The life of Subroto, a highly successful Information Technology (IT) professional, is a good example of a disciplined and kind approach to life. He was the last child of a civil servant, in a family of five brothers.
His father was a District Employment Officer in Koraput, Orissa. Subroto grew up in a very underdeveloped small village with no electricity, no clean water, nor even a primary school. As a result, he did not go to school until he was eight; he was home-schooled. However, he still reached a very good position in life.
Peace and Love Value
In the first paragraph, it is told that even Subroto grew up in a very underdeveloped small village with no electricity, no clean water, nor even a primary school, he is just learning at home but
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he still reached a very good position in life due to his character that is discipline, which is included into “peace value”. Furthermore, in this paragraph also implied that Subroto did a high sacrifice to postpone his study due to his deficiency, and he shows to the readers that he could be a success person. Sacrifice is considered as a “love value”
Subroto’s father was getting transferred almost every year. The family moved from place to place taking their few belongings in a jeep. His mother would set up the family establishment very quickly. She came from a humble family. Brought up by a widow who had come as a refugee from the East Bengal, she was a matriculate when she got married. Subroto’s parents set the foundation of his life and the value system which governed it and largely defined what success meant to him.
Truth and Peace Value
In this second paragraph Subroto’s mother is described as the strong woman, having optimism and fearlessness which is considered as the “truth value”, she is also hamble, which is considered as the “peace value”.
The first lesson he learned in his early life as a child was that his father never used the office’s jeep for his own advantage and always walked to his office instead. He only used the jeep to reach interior villages which he had to visit in his duty. He made it very clear that it was the government’s jeep, not his.
Since there was no garage, the jeep was parked in front of the house, but the children were not allowed to use it. They could only sit in it when it was parked.
They were told to call the driver, not by his name, but with the addition of ‘dada’ to the name. Later, when he grew in his career and could buy a car of his own, Subroto would tell his daughters the same, to respect
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the driver and call him ‘uncle Raju’ instead of just
“Raju”
Right Conduct Value
The third paragraph explained that Subroto’s father never used the office’s jeep for his own business which shows that he is an honest man. He only used the jeep for duty. The father also taught his children a good manner and how to respect people, such as respecting driver by calling him “uncle” instead of calling his name. It would be pleasure for the person when they hear that calling. So, it means that here the father teaches the children the value of love and right conduct (good manners, good behaviour)
The day would start with Subroto along with his brothers and all family members huddling around their mother’s with earthen fireplace, which she used to build at every place the family was transferred to.
As the brew was served, his father would ask them to read out the editorial page of The Statesman’s
‘mofussil’ edition, delivered one day late. None of the children could understand much of what they were reading, but it was a routine meant for them to realize that the world was larger than Koraput district. The English Subroto used later on was also the result of this daily routine. Their father insisted on their folding the paper neatly after reading it, saying, “You should leave your paper and your toilet the way you expect to find them.”
Truth Value
In this paragraph, Subroto’s father shows us the character of discipline and the truth value such as curiosity and quest for knowledge when he makes reading as the habits of the family. At the last sentence, Subroto’s father also ask his sons to learn, because learning is a need for them.
Being young, the children used to read advertisements for transistors put in by Murphy or
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Philips companies with a great interest. As they did not have one, they asked their father when he would buy them all a new transistor. Each time they got the same reply from him that they did not need one as there were already five ‘radios’ in the family, each of his children was a transistor in his eyes. They also did not own a house, and Subroto’s father would give the same answer every time they asked about when they would get their own house. He said that his five sons were his five houses, and there was no need for a new one. At that young age, his replies did not make them happy, but they learned that it is important not to measure personal success through material possessions.
Right Conduct Value
This paragraph, Subroto’s father shows the character of right conduct such as no wastage and dependability of having things that they don’t really need. He also teaches his sons to be patience, understand the situation, humble, and gratitude.
Thinking of others came naturally for his mother.
Those days, government houses seldom came with fences. Subroto and his mother collected twigs and built a small fence. When the transfer order came, the neighbors asked why they were taking oauns to beautify a government’s house. His mother said, “I have to create a bloom in a desert and whenever I am given a new place, I must leave it more beautiful than what I had inherited.” That was the first lesson in success that Subroto learned, it is not about what you create for yourself, it is what you leave behind.
Non-Violence, Love, Right Conduct Values
In this paragraph, Subroto’s mother gave a precious lesson in life that are considered as humanistic values like Non-Violence values such as concern for others, care for environment, respect,
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citizenship, loyalty, and respect for property. It is because her efforts in maintaining the government’s property when she leaves it. This is rarely we find in our social and environment. Most of us, for instance when we rent a house and the time is over, so we never think any more about that house’s maintenance. Thus, Subroto’s mother gave a really valuable thing in Subroto’s life. Furthermore, she also taught a love value such as care, benevolence, generosity, kindness, reverence, thoughtfulness, service, sacrifice. Peace value such as gratitude is also considered in this paragraph. Moreover, right conduct such as good behaviors, good manners, tidy appearance, and helpfulness
Truth, peace, love, Non-Violence value
In a weakness like having cataract in her eyes, Subroto’s mother still does reading newspaper that is red by Subroto. It can be learned that Subroto’s mother has truth value of humanistic such as curiosity, quest for knowledge. Furthermore, this valuable habit is also considered peace value like optimism, focus, and discipline.
