ELECTRONIC  TIMES

Research at the University of Texas shows that the more lonely and depressed you are, the more likely you are to binge-watch television. People with less self-control were more likely to do so. They just cannot stop clicking “next” even when aware of their other tasks.

In the mean time, lawmakers in Taiwan have made it obligatory for parents to monitor how much time their children spend on ‘electronic devices’ like television, internet, phone, etc. The fine imposed on them could be as high as US $ 1,595.

Whether such laws are appropriate or not, it is clear that the concern is growing that addiction to time on such ‘devices’ does serious harm or, at least, is a symptom of other serious problems.

KNOWING  WHEN  TO  SHUT  UP

Salman Rushdie’s next book will  be released in September of this year, seven years after his previous one. He is known for the great length of his stories. The new book will be only about 250 pages. “I have finally learned how to shut up,” he says. That might be appropriate coming from a man who lived under a fatwa for having talked too much!

It is of, course, important to speak up when needed. But, probably, we bring more trouble on ourselves through too much talk than by any silence. Knowing when to shut up makes life happier!

BOLLYWOOD  TO  BLAME  ?!       

Sandesh Baliga (32) was arrested in Australia for stalking two women for up to 18 months! He rang them up, texted them and approached them frequently over this period.

In court his lawyer argued that Baliga had been “wrongly influenced by Bollywood movies”. He said “Hindi movies contributed to his belief that a woman would eventually fall in love with a man if he pursued her.” The lawyer added that it was “quite normal behaviour “ for Indian men to follow women.

What does this say of the image of Indian men? Worse, what does it say about the reality of the behaviour of Indian men?

Baliga was let off in consideration of his cultural background. Can I really wash my hands off a crime claiming that I have been “wrongly influenced” by a film, a book or an individual?

216 BONDED CHILD LABOURERS HANDED OVER TO DON BOSCO

24 January 2015, there was high drama at Don Bosco Navjeevan at Ramanthapur of Hyderabad. Here Don Bosco looks after destitute children picked up from the streets. All on a sudden, with no advance warning, the police turned up at our centre with 216 children who had been rescued from bonded labour. The children are mostly from a State in North India.

The Salesians, the staff of Navjeevan, and above all, the children residing with us have been going all out since then till today, to welcome the children, to feed them, to cheer them up, care for those with wounds, etc. The CWC, the labour department, the CID, the Revenue department, etc., are busy partly trying to take the credit or and partly to sort out the issues about returning the children to their families.

There is satisfaction at the recognition given to Don Bosco as the organization to turn to when there is need for service for children on a massive scale. There is acknowledgement that Don Bosco can handle a problem of any size and without any prior notice, if it is for the benefit of children in need. On the other hand, it is sad that this violation of laws enacted forty years ago is being discovered only now, and only as a result of a counter-terrorism combing operation!

SELF-DESTRUCTIVE  NARCISSISM

College students Yakub, Iqbal and Afzal were on their way to Agra to visit the Taj Mahal on Republic Day. When they reached the railway crossing at Mathura near Kosikala, they decided to take an “eye-catching” selfie on the railway tracks, as close as possible to a speeding train. They jumped off the tracks too late and were killed on the spot.

This is not the only way the craze for selfies is killing us. Some glory in posting a selfie several times a day! We may not be losing our physical life, but the narcissism it feeds destroys our personality, our attitudes and our relationships. We certainly need to love ourselves; but need to control an excessive focus on ourselves and our looks, and our efforts to constantly attract the attention of people to ourselves .

A  NEW  EDUCATION  POLICY  FOR  INDIA

It seems, on Republic Day, 26 January, the government is going to declare the start of a process to formulate a new education policy to replace the one shaped in 1986.

It is interesting that the process will last one full year and they will start consultations at the village level, going on to the Block level, District level, State level and the final at the national level. They will invite the participation of everyone.

With Don Bosco’s large network of academic schools, vocational schools, colleges and university, our thousands of Self-Help Groups and other community based organizations under our 11 Provincial Development Offices, and even our parishes, and our highly qualified educators, the Salesians could contribute a lot at all levels. Participation right at the grassroots village level is important as, probably for the next higher level they will be inviting the more vocal and capable ones to participate. 

Perhaps we need to do some strategic planning to see how we could get involved in this process that is so vital to the nation as well as the primary concern of the Salesian congregation!

GOOGLE IT !

GOOGLE  IT !

Shubham Banerjee was in class VIII last year when he asked his parents, “How do blind people read?” They told him, “Google it!” He did. He kept reading more and more on the topic and understood the problems faced by the blind, especially as it costs so much to print books in Braille. Shubham went on to search for a solution and developed a low-cost machine to print texts in Braille.

The normal response of a parent, teacher or adult to such questions used to be, and perhaps still is, to explain to the child the concept of Braille. We give information but do not arouse further curiosity in the child. Acquiring knowledge is, today, not as important as knowing HOW to acquire knowledge, where to look for it, how to get it verified, ……..

At age 13 Shubham has been funded by Intel to set up a company for the mass production of his machine. At 13, he is the CEO of a company with a great future, a company that will contribute greatly to enrich the lives of millions of people.

Rather than spoon speeding our children with information, we could feed their curiosity and push them to seek knowledge in all ways possible!

Help us feed our children – donate to BOSCONET !