Summer camp to sensitise children?

<div class="section1"><div class="Normal">bangalore: downcast. that''s india today. it can''t be otherwise in a nation in chaos. one that''s heaving under the shame of scant regard for human life and the complete absence of a conscience that pricks. there''s gujarat that''s reached saturation point, but the bloodletting won''t stop. there are death dances in elite society that make a mockery of life.pushed over the edge all right, but suicide or bumped off, no one will ever know, and conveniently so. there''s bad politics, more lethal and incriminating than bad blood. and then there''s religion, that bastion of the faithful and the seekers, now the biggest letdown. but in the prevailing gloom, the mood is upbeat in one camp: the children''s camp. it is summer vacations time and there is collective rejoicing as they put behind them the sweat, toil and exam fever of another academic session, and step into that time of the year when they cool off and recharge batteries their way. by doing things they like doing best, in the way they enjoy doing them most and at a pace they set for themselves. less intrusions, less restrictions and no overbearing regimen. they are free ... to dream, fantasise, journey into a make-believe world ... the world of their dreams. a child''s style of philosophising on life. vacation time is again a time of extra-curriculars. when parents pack in as many holiday camps and alternative learning experiences for children, in the hope that it will help their wards develop into well-rounded, well-heeled human beings with a weltanschaung (world view) that will broaden their horizons and take them places. parents may admit to killing two birds in the process. keeping the children out of mischief and as much out of their hair, even as the juniors are being groomed in an assortment of alternative skills at the camps and workshops. there are camps and camps for children. new, ingenious additions with every passing year, offering the best in creativity and knowledge-base. or so they claim. a seasonal industry that''s turned into a veritable cash cow that businessmen eye hard and milk dry with their eyes solely on the registers. but why isn''t anybody talking about a camp on sensitising children? on instilling in them the quality of sensitivity, so precious, but so rare in today''s world. it is the one quality, that essential perquisite in character-building that will breathe new life into a maimed and tainted world. the one quality, perhaps the only one that can usher in the new world order. so this vacations, spare a thought to the sensitivity quotient in your children. character-building begins at home. camps and schools can only aid the process. waste no time. make the difference, right at home. let this be a holiday the family will cherish the rest of their lives. <span style="" font-style:="" italic="">meerajohn@indiatimes.com</span> </div> </div>