Feature

ORDINARY Level examinations are one of those times when our parents go crazy and act as if it is their own examinations. On one such fine exam day, I went to Bangladesh China Friendship Conference Center where my brother was sitting for his Pure Mathematics exam. It was a two hour exam, so I sat at one corner and saw a kid (about six years old) slowly sneaking towards another which suddenly started a chase game. Slowly two more kids who came with their mothers, started getting along in the game. It was quite a joyful scene. But it taught me a lesson.

The game they were playing was quite simple. The 'Chors' are supposed to walk/run/escape by walking on the black lines of the tiled décor floor, and the 'Police' are supposed to catch the 'Chors' by walking on the white tiles only. If you break the rule, you are the next victim and have to move only on the black tiles. Simple! If you have ever been in the BCFCC, you will notice the wide area (where most of the fairs are held) with black and white tiles. I saw one of the children running far away from the crowd of three and the 'police'. He checked to see whether anyone was watching him and no one was- even then he played by the rules, skipping only through the black tiles.

This hit me hard; similar to the game, it is the society that changes people to bend the rules but we are born innocent and carefree. The impact of a parent's upbringing on a child is something that is crucial for us. Corruption occurs over time- situations force people to be corrupt, greedy and unfriendly- but all of us are innocent, until the laws of society change our habit.

Wherever we go in our country, it seems like if we play by the rules, the society tries to change us. The other day I scolded my driver for driving in between two lanes. He stared at me through his rearview mirror in disbelief, as if I have committed a major sin by asking him to follow the traffic rules and stay within the white lines of a lane! What he said hit me, which translated means: “Afa, everyone drives like this in Dhaka, if I try to drive within the rules, then the cars on both sides will force me out of the lane” and this was true. Soon enough just five minutes after he came into his proper right lane, we were honked upon and forced in between two lanes near the traffic signal. I could do nothing but sigh.

Maybe it is high time we learn from our kids for a change. Their childhood games, their playful nature and their unconscious acceptance of playing the game by the rules is something which we all need to do one day, if we have to survive and compete with the developed world.