Speaker's Corner: May 11, 2008

From us to you

From Dubai to India
You seldom know the value of what your eyes see unless you are forced to part with it. I never realised the value of my family, the luxuries and 'money' until I had to leave for India for my higher studies. I had taken for granted. I still remember my daydreams about my future college life — the colourful life that we see in Bollywood movies. Well it turned out to be anything but that. I had cursed myself for leaving my folks but believe me it was worth it. Here is the scenario of my life in India for the past year and what it has moulded me into.

I live in a hostel where I have to share my already congested room with five other girls. The food given to us is crunchy; you might just find cockroaches in it! Drinking water is filled with droppings! Homesickness, cold water baths and power cuts have become a miserable part of my life. My foolishness made things worse. As there are practically no beggars in Dubai, I got so emotional after finding them in India that I used to blindly hand the poor children a lot of money without realising that none of it goes to them.

However, living in India has helped me gain the knowledge I always lacked. I am now able to deal with my bank transactions, medical assistance, do my own laundry and I even know the price of a kilogram of rice!

Not to forget the friends I gained from my hostel. They have moulded me into a better person. These are some of my great achievements. In short the moral of the story is that it is only when we are separated from our family that we learn life and responsibility. Till then we are brats, believe me… I was one!
Jija Jose
Notes Intern
education@gulfnews.com

Break out of the ad mould
Mona Girish

Advertisements are a major influence in everyone's lives. From women, who see the stick-thin figures of models on TV and fall prey to bulimia and anorexia to lose weight, to children who see a desired toy in the market and throw tantrums to acquire it. Advertisements provide a distorted image of reality.

Advertisements have "naturalised" many ideas. For example, an attractive woman is always thin, tall and fair with perfect hair and flawless skin. When only such women appear in advertisements, they give the notion that this is the definition of beauty. But today, people are breaking out of these notions. Proof of this is the Dove soap campaign in which women from around the world, who don't meet the usual criteria of beauty, have been chosen. Some are on the heavier side, some are dark ... but they are all seen as beautiful. The ban on size zero models from modelling in some cities abroad is also a sign that even the public is getting increasingly fed up with the traditional notions of beauty.

Another idea that is taken as the norm is the image of the perfect family in ads. It always consists of a father, mother, daughter and son. The father is the breadwinner; the mother the loving housewife who cooks, cleans and takes care of the children, who are perfect well-behaved angels. The only truth in this picture is the fact of the growing number of nuclear families in the world and nothing else. Women are now more independent and interested in taking up a career and don't always want to be housewives. How many advertisements really show that?

Advertisements continue to have an immense effect on people. People still go and buy a shampoo if the advertisement assures them that its use will lead to less hair fall; women continue to starve themselves just so that they can look like those on TV. The question is – isn't it time for a change now?

— The writer is a mass communication student at Mount Carmel College, India

Unheard voices
Aisha Shams Al Deen

The world is moving fast and everyone seems to be on the run to make ends meet. Money has become the sole criterion to lead a happy life. You got something in your pocket? You are qualified to buy anything you wish. However in our race to mint these printed pieces of paper, we hardly tend to notice what we lose out on in the long run.

Fathers are no longer the lone breadwinners. Mothers no longer prefer to remain as "mere" homemakers. Money has become a matter of survival; hence both husband and wife prefer to work.

Women taking on the duel roles of homemakers as well as professionals proudly brag about how successfully they manage to maintain the balance between their profession and household work. Few realise that this glitz and glamour do not have a long life. And the drapes have yet to be unveiled to spot the real sufferers — children.

Nowadays, most working parents are too busy with their jobs and hardly have time for their kids. However, as time passes, their conscience starts sensing this voluntarily-committed "crime" and begins questioning its righteousness. Self-resentment hits and as a means of escape they tend to adopt strange tactics. "We don't have time. We don't have love. But we have money. So we can get you what you want and make you feel happy."

Yes they are rich enough to afford any expensive toy their child demands. Except the dearest ones that every human treasures and yearns for – love and care.

Hey mum and dad, let me bombard you with some annoying questions! Have you ever bothered to think that these gifts are mere physical objects and can never be a proxy for your love and care? They do no good other than transforming us into good potential consumers. Do you want us to be desensitised materialistic brats? If not, it's not too late yet. You just need to act faster.

— The writer is a mass communication student at MOP Vaishnav College, India