We hear in news channels and read in newspapers that India is one of the world’s fastest growing economies and sooner we will be ahead of many big economies of the world.
But the question is –
Are we really growing and developing?
Are the fruits of liberalization reaching all sections of the society?
Are all our children going to schools?
Are they getting quality education?
Are our schools taking care of overall development of the children?
And in most cases the answer will be a big NO. It’s been said that children are the future of any country and their overall development is important for the overall development of the Nation.
Actually I read a book recently named “Three Cups of Tea” and these were the questions bombarding my mind after reading this book. The book has nothing to do with India, but while reading it I felt that it’s a story about one of the many villages of India, where people are working hard to meet their end needs and children are going to schools, even though they have no classrooms to sit, no books and notebooks to read and write, no teachers to teach.
Three Cups of Tea is book about an American mountaineer, who wants to climb K2; however he becomes lost and reach a village called Korphe and is moved by the kindness, he receives from the common villagers of Korphe. One day while moving around the village he finds that there is no school for children and they have no books or notebooks to read and write and the teacher comes to the school only thrice a week. He was SHOCKED to know this and thought, he can never think of American children going to ay such schools. He really wanted to do something. He wanted to build a SCHOOL for the children of Korphe. The story is all about determination; how it changes one’s life and love & respect, something we humans can give to each other and can make this world a better place to live.
This book gives a lot of emphasis on education and specially girl’s education. There is one instance in this book which I liked the most and it is about the grand-daughter of the village chief, who not only becomes the first educated women of Korphe, but who also learns a big lesson of life -to stand up for oneself.
While reading the book, one question that was popping up in my mind was – why it is called three cups of tea or what does three cups of tea signifies and the answer is:
With the first cup of tea, you are a stranger.
With the second……a friend.
With the third cup of tea, you are family.
Great book to read and introspect…Can we make a difference in our own ways!!!!!
bhagwatijoshi 