A Collection of Poems, Short Stories and Drama !

Heir Conditioning

Shanmughalingam 

Grand dad did you breathe

before air cons were invented?

was it hard staying

alive without modern inventions?

Grandma weren't you flustered

as you fluttered with paper fans?

could you communicate before

faxes and long distance calls

became basic necessities?

Grandchild we lived

before your age. Because

of our ignorance,

we did not know

pollution, stress, traffic jams

destruction of forests, streams and

hills

we feared God and nature

now nature fears you and

money is your new God.

Summary of the Poem

     The poem talks about the differences on the ways of living of two different generations.

     The poet uses an interesting way of a question and answer session between a grandchild and his/her grandparents.

     The child questions his/her grandparents on how they could live without all the necessities they today's generation could not live without such as air cons, fans, faxes and telephones.

·         The grandparents replay one after another that even though the necessities were not yet invented to comfort them, they could live in comfort as their life were free from µpollution, stress, traffic jams, destruction of forests, streams and hills.

·         They warn their child that there is a price to pay when they do not fear God and appreciate nature. They have made money as their God and nature fears them because of the rapid pace of development and the destruction of the beautiful environment.

Themes

The poem is concerned about the price one has to pay for progress. With the development, one has to face many problems that can affect the quality of life. The younger generation has to face greater challenges in life because they have many wants. The poet highlights the challenges in the present world and attributes them to our own greed and materialistic ways.

Moral Values     

1.   We must be God-fearing.
2.   We must not be greedy and materialistic.
3.   We must use our knowledge for our own good.
4.   We must be grateful with what we have.
5.   Progress and development bring about advantages and disadvantages.
6.   Present   days values are different from yesterday.
7.   Greed can lead to destruction.
8.  The younger generation has different values.
9.   Preserve the environment.
10.   We must pay a high price for development.