Change is constant. It will not amount to exaggeration if I say that nothing is as constant as change. From the days of my childhood till today I have observed how the world around me has changed. These changes have permeated our everyday life so deeply that we do not even notice them any longer.
    From politics and society to technology everything has changed. Those days are still fresh in my memory when we waited for the result of board exams. At the newspaper. But, till the time I completed my Bachelor's it had become a routine to check one's results on the internet before it came in the newspapers.
    The experience of shock at the results staring you in face from the morning newspapers and the following euphoria if one had landed a first class or better still a distinction is quite lost now at least in the urban areas. Though technology has several beneficial uses it certainly lacks aesthetic qualities in some respect.
    Even the society has changed. The various parameters on which the society judges right and wrong has undergone a transformation. Today, women leave the cozy comfort and protection of their homes and go far away to study and work. It is no longer considered as a stigma.
    Several other things which were not acceptable ten years back are now easily accepted. A film like “nishabd” would have probably earned the contempt of Indian society but today it is being widely acclaimed as a “piece of art”.
    The change in social outlook is closely followed by that in the economy we have left behind what was once sarcastically termed “the Hindu rate of growth”. Today, Indian companies have redefined themselves as global players giving a boost to the economy which in turn has improved and changed the life style of the Indians.


    In spite of all this when I look around at the everyday happenings I am compelled to believe that the above mentioned scene at best is only a “bird's eye view”. There are several things that remain unchanged and do not show any sign of changing in the near future. It is very true that today I can book tickets online. When I go to the Bangalore railway station, I can get the platform ticket via c machine, the charges for which are added to my cell phone bills. But, unfortunately it is equally true that still many people are homeless and use railway platforms and footpaths to sleep.
    Some years back, I was walking to the market with my father at Jamshedpur. When children came to us to beg. Last week when I was going to visit the temple constructed by ISKCON with a friend, a girl barely eight or nine year old came begging to us. Not only is this, the sight children working at tea stalls not an uncommon sight in spite of all the legislations framed against child labour. It is quite evident that some evils change neither with time nor place.
    Technological advancements no doubt have been made, the economy has surged and massive industrialization has taken place in several parts of India. But, the hollowness of these grand proclamations becomes evident once basic aspects of everyday life are examined. The changes which we witness are superficial, on the ground; it has not seeped to the roots. In order to raise a strong tree, its roots have to be strengthened first while it is still a sapling for the trees to grow and ultimately bloom. But it is clear that we have failed time and again to attend to the roots. All the promising statistics which dance before our eyes today have clouded our vision. It is high time that we rectified our failure or be ready to play the price of our mistake.