CHAPTER 14 :THE NOBLE INITIATIVE

For a long time, King Ravichandran was closeted in his chamber pondering over his next move.

The next day, Aryaman met Vedanand in his house. After they were seated, Aryaman spoke up, “Foremost, I would like to compliment you for the wonderful work you are doing in educating these children!”

Vedanand smiled in return.

“People like you are badly needed here who can pull the people out of their ignorance and illiteracy.”

Yet again Vedanand did not respond but only grinned.

“Tell me, why are they no girls among your pupils?”

“I tried my best to convince their parents but could not succeed. People here are not interested in education. I had a very hard time convincing them and the small group of students who come here are a result of that effort. You may be aware that this area is under a dispute. Our rulers have only time to fight over the ownership of this land but they have no time for the people, most of whom are laborers who work in the farms of Zamindars.   They work day and night and in return are paid a pittance. Finally, they end up borrowing money from the Zamindars for meeting their financial requirements. Once that happens, the poor men come under the complete dominance of their employers. They are forced to act as per their whims and fancies. Even the Panchayat comprises of the family members of the zamindars. No one dares go against their wishes for apparent reasons. With no proper authority of any ruler, the zamindars have taken complete control here. They pronounce such harsh judgments so that their diktat continues to reign over here without any hassles and challenge.

I felt that once people are educated they might get self-employed. This would automatically release them from the shackles of the zamindars. Things might just slowly change for the better. Thinking in these lines, I personally met the people and encouraged them to send their children to me for getting education. It was a very tough task but finally had some positive outcome. I actually had taken a land at the other side of the river so that it becomes easy for the children to come to me. Unfortunately, my father was grievously injured after a fall in the bathroom and is now bed-ridden. Although servants are there to look after him, I could not get the heart to leave him and go afar for educating the children. I thus converted the open space near my house into an ashram which is where the children come.”

Appreciating his noble initiative, Aryaman posed a question, “Did you not face any resistance from the Panchayat? After all, education has the ability to bring about a radical change in the mindset of these students. It is quite possible that their thoughts will contrast with the generally accepted beliefs and principles of their elders in the future. The Panchayat would certainly not appreciate such a change.” Aryaman inferred.