjure an element of better rank than the other ?? Why is there then an Ivy League in USA which develops an exclamation of awe and greater respect ?? Does not the ivy grow in similar strength and color and shape in my garden as well ! Does the color of the fee for admission to certain institutions determine the color of their academic quality. Why does the India Today magazine in India dedicate an entire cover story on the Best Educational Schools of the country and demonstrates its research acumen in tabulating page after page, in ranking order, of names of education centers that are ‘good’, ‘not so good’ and ‘average’. Am I to believe that the knowledge that is universal in its content, shall be spread in a good, very good and an average manner, to subjects that are privileged, very privileged and not so privileged ? And may one ask, on what criteria ?

For a world that screams of equality and its freedom. For a world that screams of tolerance of secular ideals. For a world that screams of the democratization of society and the powers that belligerently fight its causes all over the universe except in their own, may one ask, what are their own standards. Do they preach the policies they assiduously devise, or do they do so with the object of gaining a mélange of rusted medallions that they take pride in adorning their not so starched uniforms with.

The process of the distribution of knowledge cannot be classified. It would not be an injustice to those that subscribe to it. God knows what their injustice would be. But it would be an injustice to knowledge itself.

How legitimate is it to impart, part knowledge and how its complete form, differently, to different classes of humanity. And to those that do, may I be permitted the impertinence to ask, do they do it for personal or political gain ? Is it possible that an uneducated and ignorant polity is a deliberate and preferred option by those that seek concurrence from them on issues they are unable to comprehend, when casting their choice through a convenient and manufactured democratic procedure.

Does the poverty of a nation then, reflect the poverty of its literacy ?

Do we deliberately keep our nations uneducated, so that they may never spell or know the meaning of democracy or free and fair elections; the very covenants of liberty and freedom ?

Conversely then. How do we explain the presence of those deprived of education, within the august bodies of people representation ? Have they exercised power of conviction and reason, or have they exercised criminality ? What kind of governance will they then execute into law from their exalted positions ?

When they shall become examples of a representation that succeeds without the basics, how ever will they contribute to the process of legislation, that shall eventually become a law of the land ??

“When we do what we can. God will do what we can’t. “

“He who can discriminate his own self, is a good judge of others.”

Love and hope.. two of the most valuable expressions for all -

Amitabh Bachchan