Why Does Our Educational System Need First Aid?

We live in India, which is a nation with almost 1.2 billion people. We are being looked with envy by many superpowers because we are blessed with a young population. We have the power and skill to take this nation take a sneak peek at glory. But what's stopping us?

Well, the education which we are being provided with is to be blamed. Our society has adopted an educational system which is doing absolutely no good to us. We are producing tons and tons of graduates who aren't competitive enough to fight their way to jobs, high school students who aren't able to give an extempore speech for 5 minutes, but are able to score 90's in English in their board exams and primary students who aren't strong enough in basic math. With such a pitiable situation at stake, we can never dream of becoming a superpower in the future.

The problem is not with the system but it is the system itself which is a problem!

'Marks, Marks & Marks' is all that a student thinks about. He looks at ways to remember key points in a particular topic with the prime motive of gaining the fully allotted marks for the question that rises out of that topic, but not with the intention of UNDERSTANDING the topic. This is where are lacking big time! We fail to induce the need to 'apply' rather than 'by heart' . We need to bring in a system where marks do not scale a student's effectiveness and competency. We need to go in for a grading system which will the mold the student into a bright young lad who is ready to face the competition outside.

We at WonderWords are committed to this issue in particular as the youth of today understand the loopholes in our education system much better than anybody else in this country..

To be continued...

Facts That Are Bound to Shock You, Bigtime ! Wake up & Save The Environment!

The world is growing at a rapid pace! Nations are fighting it out to become superpowers and showcase their industrial and economic prowess to the world. While all this is taking place, we tend to forget about one major issue which could sound the death knell for the entire human race, if ignored- the environment. Today, I would like to highlight a few facts and figures which are bound to spark a sense of shock and disbelief.

Around 600,000 babies die every year without being blessed to come out of their wombs and have a look at this world, thanks to the impact of air pollution and the umpteen numbers of diseases it can bring!

While that's with the babies, we haven't spared our plants and animals either. We are on the verge of wiping out 1/4th of the species of precious plants and animals which could signal the rise of a huge ecological imbalance.

We live in a world where flaunting the latest phones in the market is some sort of a status symbol. Of course, they're affordable, attractive and addictive, but have we ever spared a thought to the people who work in the every growing yards for electronic waste? The problem with this trend is the fact that we do not mind throwing away our old phones but the concern with this habit is that only a few of them actually get recycled.

So, India is an agricultural country. People in almost every part of the country consume wheat which comes from Punjab. Now here's a shocker for every 'roti' lover out there. The pesticide content in Punjab's agricultural produce is the highest in the country and India swallows the largest amount of pesticide. Having some healthy rotis for lunch is it?

This one is for the girls out there and of course a few guys too. Cosmetics are something which most of us cannot live without. However, if we could afford to live without it, we would not be supporting the heartless brands that slaughter thousands of animals for their fat nor will we be indirectly choking the environment with the toxic pollutants which go along with the cosmetics and their packing.

With all that's said, I'm sure we cannot give up most of our modern life luxuries, but before making extensive use of it, we need to give it a thought!

Reduce, reuse and recycle is the mantra!

Tax For The Roads That Do Not Exist?

If you commute to office on a bike or drive your car for a minimum of 5 kilometers every day, you are bound to face a horrid time on the road. The main reason is that the roads do not actually exist. We live in a world today where urbanization is the latest sensation, but in India it only adds to the woes of the cities which are congested already. 

In any city which houses at least 4 million people, it is absolutely essential to get the fundamentals of development right. All that the common man could ask for is water, power and roads and this is what governs the development of a geographic area. However, in India, the story is pretty different. 

Roads in urban jungles face two huge threats - traffic and rain. A slight drizzle for 30 minutes could leave you hopping on the road to evade puddles of muddy water. A reasonable downpour has the power of a lightning to drill potholes of huge sizes within a few hours. This is how strong our roads which have thousands of people relying upon it for their daily commute, actually are. Another issue is traffic which is mainly due to the spurt in the number of vehicles and poor reliability factor of public transport. 

If you observe things keenly while travelling, you will find that a majority of the roads are laid at least once a year, however, post monsoon, you are left wondering if this was the newly laid road. The major problem which revolves around our roads is the fact that quality testing of newly laid roads is lacking big time. Most of the contractors get a chunk of the contracts through illegal means and when the job is done they do not bother about perfection or quality. The authorities who have the right the to question just cannot because of the hefty share that they get to keep their mouths shut. 

We as honest tax payers have the right to demand something that we deserve. And when it comes to roads, there's not much we can compromise on! We believe. ONE CAN CHANGE!

Who's Going to Stop The Sand Robbers?

The modern world has its own share of woes and it seems to be a silent spectator to the endless list of atrocities that it has to bare with. One such issue which seems to be literally 'eroding' our country's progress, especially in the world of agriculture is illegal sand mining.

We find that the real estate sector is on the boom and this has in turn caused a strain on the amount of land that is under crops in a significant manner. Apart from this, the illegal quarrying of sand from river beds has added to the woes of this country, where agriculture was once considered to the backbone of the country.

If you are wondering as to how the removal of sand affects agriculture, the answer is simple. The constant removal of sand from river beds tends to form huge cavities in the course of the river and in some cases it also tends to alter the course of the river. Apart from this it has a daunting impact on the ground water quality and also affects the salinity which makes the river water unsuitable for irrigation . Adding to the list is the fact that the flora and fauna in the regions adjoining to the river bed face a serious threat.

