Once, Sachin Tendulkar and David Beckham were watching a game of Maria Sharapova. After the game, a journalist asked Sharapova whether she knew Tendulkar and Beckham. She identified Becks so easily but she was unknown about Tendulkar. This incidence irate Indians. They started to burn posters of Maria and started a social media campaign against her. Later, Sachin had to make personal requests to soothe Indian fans.
Do you think, Sharapova should know Sachin? As both were pioneers in their game we can expect both of them to know each other well. But it is not possible to get information about every field. Sharapova was Russian, where cricket is rarely played and have very less knowledge about cricket, was not wrong to have no information about cricket and its players.
A similar incidence is developing here in Nepal. Actress Puja Sharma has been chastised for her inadequate knowledge about the number of provinces and districts in Nepal. As an eminent actress, it would be better if she knows these minor facts. But she doesn’t deserve such animosity even if she does not know these facts.
As a teacher teaching in a private school in Kathmandu, I can say many students growing in an urban area simply ignore these facts. Just before the social studies exam, they ask their friends or teacher about the current prime minister, president, and other questions regarding political activities. Even I have seen a few students who do not know about the area of Nepal, but they know every minute detail about the hairstyle of Cristiano Ronaldo. These students either do not know about Puja Sharma or they do not care whether she knows the number of districts of Nepal or not because they do not care about it.
Sooner or later, few of them will join the movie industry, and again they will be unaware of similar facts. But, do our education system has such prowess to motivate students, to study their own country?
And, finally, our Brain is not a computer. It can not record every detail it encounters every day. It stores only those details, which are useful for survival. So, it can be assumed that no one knows everything. So is it wise to condemn someone of they do not know some simple facts?
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