Discuss I wish i were 14 again!, on IndusLadies. I wish i were 14 again! - This forum is for Non-fiction writings - personal anecdotes, private reflections or touching experiences in your life!.
Yes, I do…I do, I do, I do, I do, I do. Ominous threats of having to go through puberty, acne, menarche, teenage angst, board exams, parental paranoia, peer pressure and rat race notwithstanding, I really, really wish I were a teenager again. Don’t write this off as hot flushes induced by an imminent menopause, an early onset of senility or as a gimmick to break out of my strange illness called ‘Chronic Neuro-writersblockitis Syndrome’. It is not a ‘Yayathi Syndrome’ either. If you must really know the reason for such wishful thinking on my part, scan the front page of today’s Times Of India. The buck stops there.
TOI has flagged off a very ambitious project, in tandem with Metlife Insurance, called ‘I Want To Be An Editor’. It is going to be a Herculean task sifting through lakhs and lakhs of aspiring students from thousands of schools in the six metros of India, garnering 600 candidates, grooming them and pitting their verbal gladiatorial skills against one another to eliminate the chaff from the grain and finally segregate 12 gems with pincers.
These 12 chosen ones ( the apostles of the grandiose dream that our children shall chart the course of our nation’s future) will write features/ news items on Science, Technology & Education, Sports, Entertainment and Business which shall be published in all the editions of TOI on 4th of January, 2010. The panning operations for the nuggets will be handled by Derek OBrien ( Yes, of the Bournvita Quiz Contest era) and his team of talent scouts.
Sigh! I wish I were 13 or 14 again and a student in one of those schools in those metros. Not that I was verbally brilliant when I was in my teens! I probably did not even know the intricacies of English grammar, leave alone the verbal bulimia I deliberately indulge in these days. I hardly read the newspaper ( except for the obituary page of the Malayalam paper Express) and just flicked through Eve’s Weekly and Illustrated Weekly for the cartoons ( which I hardly understood) or the pictures ( yeah, I knew one picture was worth a thousand words… even then!). I perused Good Housekeeping and Woman and Home for their gloss, the Tidbits for sleaze and hardly understood all the words in the McMillan classics, my grandfather had gifted me… and the Readers’ Digest my Dad and Mom enjoyed.
Yet, in my salad days, I nurtured a plethora of dreams, ambitions and aspirations…
I dreamt of becoming a librarian. Just like a mosquito in a nudist colony, I wouldn’t even know where to start. It was much later that I learnt, a librarian had duties other than reading all those stacks of books temptingly arranged on endless shelves. Then I wanted to be a writer, living a hermit –like life in a small cottage in the foothills of the Western Ghats, surrounded by lush greenery, an eternal supply of books to read, where, secluded from human contact, I’d keep writing my great novels one after the other. Later I wanted to be at least an Editor of a news paper, wielding a thick blue and red pencil, proof reading articles and feeling omnipotent as I scrawled ‘Stet’…
In other words, I just wanted to be associated with words…letters… I wanted to write… and be recognized. This urge, this obsession with words, this ailment with symptoms like verbal diarrhea has been cured to a great extent with the placebo called ‘Blogging’. But my heart always ached and a drowsy numbness pained my senses, each time I saw an ad in the Gulf News for proof readers and sub- editors , when Motivate Publishing House sought people with good English and grammatical skills and when a friend told me that she could with her influence open a gate that led to a publishing house in Dubai. But by the time I swatted away the hundreds of buzzing doubts about my skills and decided to apply, there’d be an SOS or May Day call from India, and I’d fly away from my dream.
Coming back to the TOI project, I wonder if it isn’t a shade too ambitious. They are planning to pick students from Grades 5 to 9. That means, 10 to 14 year olds… even a couple of 15 year olds. How many 10 year olds are there with awareness of contemporary issues, excellent grammar and skills in written communication? The news clipping says these editor- prodigies need not be class toppers or swotters. That is why the task is going to be Herculean – to discover the gems with perfect grammar and language skills among the so called non achievers. Remember, they are going to pit 600 students against one another making them go through ‘inter school, intra city contests involving journalistic and GK quizzes’. The one dozen finalists will hobnob with the doyens ( led by former President APJ Abdul Kalam) of Science, Technology, Education, Sports, Entertainment and Business in Mumbai. Wow! Talk about a dream project!
I wonder who those 12 will be. I am sure they must be exceptionally good with words at that young age to be where they will be. I envy them. I wish I were one of them.