Concrete jungles are being built up at a rampant rate, thanks to the rapid urbanization and this has proportionately impacted the surge in demand of sand. With the prices going up every day, there is no doubt that people are looking at illegal ways to mine it.

So what happens when people try to stop the illegal sand mafia network? It is simple. They are brutally murdered. This has been the case during a number of instances in Tamil Nadu when trucks with illegal sand were stopped by the authorities. The issue of illegal sand mining is being downplayed to a huge extent and the main reason behind this is due to the fact that the heads behind the illegal mining network are pretty powerful.

It is never too late to take action against the law breakers who think that they own the environment!

More Coal Power = Less Green Cover

The population of India is growing at a rampant rate and it is predicted that we would be living in the most populous country in the world in another 15 years from now. Cities lack the infrastructure but are getting over burdened with people. It is not only the urban hubs which are facing the heat today, but the precious forests too.

We have emphasized the need to grow more trees and protect the existing ones but at times an individual's voice tends to be to weak to brave the ills that are crippling our country, thanks to the big shots who are behind the scenes. It is a simple vicious cycle which India is currently experiencing. We need the power to run the umpteen numbers of power plants which run on coal and with the demand for power surging, the demand for coal has risen proportionately. From possessing a tag of being one of the biggest producers of coal, we are now in a position where we are looking to import it. When the demand has spurted to such an extent, it is obvious that the government has to scout for alternative options to produce coal and this can be done only by exploring new areas that have a vast expanse of coal . It is pretty unfortunate that several densely forested areas have been identified as hotspots for coal mining. This is the vicious cycle that we are talking about. Power to grow at the costs of our dense green forests. 

When it comes to planning on issues like power, authorities should adopt a futuristic approach and have a certain extent of sympathy towards the environment. If we continue to rely upon coal power plants, the demand is definitely going to increase and this will not only reduce our forest cover but also pollute to a larger extent. It is important that we think before we act and ensure that our actions doesn't dent the hopes for a bright future!

Oh Wait, Are You A North Indian Or A South Indian?

We live in a country which is claimed by me to be rich in culture and traditions in almost every post on this blog. It is indeed a fact that we are one of the most populated countries in world and also one of those countries which has a huge 'inland diversity' when it comes to the number of religions, castes, languages and so on. Before independence our forefathers were successful enough in splitting Bharat into India and Pakistan based on two major religions - Hinduism and Islam.

Today, the scenario is pretty much different. While extremism still exists, there is a slight change in the way people think at least when it comes to the Hindu-Muslim divide. However, there is a bigger picture to this divide beyond the friction between these two religions.

We as Indians , forget that we are 'Indians' at times. It is our religion or caste or language which comes first to our mind. We are so biased towards it that we blindly tend to support politicians of our own religion or caste or language, irrespective of their political performance or background. Even during times of calamity, a Hindu will give preference to helping another Hindu over a person of any other religion and the divide and bias continues with the caste and sub caste and so on. Apart from this , there are geographical divides too. For instance, people in the south are looked with a meek eye in the north, while people from the north east are not treated equally in the country and there are several other examples which one can quote. There is absolutely no end to this.

We fail to understand how big an impact it would create on the future of the country and how weak we will become in terms of a country if we do not change TODAY. Forget about the common man, even the people who hold the highest authority in this country are biased and so are people everywhere.

If we need to take a step forward, we need to portray India as a nation that stands united in peace and harmony irrespective of the number and types of divisions it internally possesses. It is all in the hands of the educated youth to bury the divide and consider every Indian to be his/ her brother/sister.

The Manmade Theory Of Life

Today's modern world greets you with a lot of drastic changes which includes the ways in which we live, eat, sleep and of course - earn. In India, you are forced into school at an age of 3. However, in the west you get to enjoy your early childhood for a couple of years more. However , when you are in India, you're probably an engineer or doctor by the age of 22-24. And post that it's a mad race against time to settle ourselves with a decent job or continue to study*. 

*This if-else condition depends on your economic background and interest. 

If you choose to work, you are not going to sit back and enjoy as your teachers lied to you. Yes, we've heard our teachers repeating one common preach when we are in our twelfth grade, " Just struggle hard for one year and your future will be bright, I promise". You believe them , you work crazily hard and secure cool marks. Once you enter college , your professors tell you -" If you want to have a comfortable life , work hard for the next three/four years". You respect the words of your professor this time and slog hard. You are now a graduate with a job at the end of four years. Just when you think it is the time to relax, training tests, performance appraisals, your 'Hitler avatar' boss woo you to sweat it out like a dog and you realize that life's  synonymous to hell and you are never going to be happy, even though your bank balance is going to keep spiking. 

So, the point we'd like to convey here is simple. We are tuned right from our childhood with a notion that you need chunks of money to be happy and 'settle down' in life and this money is going to come only if you study hard. Of course, education is important but to what extent? We spend almost one-thirds of life span for education and post that the race to earn begins. When we blindly run behind money with only the future in mind and do not spare a thought for our personal happiness or satisfaction,  we would all sit back in our sixties and think about what we did or achieved in our lives and unfortunately, there wouldn't be a single moment to cherish. You would have all comforts at that stage, be it your self owned apartment for which you paid EMIs for more than 20-30 years, a nice little car and a lovely family but there's one important thing which would be missing in your heart- that's the yearning to do what you longed to do but you couldn't because you were pressurized to gain a meager steady income, even though your passion promised you more. 

This is the simplest theory of life. Make sure you do not regret living a life that didn't live up to your expectations. Find the source of your passion, chase it down and succeed!