Even in a competitive job market in this country, A Science graduate in Textile Engineering has quite a demand. Managing a job is not beyond such a graduate's ability. And indeed Fahad Akand was offered a job of good remuneration. But the young man from Beraiderchala village in Sreepur, Gazipurwas made of different elements -was not just the run of the mill. He did not accept the offer.
What he did instead is the trademark of the exceptional -ones who can think out of the box, only more so in time of social or national crisis. The young man, according to a report carried in a Bangla contemporary, was worried about the future of the children -teenagers in particular of his locality. He was pained to see that the youngsters were addicted either to smartphones or television. Luckily access to computer was not easily available; or else the problem would have further compounded. The young ones had no interest in outdoor sports and games and in the absence of physical exercise and activity, the budding population was wasting its time on pastimes not at all congenial to their healthy growth.
He did not take long to decide his course of action. He started persuading parents to send their sons to go for regular physical exercise. At the beginning it was hard to convince parents of the merit of the session of physical exercise including cricket training. But Fahad did not give up. He needed open space or field to teach the regimes he wanted to. So he had to talk to the authority of a local school, which permitted him to use the school field.
Thus the unsung hero soon won over the local people and made them convinced of the need for physical exercise from an early age in order to resist the temptation of bad practices and abuse of modern gadgets. At a time when social degeneration has been unremittingly in progress all across the country, few think of saving the young generation of the malaise -least of all launching a campaign backed up by a positive action programme. Not many would have approved of his chasing the wild bull when most people are concerned with their personal interests. He would be branded as a maniac or a mad man.
The fact is that not the perfect normal people have generally been instrumental in doing collective good for society. It is people with a streak of abnormality in them who have made this world a better place to live in. They have mostly been unconcerned about their own interests but made it a point to devote their time and energy to the cause of common good of society.
On that count Fahad is both an idiosyncratic and a smart young person. He has opted for an employment in a factory where he has to do his duty at nighttime. Also, to ensure that his young disciples' academic routine is not disrupted, he has scheduled his sessions in the afternoon after school and on holidays. Thus his students do not have to sacrifice classes for physical sessions and the vice versa.
What Fahad has started is no less a social revolution. It should be replicated in all areas of the country. To fight drug and video game addiction, here is a powerful weapon. Young graduates and members of different clubs can form brigades to impart such physical lessons on a regular basis in their respective localities.
Fahad has included correct use of language and singing the national anthem as perfectly as possible to his sessions. To manage things he has taken help from the YouTube because he has no formal training on either of his undertakings for youngsters. Indeed, this together with developing the habit of reading books can save the young generation from degeneration set in the social body. Let there be no doubt about the success of such a programme if it is conducted sincerely and with dedication.