Apples

Read this somwhere, sharing it on my blog

A teacher teaching Maths to seven-year-old Arnav asked him, "If I give you one apple and one apple and one apple, how many apples will you have? " Within a few seconds Arnav replied confidently, "Four!" The dismayed teacher was expecting an effortless correct answer (three). She was disappointed. "Maybe the child did not listen properly," she thought. She repeated, "Arnav, listen carefully.. If I give you one apple and one apple and one apple, how many apples will you have?" Arnav had seen the disappointment on his teacher's face. He calculated again on his fingers. But within him he was also searching for the answer that will make the teacher happy. His search for the answer was not for the correct one, but the one that will make his teacher happy. This time hesitatingly he replied, "Four." The disappointment stayed on the teacher's face. She remembered that Arnav liked strawberries. She thought maybe he doesn't like apples and that is making him loose focus. This time with an exaggerated excitement and twinkling in her eyes she asked, "If I give you one strawberry and one strawberry and one strawberry, then how many you will have?" Seeing the teacher happy, young Arnav calculated on his fingers again. There was no pressure on him, but a little on the teacher. She wanted her new approach to succeed. With a hesitating smile young Arnav enquired, "Three?" The teacher now had a victorious smile. Her approach had succeeded. She wanted to congratulate herself. But one last thing remained. Once again she asked him, "Now if I give you one apple and one apple and one more apple how many will you have?" Promptly Arnav answered, "Four!" The teacher was aghast. "How Arnav, how?" she demanded in a little stern and irritated voice. In a voice that was low and hesitating young Arnav replied, "Because I already have one apple in my bag." Moral: "When someone gives you an answer that is different from what you expect, don't think they are wrong. There may be an angle that you have not understood at all. You will have to listen and understand, but never listen with a predetermined notion. Most of the times, we do not try to understand the view of the other person and we find them wrong, but in reality it is just the matter of giving other person a chance to explain."

Delhi Incident_My View!!

I strongly condemn this incident in delhi, and am of the opinion that those who are found guilty by a court of law should be given harsh punishment, so as to prevent such incidents in future.

At the same time, I would like to know whether the same hue and cry which has been raised about it in the media and in Parliament would have been raised had this incident happened in some other part of India, particularly in rural India. I am sure it would not. But surely Delhi is not the whole of India. 

There has been hardly any hue and cry to a similar extent about the 250,000 farmers suicide in Vidharbha , Andhra Pradesh and elsewhere over the last 10-15 years( an average of 47 farmers suicide per day, which is still continuing) which is a world record of farmers suicide. There has been very little hue and cry about the fact that 48% of Indian children are malnourished, which is a rate far higher than the Sub-Saharan African countries like Somalia and Ethiopia where the child malnourishment rate is about 33%.

There is very little hue and cry about the massive unemployment in India, the almost total lack of healthcare for our poor people who cannot afford the expenses of a doctor or medicines and have to go to quacks. Education in India is in shambles. Most of the money given by the govt goes to IITs and some other institutes of higher learning but hardly any money is given to primary schools ( particularly in rural areas) where the foundation of knowledge is laid. Prices are skyrocketing, and one wonders how our 80% poor people are surviving, but there is no such hue and cry about it in the media or even in Parliament. There are many others huge socio economic problems facing the nation but very little is discussed about them. 

I am not trying to justify rape but I only request people to maintain a balance and not hype the Delhi gangrape incident as if it is the only problem in the country.