Heir Conditioning by SHANmugalingam

Grand dad did you breathe before air cons were invented? was it hard staying alive without modern inventions? Grandma werent you flustered as you fluttered with paper fans? could you communicate before faxes and long distance calls became basic necessities?
Grandchild we lived before your age. Because of our ignorance, we did not know pollution, stress, traffic jams destruction of forests, streams and hills we feared God and nature now nature fears you and money is your new God.

PARAPHRASING The grandchild (the heir) lives in a modern world. The grandchild cannot live without modern technologies such as a handphone, a television, a computer, an air conditioner and so on. In this scenario, we can say that the grandchild is conditioned to live in a modern world. The grandchild asks his grandparents how did they live without modern inventions. The grandparents reply that even though there were no modern technologies when they were young, they could still live a simple life. There were no pollutions back then and they were afraid of God. The grandparents further told his grandchild that due to the modern technologies, the world becomes polluted & people are no longer afraid of God because they become more materialistic. In this scenario, the grandparents are trying to condition/train his grandchild that modern technologies can bring about bad effects to people nowadays.

THEMES
The title Heir conditioning has the same pronunciation as air conditioning. Thus, the title itself has highlighted the differences between the generations. In the past, our grandparents lived on basic necessities. Lives were simple without inventions of technology. Now, in our generation, we have all kinds of luxuries because of the advancement in science and technology. However, we have become materialistic and individualistic. Now, money is our new god. Lives are not simple anymore. Pollutions and other problems arise because of the luxuries that we are indulging ourselves in.

1. Technology Brings More Harm It may seem that we are living in comfort with all the technology that keeps on improving, but we do not realize the harms that the technology has brought us. The grandchild thinks that it is impossible for their grandparents to live in comfort with the help of technology. The child does not realize that because of the technology itself, the world becomes hotter and that is the reason why some technologies are created to blind humans with the fake comfort that the technologies bring them. For example, electric fans and air cons. Technological advancements have other setbacks such us pollution, stress, traffic jams, and destruction of forests, rivers and hills.

2. Fear The older generations were God-fearing people and respected His creation nature. However, todays generation does not fear God. On the contrary the poet says that now nature fears you and money is your new God. This indicates that the younger generation has become more materialistic. They do not care for nature but gives priority to riches and money rather than practicing good values such as preserving Gods creation.

3. Importance of Preserving Nature God created nature to preserve life. In stanza 2, the poet gives the consequences of not preserving nature pollution, stress, traffic jams, destruction of forest, streams and hills. Humans seem not to aware that the more pollution they make, the more they need to preserve the nature. In paving the way for development, forest and hills have been destroyed and streams have been polluted. This has destroyed the natural habitat of many species of animals and plants which help to retain balance in our ecosystem.

Moral
1. Appreciate Nature Stanza 2 in the poem conveys a strong message regarding appreciating nature. The poet reminds us that during our grandparents time, they believed what goes around comes around they took care of nature. They believed that everything in nature was created by God. Therefore, if one appreciated and respected Gods gifts to mankind, the returns would be bountiful. However, since the dawn of modern inventions, lifestyles and priorities have changed. As the poet points out, now nature fears you and money is your God. This shows that the present generation does not care and appreciate nature. In fact, they have become more materialistic and believe that money and riches are more important. In turn, nature has suffered due to their lackadaisical (unconcerned/ laid back) attitude. Today, the destruction of forest, streams and hills have shaken the balance in living cycles. As a result, we are faced with problems such as pollution, stress, and traffic jams.

2. Respect and Love Through the question and answer session, we know that there is mutual respect and love in this family. The grandparents show patience to their grandchild by answering his questions. At the same time they also make attempts to educate and warn him of the dangers of modern inventions to the environment and about having good values and lifestyle.

3. Believe in God
The poet reminds us that todays younger generation is too preoccupied with making money and maintaining a certain standard of lifestyle and status. They tend to be extravagant. Such emphasis on material things has made them forget God. Thus, they do not fear God. Their need to believe in God is slowly waning (fading/weakening) as other objects and material things become more important.

QUESTIONS: State whether the following statements are True (T) or False (F). The poem is written in two stanzas. The personas are the grandparents and the grandchild. The poem is a modern poem with no fixed rhyme scheme. () () ( )

The grandchild pities the older generation.

The grandparents are happy with the way they had lived.

()
( )

The younger generation has the same values as the older generation. ( )