The BJP regime in Madhya Pradesh has decided to ban nursery rhymes like Ba ba black sheep, Twinkle, Twinkle little star, Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall, Jack and Jill went up the Hill, from government schools because they are not sufficiently Indian. Instead, schools have been told to teach tales from the life of Ahilya Bai Holkar, the Indore ruler who reigned between 1767-1795 and built the Kashi Vishwanath temple.
The state’s education minister Narottam Mishra says: “We intend to Indianise our school curriculum. English poems written by foreigners will be replaced with Indian authors and Indian subjects. It will be beneficial for our children.”
Questions: Is the BJP right or is it just playing its old tricks? Should other States, including say Kerala, follow suit? Has learning Ba ba black sheep harmed you, your children or anybody you know in any way? Is this just Hindu revisionism or a well thought-out move to protect and promote our culture? Will Indianising our syllabi help or hurt our students to compete in the modern world? If it will help, shouldn’t the ban be applicable to private schools, too?
No harm in indianizing .Churumuri should encourage readers to post any Kannada rhymes which anyone learnt during childhood .It should be enforced on private schools too
Learning Twikle.. or Ba ba black sheep will not harm the children. Having said that, One must know ones history and certainly we must inculcate our rich histroy, tradition and culture to younger generation.
But why is Churumuri and the media giving it a political and communal color? The BJP has stood up to it. Appreciate it and given them the due. Which other party will stand up and support such cause? The communalist and so called “Secular” preachings of the left and congress are too well known.
We can handle it with greater sensitivity without looking very parochial. We need to stress Indian culture and need to encourage Indian authors. This may have to start at young age itself. I agree with the intent, but not the way it is handled.
At one place, churumuri complains that Kannadigas didn’t protest the TOI group taking over Vijaya Karnataka, saying that VK is part of our culture and all that blah. On the other hand, it complains if Children are taught Indian tales and Indian poems only because the BJP is implementing it. Get over your “communal”/”secular” obsession, Churumuri !!
Khandavideko mamsa videko Gundigeya bisiraktavideko,
Chanda Vgraaghrane neenidhellavanundu santasadindhiru
There is an obvious difference in an unfriendly press takeover (The TOI has never been friendly to Culture- let alone Kannada culture) and nonsense such as banning nursery rhymes. Will it stop the IIT and IIM graduates running away to N America ? When will we grow up?
The whole point of education I thought was to learn things we didn’t know. Things which were alien. Clearly we were wrongly informed. Navel-gazing in the name of nationalism seems to be the order of the day.
No harm in learning Bah Bah Black Sheep. Maybe BJP felt the whites are making fun of Asians and African by calling it Black Sheep.
Along with English rhymes, introducing regional language ones is a good idea. Replacing it won’t help. People will reject such plans.
Came across this version in an old mail.
Baa Baa minority ethnic ruminator
Have you any biogradeable natural product?
Yes my duly appointed head-of-department
Three bags full.
One for the elected representative of the people,
One for the elderly single lady,
And one for the junior member of our society who lives in the community housing scheme.
No need to ban English rhymes. Addendum to english rhymes we need to have regional rhymes too.
Baa Baa Black seep..kalyodhrageno thepilla
aadre kannadadha padyanae barakilla yinnu ivella kalthu yen maadira
madhalu ‘Thaayi bhaase’ abhimaana yirli mundakke berae baashe
Madhyapradesh dhaage maadovru osi namma karnatakadhaagu maadbardha
baaro baaro kari kuri
uNNey aitheno kuri mari
idhey guru idhey guru
moor mootey thumbha guru
nam maaleekangondhu
avan hendriginnondhu
koney mootey yaarigendhu
nam mane beedhi bacchandhu
Little Lal Advani
Sat with his TV vahini
Taking his party’s rai
He stuck out his thumb,
Hoping to pull out the plum,
And said, ‘Can I have a slice of Vaj-pie?’
Bankers and ministers
Sold for a penny
All the swindlers are so many
The envy’s green
And the CBI red’s
Nail them all, and get
Their head, head, head.
Batsman-bowler sat on the ball.
Batsman-bowler had a great fall,
All the bookies’ cookies,
All the bribers’ men,
Couldn’t put Indian cricket together again.
Wha Wha Black Sheep
Have you pulled the wool?
Yes sir, Yes sir,
Three bags full.
One for my father,
One for my dame,
And one for the CBI
Crying in the lane.
Laxman laxman
Yes pappa
Eating money
No pappa
Telling lies
No pappa
Open yr drawer
Ha ha ha
Laloo Bhai bihari
Went up the pahari
To fetch a bail for court order
Laloo fell down
And lost his crown
But Rabri reigned thereafter.
Little Miss Bharti,
Did a Maha-arti,
So the BJP would always hold sway.
There came a big BSP With Mayavati its USP.
And frightened Miss Bharti away.
gOpAla gOpAla
aDDabidde dhIrEndra
MalayaLee………
****************************
Namma mane pakka maLayaLee
avana hendathi thumba GayaLee
katt thane colour colour Lungee
wata wata maathadthaane padagaLa nungee
bijiness madakke yilige barthaane
yidhkade 20 jana maLayaLene serasthane
‘yendha guruvayoorappa’ anthane
padhya Odhi kekkarskondu nodthane
Thanku Jeevarathna…
Chennagidhe Prakash nimma prayaasa..
MalayaLi aiklu kopiskondaru Usaar ree…
It was first the cash for a millitant’s life statement in J&K, now it is the banning of nursery rhymes… as a person who supported the party i feel let down really let down. They just don’t make any sense these days. This is ridiculous, i guess for all her foreign links Sonia Gandhi at the end of the day makes better sense than a Vinat Katyar or a Narottam Mishra.
Good ones Gopal!
dhirendranna,
yenu bhagavantha hangey eeche padagulna praasagaulna yefartlessaagi harisbittavne nimm bayalli. bombaataagide guru. oodhi Kannadada kahale.
DG and Prakash, that was good!!
Dhrendranna nivu elodu thumbane sariyagi aythe navu kannada padagolanna kalyhe alvara mele bandirodu namma Ondu Eradu Balele haradu, Bannada Thagadina thuththuri munde yava pada idhe yoli kalthu ishtu varsa ayithu innu marthe illa.
I think the stand what they have taken is right we should make our children to understand our culture first our mother tongue rhymes teach the language as well as our culture I belive and accordsing to the findings the mother tongue or the regional language which the child use regularly is the best to teach in early childhood so first teach our language then automatically other languages follow with ease. It is a myth that we should teach english right from the child hood. Many people who were and are english proffesors,other scholars had done their basic education in their mother tongue