Lesson – 5 AWARENESS AGAINST EVILS (In the Context of Drugs)
Objectives 1. To create a healthy society by creating awareness
against evils in the society.
2. To develop a mutual
constructive role of parents and students in a healthy society.
3. Motivate to maintain
one's mental, psycho-physical and socio-cultural balance even after gaining
popularity.
A drug-free society is a prosperous society
in itself. Living in such a society is an indication of overall well-being.
Every kind of drug is fatal to the mind, body and society because it is the
weakness of the mind that draws a person towards drugs and a drunkard tries to
present drugs as medicines in order to justify himself.
In medical science, scientists have
also proved that no drug is ever good for health; on the contrary, it can have
detrimental effect on many parts of the body such as the heart, brain, liver,
kidneys, stomach and so on.
The habit of taking drugs is called
intoxication. A person who habitually becomes addicted to some or the other
drug in his daily life is called an addict by the society. Such people use
alcohol, smack, poppy husk, opium, poppy powder, marijuana, cannabis,
painkillers as drugs. In addition to this, synthetic drugs are spreading like
wildfire. It has led to immorality, inhumane behaviour, fights, family
conflicts, mental illness, economic devastation in the society, accidents,
boredom of life and socio-cultural imbalances and this is the deadliest aspect of
human culture.
With medical treatment, social
consciousness, a healthy society, good company and strong determination, one
can save oneself from the ill-effects of drugs or get rid of it. This is the real
purpose of this activity (Story-oriented activity). Awareness is created
through the story as to how a family can be destroyed by someone who comes
under the influence of drugs (alcohol) by falling into bad company. Through
anti-drug awareness, this activity gives an inspiring lesson about good home
environment, responsible parenting and abstinence from drugs like alcohol.
Activity-1: Quiz Interactions
Before conducting this story-centered
activity, the teacher will ask some questions to the students to be answered
through mutual interactions. The students will answer the questions honestly
and unhesitatingly.
Q.1. What is alcohol?
(fashion / medicine / drugs)
Ans……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
Q.2. Alcohol has
a............ effect on one's home and society. (good/ bad)
Ans…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
Q.3. What do you think
could be the side effects of drugs?
Ans…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
Q.4. Write a brief
account of a marriage function in which you have been an eye-witness that no
intoxicating substance was served there.
Ans…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
The answers given to
the teacher by the students may vary according to one’s personal opinion. The
teacher will divide the class into four groups and then narrate a short story ‘Putt Di Marhi' (Son's Grave) to the students before carrying out the activity. This
story will be told in the manner of an eyewitness account.
Activity-2: Putt Di Marhi (Son's Grave)
"Bashirya, your elder brother
will not live much longer. Assure me today that you will not get married now.
After your brother passes away, you will put a veil on your elder brother's
wife." (*You will marry your elder brother's wife.")
These were the words of the retired
Patwari father, Dulara Singh, who knew that his eldest son, Dalbira will soon
leave this world in a year or two. His liver was completely damaged from drinking
alcohol. The father knew that his son was on his last breath.
"Bhapa, seen the first father
who while alive is waiting for his son to die! I cannot bear to hear all
this!"
Basheera is upset by his father's statement
and leaves the house with an excuse. Time moves on. A couple of years later,
the same thing that was foretold by the father, Dulara happens. His eldest son,
Dalbira dies in a state of drunkenness. Wife, kids, mother, sister wailed, but
the father dumbly gives a shoulder to Dalbira's bier. After burning the funeral
pyre, he returns home with the community in a state of mourning leaving his
son's burning forehead. With my tear-filled eyes, I gave him whatever
consolation I could, but Dulara was dumb! He neither said anything nor cried. According
to the father, his youngest Son, Basheera also did not disobey him. The father
and the other relatives make the younger son put a veil on the elder's widow
and settle them down.
Dulara's silence of fifteen or twenty
days flows out uncontrollably at one evening meeting. While sitting alone in
the parlour, I had just said this, "Dulara, dude, will you kill yourself
now? What was destined to happen has already happened! How long will alcohol
drunk daily enable a person to survive?"
