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The tale of '23'

The incident I am going to narrate will surely seem hilarious, but it has a deep meaning inside it. In our day to day lives, we often come across such situations, but forget about it thinking that it does not have any relevance in our lives. These are moments when we think whether we are really educated or not.

It was the 23rd of December 2017, and my winter vacations had just begun. The vacation was more of a study leave for me, as my pre-boards just succeeded the break. 

I was coming back after a good game of tennis. Having made it a habit, I went towards the notice board on the entrance of our building, and began to browse through the latest circulars. A maid servant was seated on the bench below. 

She asked me, 'Kya tareek hai" (What is the date today).
I knew that it was 23 December. But, I did not know how to say that in Hindi. Hastily, I said 23 in English, and she smiled and asked me to repeat in Hindi, as she did not understand English.

I knew that 21 was called 'ikkees' and 24 was called 'chaubees'. But, I could not recall the names of 22 and 23. I hastily replied, "Bees se teen aage" (3 more than 20). She understood and said that what I meant was 'Taees". I felt embarassed and rushed upstairs.

I felt illiterate that day. When I went home, I narrated this incident to my family and we all had a good laugh. It was amazing that despite studying in such a good school, and being the so-called 'educated' child, I could not remember one number in Hindi. But, I put the blame on myself and felt that it was my duty to learn counting on my own (am doing that in the 10th Standard!!)

I went on the internet, and went through the Hindi counting till 100.

English is a very powerful language and is essential for understanding how the global world works. But, for studying English, we must not compromise on other languages which are equally essential. For working at the grass root level, we must be able to communicate in at least 3 Indian languages. Sanskrit is the best language to learn. It might feel unessential to learn Sanskrit, but all languages are derived from Sanskrit, and it has the most powerful literature across all languages.

That day, I realised one thing and that was that education is all about how to live. Education does not mean forcing something on to children so that they pass in an exam. It moreso means that we must be able to live in harmony and with ease along with the people around us. This is something that we as residents of the country, and the HRD Ministry must understand and appreciate.........

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