While Subroto teach us the humanistic value of love which is care, generosity, patriotism, patience, sacrifice, forbearance, reverence, humanness, and service for his lovely mother. Moreover, Subroto also shows the non-violence value like manners, compassion, benevolence, loyalty, morality, and concern for others.
Another lesson picked up by Subroto from his mother was the valuable habit of reading newspaper every day. When he moved to Bhubaneshwar with his mother, he found her mother developing cataract in her eyes. She was a Bengali, and so, Subroto had to read out the “Oriya” paper to her from end to end.
His brother was teaching in a university and also preparing for a Civil Services examination. Subroto and his mother were also connected to the world through the paper, and he learned to develop a large picture of the reality around him and to connect himself to that reality. His interests widened. While reading about the war at Pakistan, he felt he was fighting the war himself. He built up a close bond with the universe.
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Over the next few years, his mother’s vision dimmed, but she created in him a large vision – a vision with which he continues to see the world, and she sees too through him. Then her eyes were operated, and she regained her vision. However, within weeks of this, his mother developed a corneal ulcer and became blind overnight in both eyes. This was in 1969. She died in 2022. Subroto was amazed to see that in all those 32 years of blindness, his mother never complained about her fate even once. Curious to know what she saw with her blind eyes, he asked her if she saw darkness. She replied, “oh, no, I only see the light, even with my eyes closed.”
Truth, peace, Non-Violence Values
The character of never complaining the fate is considered as sincerity, optimism which are truth value. It also included in Non- violence value such as forbearance and manners of the fate.
Furthermore, the peace value such as calmness, gratitude, optimism, self-respect, and patience.
Subroto learned that success is independence. Even he learned this lesson from his mother. Until she was 80, she did her morning yoga every day, swept her own room, and washed her own clothes. So, success is about the sense of independence; it is not about seeing the world, but seeing the light.
Right Conduct Value
In this paragraph, Subroto concluded that self-reliance is the key of success. Self-reliance is considered as right conduct value.
In the next few years, Subroto grew up, studied, and began his life’s journey. He started out humbly as a clerk in a government office, went on to become a management trainee with the DCM Group, and eventually found his life’s calling with the IT industry when the fourth-generation computers reached India
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in 1981. Life took him to many places and challenging experiences. He travelled widely.
Peace, Non-Violence, Truth Values
In this paragraph, Subroto shows us the value of peace such as humility, optimism, seif-respect, non-violence value like loyalty, right conduct such as respect for all responsibility, perseverance, good relationship, dependability. Moreover, the truth value like optimism and quest of knowledge are also applied in this paragraph. Those values are the things that took Subroto to many places and challenging experiences until he travelled widely.
Subroto’s learning about success continued. This time, his father was ill and suffered from a third- degree burn injury when he was living with his elder brother in Delhi. He rushed to Delhi to find his father in bed, bandaged from neck to toe. He was in a critical stage, and the Safdarjung Hospital was poorly maintained and was full of dirt and cockroaches. The nurses were overworked and careless.one day, Subroto saw that his father’s blood bottle was empty. And that air would go into his blood. The nurse told him to change the bottle himself. Subroto was angry and shocked. Finally, the nurse relented and came to replace the bottle. His father opened his eyes and asked her gently: “Why have you not gone home yet?” Here was a man on his deathbed, and he was more concerned about an overworked nurse than his own condition. Subroto was stunned. There was no limit to his concern. His father died the next day!
Peace, Love, Non-Violence Values
In this paragraph, Subroto learns from his father. The value of peace is shown such as patience, harmony, tolerance, understanding to the nurse. The reaction of Subroto’s father of the carelessness of nurse teach us to be a positive and forgive and
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understand others’ conditions. Good behaviors is also shown from his fathers’ characters. Love value such humanness, forbearance, care, acceptance, patience, sympathy, and tolerance. What is more, the non-violence like forbearance, forgiveness, and manners.
Subroto’s father was a man whose success was defined by his principles, his frugality, his universalism, and his sense of inclusion. Above all, he believed that success is the ability to rise above discomfort. Success is not about building material comforts of the transistor he could never buy or the house he never owned. His success was the legacy he left, a continuation of his ideals that went beyond the smallness of an ill-paid, unrecognized government servant’s world. His father was an admirer of the
“British Raj”, and his mother loved Indian political leaders. She even garlanded Subhash Bose when he visited Pabna, Bangladesh. She spun “khadi” and even joined and underground movement that trained her in the use of daggers and swords. Subroto’s father often argued with her. The young Subroto learned from them the power of disagreements, of dialogues and the essence of living with diversity in thinking.
