What is the theme of the chapter ' Father dear Father
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Answer:
Summary: Father, Dear Father
An unsent letter written by a student named Rahul to his father was published in the Hindu Newspaper as an article. It hints that Rahul came second to class and he informed about it to his father; which was certainly not liked. The father bluntly told him to think before answering without even trying to know as to how the rank slipped. This shows that the father-son relationship is not a close one.
A hurt Rahul did reflect on many aspects like:
The difference in the attitude of his grandfather and father.
The difference in the attitude between his grandmother and mother.
The attitude of the teacher teaching at school.
The act of correcting an answer paper.
The first reflection: the difference between the attitude of his grandfather and father.
His grandfather had a carefree and beautiful childhood. Days were spent plucking the mangoes and guavas from their orchards, having picnics on the banks of the river where the men cooked mouth-watering food, playing marbles and gilli danda. Studies then was just an ancillary subject. Living and experiencing was the major subject.
His father on the other hand in highly educated and provides well for the family. But, is far from experiencing the many little things in life. Rahul questions what’s the point of learning things like the Pythagoras’ Theorem or Newton’s Law of Gravity when he doesn’t use it in his departmental store, his doctor friend and his Lawyer brother too doesn’t use it.
His second reflection: the difference between the attitude of his grandmother and mother.
His grandmother is semi-literate but she is at peace with her pots, pans, her flowers and garden, her Bhagvad Gita and scriptures. Whereas his mother is highly qualified but is highly strung, tense and nervous. He ponders on whether literacy makes one restless, afraid and frustrated.
His third reflection: the attitude of his teacher teaching at school.
Rahul had gone to his Biology teacher hoping to find a solution to get rid of the pests attacking his rose plant. His teacher asked him to go ask the gardener instead. He finds it strange to read about pesticides and still, not know how to use it.
He finds it frustrating to read about things like why the apple doesn’t fall upwards, what Archimedes did, hypotenuse and relational square roots when that doesn’t help him much. All he wants to know are the stuff that helps him in his daily life like how to keep the rose plant healthy, how to make a desk with his carpenters tools and what to do when there is a fuse in the house. Those are not even written in the school texts and no teacher teaches it. He feels like he is not living and observes that life is just by-passing. He questions on the point of being like the character Vinu from an award winning film who memorized that the Hibiscus is red a hundred times but colored it yellow in his book. He feels that if he meets Newton then he wouldn’t even recognize him as he is so busy learning about him.
His fourth reflection: the act of correcting the answer sheet by his teacher.
Rahul had lost a quarter mark on the grammar section even though the answer was right. It was a fill in the blanks part wherein he wrote I was invited to tea but his teacher preferred the answer, I was invited for tea. Rahul is a student who prefers to learn for life, not for a mere examination. He uses satire and writes that if his teacher says George Bush is the president of India, sun rises in the west or the Earth is flat then even though it is completely wrong, he’ll henceforth, for the sake of getting the first rank, will write it so.