Taare Shining In Vain?

Recently, as I finished watching a movie, I experienced a somewhat unfamiliar situation: everyone was quiet- almost an eerie, uncomfortable silence- as if reflecting on something deeper, more profound. Something that went beyond a mere movie. Now, the last time I probably witnessed a similar reaction by the audience was while on my way out after watching ‘Rang De Basanti’. But this went a step beyond- each of the parents or elders had a protective, loving hand over the unusual number of young ones ranging from toddlers to teenagers- almost as if they had rediscovered them after a lifetime, as if that gap between them just got a lot smaller. Probably because it had.

You guessed it. The movie was Aamir Khan’s brilliant directorial debut Taare Zameen Par. I, very predictably, fell in love with the movie. Not just because of the amazing work by the little Darsheel Safrey, or the touchingly sensitive directorial treatment, or even the absolutely loveable and equally hummable music tracks. But also because somehow, sometime while watching it, I felt redeemed. I felt like someone finally understood. I might not be suffering from a learning disorder like young Ishaan, but like him, I too am a victim of this education system. And perhaps, you are too.

The drawing teacher who reckons real ‘art’ lies in copying inanimate objects lying on the table to the T, the hindi teacher who won’t accept an answer to a question other than the one he’s dictated, the English teacher who puts higher value on knowing the parts of speech than creating a grammatically correct sentence, those raps on the knuckles, those punishments to stand outside the classroom, the intolerance for a curiousness for things beyond the classroom- these certainly aren’t caricatures formulated in the mind of the scriptwriter. They are an everyday reality for- let’s admit- most of us who are still in school. Aren’t we all, in one way or the other, casualties of the narrow-mindedness of the system?

And so, when a film like this comes along once in a lifetime, it is bound to create a stir. But, unfortunately, we seem to have this uncanny ability to let it all run off our backs. It was a movie, and this is life after all! Well, sometimes, just sometimes, you need a wake-up call from life- an opportunity to re-examine all that’s being done, to ask questions about why some things are being done certain ways- and just how right or wrong they are. TZP is our wake-up call.

Why are math and science made compulsory until class tenth but not art and music? Why does a child have to narrow down his options to either Science, Humanities or Commerce at the mere age of 15? How can a child’s learning and knowledge accumulated over 12 years be judged in the matter of three hours- that can make or break the rest of his career? How can we ever account for the amount of innocent lives our attitudes have claimed? Or how many talents have been buried in this shameless quest for academic achievement? When will we have classrooms that become the centers of sharing the joy of learning, rather than machines that train you for a test? When will we be able to produce responsible citizens that are ready for life- rather than IIT? In a system where learning by rote has its proven advantages, when will we ever produce free-thinking individuals- people with opinions of their own, who have the courage to voice them? When will students need to stop going to ‘tuitions’ to substitute their school education? When will life stop being one vicious cycle of school, studies, tutions, homework, and tests?

These, and many more, are questions that will have to be asked over and over if we really want to see a change. It is up to us to wake up and get on with the new day that has dawned, to shake off our past- and to face the new times with a fresh perspective, a renewed vigor. Or we can choose to just hit the snooze button, like we’ve been doing for a while- and stay in our own little dreamland, oblivious to the rest of the world.

I only wonder how long it is going to be before our redemption comes not from a movie, but from real life…