Reading Dilish Daniel's candid account of the distress he felt regarding his future ( GREAT RELIEF! ) has weighed quite heavily upon my mind! Thus, I thought I would jot down exactly what I know to be part of it, and only part of it, so you the reader would also get a glimmer of his reality! Never would I know to actually realize just what he is going through, at his young age!
Being a youngster these days, I dare say, must be much more difficult than when I was one, and to remember those days, I must travel back in time quite far! Nevertheless, there are similarities that even today will always permeate adolescence, be it they lived in the 20th Century or in Adam's or Noah's day; in the USA or in India!
Within us, within most of us, I pray, there is a need to excel, to ingratiate ourselves in the eyes of those we hold in high regard, such as our parents, our teachers, God, our peers… to prove ourselves worthy of their love and/or respect and consideration, perhaps even, admiration!
and of the fat thereof.
According to Wikipedia:
"The Indian census of 1961 recognised 1,652 different languages in India (including languages not native to the subcontinent). The 1991 census recognizes 1,576 classified "mother tongues"[21] The People of India (POI) project of Anthropological Survey of India reported 325 languages which are used for in-group communication by the Indian communities.SIL Ethnologue lists 415 living 'Languages of India' (out of 6,912 worldwide).
"According to the 1991 census, 22 'languages' had more than a million native speakers, 50 had more than 100,000 and 114 had more than 10,000 native speakers. The remaining accounted for a total of 566,000 native speakers (out of a total of 838 million Indians in 1991).[21]
"According to the most recent census of 2001, 29 'languages' have more than a million native speakers, 60 have more than 100,000 and 122 have more than 10,000 native speakers.
"The government of India has given 22 'languages of the 8th Schedule' the status of official language.
"According to the 2001 census,[1] Hinduism is the majority religion, with 80.5% of the population of India. Islam (13.4%), Christianity (2.3%), Sikhism (1.9%), Buddhism (0.8%) and Jainism (0.4%) are the other minor religions followed by the people of India."
Can any one American brain, even a Western brain, begin to comprehend the above, much less actually envision living in one such an environment? This a country which language structure continually morphs at the will of the politicians! Through what sad isolation these live, in what is such a crowded place! Such irony!
Thus, as I was saying, whereas we can go to most any university of our choosing in all 50 States, where the language spoken is always English, granted with different regional accents, very easy to overcome, in India one such student will seldom find another that speaks their language, having to resort to English, which is the one language in which the universities deal!
Now we come to what can be said to be the worst problem in India, for which there is no solution, which is the overcrowding!
Our brains cannot begin to fathom such figures as part of our daily existences! Yet, it is we who seem to do the most complaining, nowadays!
For the end of semester vacation to be had in mid December, Jithin Matthews booked a ticket on a train in October, to go from Guwahati University, in the north-easternmost of India, to his hometown in Kerala, in southern India. He had no assurance that there would be room, and had to wait for it.
Such notification never came: there was no room for him, so he had to forgo his visit home! His mother, of course, was heartbroken!
Would we ever experience such frustration here in the USA? Hardly!
Regarding such vacations, while it is that many pagan festivities are observed with holidays, in India, classes usually resume on December 25th!
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Dearest Helga,
ReplyDeleteI can not even comprehend the language barriers, let alone, attempting to live crowded, pressed to the limit to be 'best in class', having those closest to you shun you for either being a Christian or not being at the top rung of the social/scholastic scale. And, not being able to get proper transportation when needed! These young men truly have a difficult life! Thanks be, however, they are saved by our wonderful Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ. My prayers and praise to God for these brethren!
Wendi
Indeed, Wendi, they need our constant prayers and encouragement! May the Holy Spirit give them strength and guide them, always!
DeleteThe LORD is a stronghold for the oppressed, a stronghold in times of trouble. And those who know your name put their trust in you, for you, O LORD, have not forsaken those who seek you.
Psalm 9:9 (King James Bible)