Who are these heroes and heroines?

Day before yesterday a friend of mine sent me a short video clip. It was about a man who saved nearly 600 children from death during the Holocaust. Until I saw that video, neither I knew about him nor his great work of saving so many children from being burnt alive just because they were Jews. How many of us know or study about such people in schools and colleges? On a comparison note, many of us know great many details about many movie stars, sports personnel (particularly popular games like Cricket, Football, Soccer), etc. Such popular faces become heroes and heroines in the lives of so many young children and youth in today's world. 

Take a look at some of the skills listed below:

• Vocal Music
• Instrumental Music
• Fine Arts
• Dance
• Carpentry
• Karate
• Cricket
• Volleyball
• Carrom

The list can go on and on. But if you think deeply, barring few exceptions which are natural gifts, most of the skills are acquired by a person. In spite of possessing natural gifts, unless the person takes steps to sharpen a skill, he or she cannot become a good singer, or a good dancer or a good cricketer, or a good chess player. Can I berate the time spent by a person to acquire proficiency in art just because that particular area does not receive the necessary attention or money?  Today media decides who can become popular. In spite of possessing excellent skills in various fields of art, many people go unnoticed and only the same people go to the hall of fame. The attention given to movie stars and a few sports personnel alone is very high. Why this disparity? 

The popular culture does not stop there. It goes to the extent of celebrating the success of one such sport or a person who becomes "larger than life". If you consider or call everything as a profession, then shouldn't everyone be receiving the same amount of attention or fame depending on the skill level and the contributions made? I am not talking about being a leader here. That's a totally different area. A person sacricifing his or her time to produce a wonderful piece of art receives a medal and probably some amount, whereas everyone invites a sports person from a specific sport, who has won a title, and gives him money. We have gender issues too in such sports. In what way, the person who produced excellent work of art is lesser compared to the person who won titles? And there are plenty of other sports and fields where many people continue to produce excellent work with no recognition from this media or from the Government. What bothers me more is that, such a small number of people who receive undivided attention, become heroes and heroines for many. Success isn't confined to a field. It is a journey. So, why should one person be celebrated and rewarded with so much of cash while many do not even get attention leave alone financial support?

Movies are made for entertainment. It is a profession for many. So why should such people from movies alone become so popular, that at a later date they go and become leaders of political parties who can later rule states or countries? All these are because of such level of attention given by media and too much of money being given to them. This popularity culture has to stop because it does not lead children or youth anywhere. Popularity cannot and should not mean money and fame. Today success is measured in terms of money and fame alone. The person whom I quoted in the beginning of this blog above, is equally superior to these sports or movie stars. Acts like saving so many children, without worrying about his life, taking so much of risk, being compassionate towards innocent lives, are to be celebrated by us. Such people should become heroes and heroines for children and youth. Sports or movies are just for entertainment. With great respect for their commitment and tireless efforts to excel in whatever field they are, sports or movies should be considered as just a part of life. Such professionals can never be considered as heroes or heroines just because they are popular because of the attention they received or given by the media. How many movies have been made on the lives of sportspersons or movie stars? But a few, very few, on such great lives who go to the extent of sacrificing their lives to save others. In fact, many such movies don't even get released or do well commercially that movie makers do not come forward to make such movies. I don't blame them. After all movies are made for entertainment alone (at least today) and not for educating the people (barring few exceptions). 

It is time that adults go back and stop encouraging children to become a part of this popular culture of money and fame and help them to look beyond that so that they can really see, read and appreciate the work done by so many people in different parts of the world from different fields of art and not just in the areas of sports and movies alone.