Lament by a marked section of public speakers about absence of old values in society of our times and clarion calls to the youth to imbibe those values don’t seem to have many takers. As if to add insult to injury, many a youth can be heard questioning the relevance of the advisory coming from the old guard, arguing that only the exact opposite of every old value is the order of the day. The old timers find it embarrassing when they are reminded of the unedifying conduct of the netas as witnessed in the State during the days following the announcement of the polls to its Legislative Assembly by the Election Commission on Mar. 27, 2018, as widely reported in the media with graphic details. The fate of contestants in the just-concluded election who were found adhering to the avowed values prescribed by the pious flock to whatever extent is there for all to take note. Making vainglorious claims of doing good to the poor sections of the population, openly telling brazen lies, calling names, leading lavish life at public cost, hurting sentiments of the voiceless sections, deriding customs and beliefs, exploiting caste factor for selfish ends and so on are the norms of vote-seekers, aver the land’s youth.

The ground rules of leading a life of fulfilment, as enunciated by the land’s saints and sants of a distant past in the form of verses intelligible even to the unlettered sections facing outright rejection for various reasons are resting in the palm leaf bundles stored in institutions such as the Mysuru-based Oriental Research Institute (ORI). They are bound to vanish into thin air once the moths do the honour to the ancient script.

The fast-changing outlook to the old ways of living marked by weighing the pros and cons of giving up certain practices such as walking in favour of some other practices such as sticking to commuting even short distances by motorised vehicles on grounds of convenience and speed has been generously helped by advances in science and technology during the past 100 or so years like never before. Wisdom seems to be slowly trickling on the part of the literati about the harm mankind is bringing upon itself by discarding the avowed values and simplicity of life. Terms such as “reuse,” “recycle,” “biodegradability” and so on have arrived on the scene, although not making any impact on thoughts of arresting the journey of mankind from simplicity to complexity.

To make a long story short, the legacy of simple living from the past has sailed into the region of dreaming in the backdrop of a) Unchecked production of electronic devices, to be discarded after a short-term use, b) Automobiles which turn into scrap mass, c) Multistoreyed structures bound to come down in course of time leaving one to ponder over the plight of generations during posterity. The youth of the land owe it to themselves to take lead and act.