Benevolent youths in times of apathy

The photograph printed in FE recently showing a young man feed a flock of crows at a park in Dhaka does not evoke any deeper feeling instantly. Spectacles like this are not too uncommon in this country. But considering "emotions recollected in tranquility", it does make one feel softened. Those with a sensitive bent may feel their eyes become moistened. The youth in the photograph does not look affluent enough to entertain the omnivorous and omnipresent crows. Rather he looks financially strapped, and a little forlorn. Maybe he has no work. This is where the crux lies. Dhaka has no dearth of idling youths. They are found in every part of the capital. To the relief of many, few of them are found turning to the evil path of violence and drugs. Then what do they do? Evidently many of them wander about, living off leftovers from public feasts. Aimless or drifting they may be, yet they have not turned hardened souls. They have their own ways to squeeze pleasure out of what they come across while on move. Spotting a few crows on a tree and sharing one's food with the birds may have all the elements of becoming a common ritual involving these loitering youths.

In the present world, this country included, where the youths are in a mad rush to reach somewhere they do not know or which is nowhere at all, idling youths comprise a weird view. Feeding hungry crows or street dogs is a decent job. Helping a starving and old beggar get a meal is more benevolent in terms of human virtues. Yet the younger generation in a country is expected to do jobs that befit their age and spirit more appropriately. The onus is heavier with the educated youths. In a time of mindless savageries and violence, demonstration of kindness towards man or animals creates a lot of space for feeling reassured of the positive spirit of the nation's youths. The optimists never lose heart. This time they might become more eager to highlight the unassailability of the virtues of youth. That the young haven't strayed en masse is great news to everybody.

Youths without employment or income-generating work these days pervade the Bangladesh society. At the same time, the spectacles of young people engaged in myriad types of economic ventures are also numerous. Those without much financial strength are found busy innovating scores of means and devices aimed at solving problems at broader social level. These works do not pay material dividends, but are satisfying. They help nurture the basic human qualities. Like the visibly jobless young man feeding hungry crows, many youths are directly involved in ventures related to saving animals in distress. Like saving trees, rivers, hills, etc., protecting wild animals adds to the widening of the spheres of environmental protection.

Humans do not remain excluded from the services extended by a section of selfless youths. Enterprising youths in the country are regularly seen holding literacy sessions for underprivileged children. In regions severely hit by river erosion, they build dwellings for the pauperised people. On the other hand, they are seen forming cooperatives and small-scale microcredit societies to help the rural poor come out of the poverty trap. Similar pictures are encountered in the cities, where they embark on ventures which are at times challenging in nature. The hazards stem from suspicions over their selfless service, a pervasive reality in backward societies.  Finally, it's the daring of youth that enables them to cross the hurdles standing in their way. Questions may arise about the utility of endless love for the living beings, or society at large. But many may not judge social well-being in terms of material happiness only. To them empathy represents greater nobility than mundane pragmatism.

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