The post with thousand hoods ;)

Veyi = Thousand
Padagalu = Hoods

Okie this post is about “Veyi Padagalu” the magnum opus by Viswanatha Satyanarayana . For the ones who are scratching their heads about what this is .. it was translated into hindi by our ex-PM P.V.Narasimha Rao as “Sahastra Phan” . It was a TV series in gud ole doordarshan . Sadly enuf that is all that i can say :( .

I remember blogging about this book about an year ago . That was the first time i started reading the book and then stopped after reading the first 50 pages .. cursing my telugu and cursing the author’s telugu and then cursing my generation that has lost touch with its roots . I still don’t understand what made me restart reading the book . But this time around i am committed to the cause :D . I struggled a lot in the start and now i got habituated to struggling .. and wondering “Is this Telugu ?” every other moment :D .

As i keep mentioning again and again .. either my generation and the future ones should be taught that kind of telugu or those books should be re-written in my kind of telugu :D . Probably an abridged version .. ala Jaico series :) .

I will come up with a comprehensive review as soon as i am done with reading the whole book . It is seriously taking away a lotttt of my time . Never before did i struggle so much to complete a 800+ page book :( . When i remarked that .. I would have read atleast 10 books in the time i have invested on “Veyi Padagalu” .. The sage said this book is worth the effort . Though i feel the sage’s remark is a bit too far-fledged .. i think all those who are wondering ‘why we are like this .. wat is the original indian way of living . what happened post modernisation/colonialisation . what is the effect of the english system on india.. etc ‘ should read this book .

Now this post is about an interesting discussion that i came across in this book …

There is this muncipal corporation in a village which decides to implement a “Compulsory Primary Education” policy . Then follows a discussion on “The relevance of english education .. what is primary goal of education” which made me write this post :D .

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Kabir : Do we need this education ? . How will the masses benifit by learning addition , subtraction and by a mere knowledge of reading and writing alphabets ? .

DharmaRao : If one knows how to write then one can sign the promissory note when one takes a loan . If one knows how to read then one can know if the train ticket was given to the proper place or not .

Kabir : (Laughs )

DharmaRao : There is no real benifit with this (english) education system . Since almost all the traditional professions have died people live with a hope that they can earn some money with this new education. In the previous system (the caste system based on family-profession) every member of the family used to specialise in his family profession without any formal education i.e., they learn from the experience of their forefathers. They would become experts in their family-profession by the time they are 15-16 ys old . This education was the means of livelihood for the family . Now since this has died down people had to go through formal education to earn money . After formal education for some years they need to undergo professional education (like School education first for 12 years and then B.Tech in IIITH :D ) .

“Fomal education for all and livelihood for all by means of that formal education” is impossible . Everyone wants to become an employee now (more like everyone wants to become a software engg ;) ) !! . It was the degeneration of the caste system that resulted in this state . Why should someone leave his family-profession ?? . Is it that a farmer in a village is unqualified and the agricultural scientist from USA is qualified ? . Is it that the one who learns traditional medicine is a quack and the one who studies MBBS is only entitled to be a qualified doctor ? .I don’t think one can demarcate educated and uneducated like this ! . This demarcation i think is a result of the english education.

Kabir : In that case .. What is education ?

Dhamarao : Education is of two types .. 1) Professional education 2) Education for the sake of wisdom . One should never combine both . The mistake in the existing english system is that it tries to combine both . Professional education is for livelihood . The other form of education is for building the character of an individual . Compulsory primary education is not for livelihood it is for character building . Now let us examine how that helps in building the character . Writing , Reading don’t help in building the character of an individual . Mere knowledge of reading and writing don’t make you a wise man . Various traditional art forms like Tholubomma laata (Puppet play) , Vidhi bhagavatham (Street play ? ) , Hari kathalu , yaksha ganamu etc were all meant to educate ppl . Educating the masses is the profession of the “bhagavathars” . The charm of the indian society lies in dividing the society into two parts and making one half responsible for educating the second half . Where else can one find such a system ? .

Kabir : Please tell me what is the structure of education ? . How should education be ? What is the ultimate goal of education ? .

Dharmarao : The main goal of education is to enlighten the mind . This can’t just be attained by the five senses . Since this education is for character-building its main goal is to reach the heart through the senses like eyes and ears . Now for this we need meaningful music and meaningful poetry . The system of street-plays etc were created for this purpose . They reach the masses through the eyes and ears and in the process form the basis for their education . This is the cheapest form of education as it happens without using notebooks or textbooks .Without spending a single penny one can learn a lot by watching these dramas and plays . This education is more important than just knowing the alphabets . Instead of teaching alphabets in the name of compulsory education it is better to abolish the practice of meaningless dramas and inane movies and replace them with meaningful dramas and movies . This move will definitely help in reforming the masses . The only benifit of compulsory primary education is for the teachers who get paid for what they teach and the publishers who print the textbooks.So it doesnt really benifit the target audience !!.

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Okie so that is where i stop . This discussion did answer a lot of my questions on the state of the country now .. When everyone talked about Macaulay i never really understood the effect of destroying the indigenous caste based professional education system and the indian way of education . But thanks to Sri viswanatha satyanarayana .. i now understand the effect of english education on the country . GG viswanatha garu :D . English education did ruin the country ! .