It was at the age of 82 that Subroto’s mother had a paralytic stroke. She was lying helplessly in Bhabaneshwar hospital, and Subroto rushed from his job in USA to be with her in her last days. He spent two weeks with her, remembering their childhood days. When he had to go back, he kissed her face. She mumbled, “Why are you kissing me? Go kiss the world.” On the point of death, this woman who came to India as a refugee, with a degree not more than high school, married to a poor civil servant whose last salary was Rs.300/-, whose eye sight was robbed by fate, was telling him to go kiss the world!
37 Love and Right Conduct Values
When Subroto rushed from his job in USA to be with her in her mother’ last days, it is shown that Subroto has love value such as care, patriotism, selflessness, dedication, sympathy, devotion, reverence, sacrifice, service, and thoughtfulness to his lovely mother. The right conduct value like good manners as the son is also shown in this paragraph.
Instruction
1. What common human qualities do you find in Subroto’s parents?
2. What human values did Subroto learns from his ideal parents?
Right Conduct, Love, Truth, Peace, Or Non-Violence.
These questions lead the students to comprehend the human qualities and the human values that they found from the reading passage provided before. So, this activity will reveal the awareness of humanistic values that could be right conduct, love, truth, peace, or Non-Violence.
Instruction
Role-play the following situations in pairs.
1. James is new to your school. He joined the school a month late as his father was transferred to your town.
Offer him your help, so that he can prepare for the test next week.
2. one of your friends is weak in Mathematics. You always score high in this subject. Offer your help to him, so that he would do well in Maths.
Right Conduct, Non-Violence, and Love Values
The roleplay that the author created here is offering others a help, so it is considered as Right Conduct Value, which is helpfulness and also Non-Violence value, which is concern for
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others and the value of Love which is care, generosity, empathy, and kindness.
Instruction
Role-play these situations in pairs.
1. Today is your birthday. You don’t plan any party to celebrate it, but your family is having barbecue for a special dinner. Invite your best friend to dine with your family.
2. There is a long weekend coming up. Your group of friends is discussing about the holiday. They want to spend the long holiday together. Your uncle lives in the countryside. He has a big house and a rice field nearby. The village is very nice, and the air is fresh. Invite your friends to spend the holiday there.
3. You have a feast at your house. Your big family all come to gather and enjoy the feast. As a good host, offer your guests to have more snacks and drinks to start with.
Love and Non-Violence Values
Inviting friends to spend the holiday with you, inviting best friends to dine with your family, and offering the guess to have more snacks and drinks are the examples of Love Value, which is friendship, care and generosity, and also Non-Violence value, which is concern for others.
Example of Sentence
We welcomed the minister at the airport.
Love and Non-Violence Values
Welcoming other is one of the values of Non-violence, which is ‘concern for others and values of love which is reverence, and also good manners.
Example of Sentence
With great care, we took the injured patient to the hospital.
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Right Conduct, Love, Non-Violence Values
Helping other by taking the injured patient to the hospital is considered as the helpfulness which is involved as the Right Conduct Value, and concern for others is considered as non- violence, also care as love value of humanistic.
Example of sentence
Our cashier is a sincere worker Truth Value
The example of sentence above shows the positive character of a worker which job is quite tiring but she/he has a humanistic value of sincerity which belongs to the truth value.
Reading Text
It rained heavily. The entire road was flooded with water.
Our school was two kilometers from our house I didn't know how to get to school. My friend had also come to my house.
We had an examination on that day. We grew nervous as there was no possibility of the rain stopping. The water flooding the road was knee high so I could not drive my two- wheeler. Suddenly, the telephone rang. My mother ran to pick it up. It was my friend calling from school. He had some good news to share. The examination had been postponed.
What a mighty relief for us!
Love Value
When someone is sharing news, it means that he/she care of us. She/he takes time to think about someone else. It is love value.
Dialogue
Mr.Paul : Danny, you need to take another make up test this week. It's your English this time.
Danny : Yes, Sir. I'm sorry to let you down
Mr.Paul : You didn't perform as good as usual. Is there something bothering you?
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Danny : No, Sir. I guess it is because I don't completely understand the lesson.
Mr. Paul Why didn't you tell me? May I help you review the lesson again?
Mr.Paul : No. Thank you for the offer, Sir. I guess I can learn something from my mistakes. Besides, Hana is coming over to my house to help me out.
Mr.Paul : Alright, then. Would you like to have another copy of the lessons review?
Yes, please. That will be very helpful. Thank you, Sir.
Mr.Paul : Anytime, Danny.
Right Conduct and Love Values
From the conversation above, it can be seen that Mr.Paul is care to Danny. He asks the reasons why Danny has to join the make-up test. Here, Mr.Paul offers Danny a help to review the lesson again. He also offers a help to have another copy of lesson review. These helpful hands are part of right conduct value, and care is part of love value.
Chapter 2 (Technology)