As usual, the cynic in me role plays as the Typical Kill Joy!
Is it just a gimmick to increase the circulation of TOI… I know, that newspapers take the ‘number (of readers) game very seriously.
Will 10- 15 year olds be able to write meaningful articles to feature on a national daily? Of course, they will have sub editors, proof readers and their mentors peering over their shoulders as they write, not to mention anxious, ambitious and over protective parents
( the kind that features in the Insurance Ad these days on TV) hovering about protecting their Babas’ and Babies’ interests.
Will this create a spate of interest in imbibing good language skills? In that case will English teachers suddenly find an influx of students flooding their doors to be coached in the finer nuances of language and grammar?
Like the TV talent shows for music and dance, will the other newspapers spearhead similar projects and open a floodgate for written communicational skills? ( If only!)
Will these 12 kids sleep on their laurels after 4th January? Or will they pursue a career in the print media? Will their parents allow them to break free and go off in a tangent away from their own dreams of IITs, IIMs, Techie life and Uncle Sam’s Green Cards?
It is probable… quite possible too.
Which, then, brings me back to my secret longing, if only I were 14 again and one among them!
HAHA.So u want to be a small girl again eh ! I dont want to be young anymore, i am happy as the fat 55 ry old fellow, nmow relaxing and enjoying life and blogging.HAHA
superb one, the mosquito one is too good, what a phrase, orignal, i hope it isnot copywrited, as i want to use it inmy blogs, with yr permission.Mosquito in a nudist camp eh ! HAHA
Dear,
I enjoy reading your posts, my lack of english command makes me envious of your style,but the attribute of bowing to superior (in this case language & style) i salute you.
Since iam not exactly following TOI, iam in bit dark (of course in complexion too). I assume another Little champs is being staged by TOI. Well this may increase the circulation and keeps many busy including the parents and the teachers and the participants will be ground like the mortar in the attukal.(grinding stone).
Result instead of nice idlies, it will be bit of fame and popularity for the kids and the children.
But i do admit i too wanted to be librarian, writer (best selling author), & later drifted. Now i too would love to be 14 but not want to compete, admit i do not have the mettle , but at least i was thin.
As usual i enjoyed reading.
Jaya
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A computer once beat me at chess, but it was no match for me at kick boxing. Jaya
Enjoyed reading your post. Feels as though this forum has a sudden burst of energy now, with blogs and comments from Jpatma, Kamalji, Sundarusha, Jaishree, Cheeniyaji, Rrg, Varalotti, yourself, Sriniketan and other big timers here on IL.
WOW, it would be a great achievement for some of those kids and a sweet beginning of a more serious role into the future, if that is what they desire. Good Luck to all the kids!
Kamalji,
Hi! Anything for writing. I don't mind going thru all those hurdles gain, if it would get me a lifetime of my dream job. You know I just love to write. I am at my most miserable when I can't write... Hence the wishful thinking!
Your salutes accepted with pleasure. You know for almost a month I was in anguish as I was unable to write. I posted a desperate blog in another site where I hold simultaneous account. I could not post that blog in IL because I am unable to upload images as easily as I can there. You can see it here: THE OLD KID IN NEW BLOCK : verboseviju blogs on sulekha, Creative blogs, verboseviju blog from india
I was scared that my blogging days are over...when Bingo! this happened. So I am just going to enjoy any appreciation that comes my way for my writing while I can. Suppose I wake up one morning and realize I can't write ever again??? Sigh!
Yes, good luck to all those 12 kids...( though I do envy them! ) It is nice to be able to write again.. in spite of migraines which are recurring at alarming frequencies!
Dear twins,
What a strange coincidence!!!When I was watching the musical show for the juniors, I was longing to become a teen age girl and sing with a mike in my hand, showing my talent!!!
I feel today's children have better exposure to the world around, to bring out their talent and aware of the facts around them. I salute your mastery over the language, Wishing all the best for the children! Children today are all beautiful evolving souls. Each child is different, but collectively all are our future and we will need their global support in order to survive. Take time to listen to their fears, guide them with dignity towards the care of self and others regardless of age or culture.This is my view.Awestruck by your post.
with love
pad
Though I do appreciate the good singers for their voice range and perfection, I hate to see youngsters subjected to such limelight and such harsh criticism at so young an age!
And the way they are tortured ( esp in music shows where they are expected to dress up and dance while singing!) Will any of the established playback singer do that in a recording studio? Dance while singing seriously? It is just double standards...
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