On hearing this, Dulara who was
sitting in the parlour, burst into tears. Said, "I dug my son Dalbir's
grave with my own hand! He was fifteen years old when I, with my own hands had
put alcohol in the lid of the bottle and gave it to him to drink. At first, he
kept refusing but drank it sitting at the same table. Addressing him as a 'Son
of a Lion', I kept sharing drink after drink with him.
I used to feel very proud of this
then!... And ah, the little boy who put the veil! He did and got spared! When I
used to say, "Become my friend, my son", then he would often say, *
Papa, mother says that if you are my lion son, then never take a sip of that
bitter poison... I will not drink this"....and calling him lion, lion she
eschewed evil. There were more talks of me being a stage speaker than Patwarkhana.
I forgot everything in the drunken parties with my friend; even led my son down
this wrong path. Lost in the evil tastes of fame, I had the illusion that
alcohol was not a drug! He couldn't control himself." He was not a stage speaker
like his father, but the applause he got for good! Never participated in the
dark deeds of his father, singing on the stage was no less praiseworthy! He
went ten steps ahead of me in attending drunken parties with his friends! His
alcohol consumption kept increasing day by day! With me less but he started
drinking heavily in the gatherings of his friends! Oh! I don't know with which
wretched friend he got involved!'
Turned him a smackie too in his last
days! ... and this happened today... Karmaya, alcohol did not kill him, I
killed him! If the father himself served liquor, then how could the son not
drink?... For the people, an addict has died. For me not only my son, but also
the father in me has died!"
Sitting close to him, I was consoling
him. I was overcome with sorrow and a disturbing thought had left me shocked as
to what kind of a father is he who in his lifetime had sowed the evil seed of
alcohol for his own son?
-Dr. Paramjit Singh Kalsi (Story writer)
Different
groups will listen to the story and after interacting with one another, they
will note down their interactions as follows:
Q.1. Do you agree with
the thinking of Dulara who is the father in the story? What kind of role should
have been played by him?
Ans……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
Q.2. If you were the
character in place of the eldest son in the story, how would you respond to the
father's advice to drink alcohol?
Ans……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
Q.3. What should have
been the role of Dulara's wife towards her eldest son in the story?
Ans……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
Activity-3
Out of the four groups, the first
group will enact the roles of mother-son, the second group the role of the
addicted father-son, the third group the role of the friends' party and the fourth
group the role of character T in the story. After mutual interactions among the
four groups, the following questions will be answered on the basis of the three
aspects- "Who did good; Who did bad and What should have happened?"
Q.1. What was the main
drug in the story'?
Ans……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
Q.2. Why did the eldest
son die in the story'?
Ans……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
Q.3. How did the company
of the wretched friends affect the elder boy in the story?
Ans……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
Q.4. If you were one of
the friends in the story, how would you treat your drunken friend and what
would you do to drag him out of the drug crisis?
Ans……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
After completing the
above activities on the basis of story analysis, the students will complete the
following worksheet.
Worksheet
Questions
1. Based on the story, 'Putt Di Marhi' (Son's
Grave), fill
in the following blanks in your own words in such a way that the given passage
conveys the message of the happy life of a good person:
Following the advice of his mother,
the younger son stays away from.... and spends a happy and respectful life with
his family. The father was accustomed to.... Had the father not been drinking
and not asked his elder son to drink alcohol, his son would not have…..and his
family would have remained... When I become a father, I will keep my kids away
from…..because it has a……effect on the whole family……..and the family…..As a
good friend, I will lead my friend on the ... path along with a………company. A
father loses his ... forever because of......
The role of the teacher will only be
that of a guide and facilitator in the activities given above. Based on the
story, the active role of the students will create awareness against drugs and motivate
others to stay away from drugs after understanding the causes of drug
addiction, become responsible parents, stay away from the deadly effects of
drugs and build a healthy society.
Come,
let us renounce social evils and enjoy a joyful and prosperous life like that
of nature.
