Age, information and truth

Age and information (words 269)

…Kalidas Sawkar


The boy grew up, was 12 year old, intelligent and smart. The conservative father enquired certain information of his friends, all between 20 and 25 yrs. None knew the answer. The 12 year old son had the answer, but there was command in the family that when elders are speaking, younger generation should not butt their nose. After not getting the answer the father rebuked his friends for not telling the answer. Then, one replied, “when the answer is not known, how and what could be said”. The father in his dominating ways said, “Ok, guess”. To this the 12 year old thought, ‘since nobody knows, I might as well give the answer’. He gave his reply, but father was angry because a child has interfered with the elders.

He asked, “How do you know?”
The child said, “My friend told me.”
“How old is your friend”.
“16”.
Father said “My friend is 22. Now, tell me is number 22 bigger or 16 is?”
Son said “22 is bigger, but knowledge does not depend on age”

This was followed by the father’s tirade on dependence of knowledge on age and sage for a couple of hours.

As it turned out, the answer by son’s friend who was 16 turned out to be factual. However the generation gap persisted and so did the difference between old ways and the new, old perceptions and the newer information and a father and his son. A child is the father of man, they say, so fathers should try to be sons to have new perceptions of the changing society for harmony in family.


…From Kaliyug ki kahania