Heir ConditioningbySHANmugalingam

Grand dad did you breathe

before air cons were invented?
was it hard staying
alive without modern inventions?
Grandma werent you flustered
as you fluttered with paper fans?
could you communicate before
faxes and long distance calls
became basic necessities?
Grandchild we lived
before your age. Because
of our ignorance,
we did not know
pollution, stress, traffic jams
destruction of forests, streams and hills
we feared God and nature
now nature fears you and
money is your new God.

PARAPHRASING
The grandchild (the heir) lives in a modern world. The grandchild
cannot live without modern technologies such as a handphone, a
television, a computer, an air conditioner and so on. In this scenario,
we can say that the grandchild is conditioned to live in a modern
world.
The grandchild asks his grandparents how did they live without modern
inventions. The grandparents reply that even though there were no
modern technologies when they were young, they could still live a
simple life. There were no pollutions back then and they were afraid of
God.
The grandparents further told his grandchild that due to the
modern technologies, the world becomes polluted & people are no
longer afraid of God because they become more materialistic. In this
scenario, the grandparents are trying to condition/train his grandchild
that modern technologies can bring about bad effects to people
nowadays.

THEMES
The title Heir conditioning has the same
pronunciation as air conditioning. Thus, the title itself has
highlighted the differences between the generations. In the
past, our grandparents lived on basic necessities. Lives were
simple without inventions of technology. Now, in our
generation, we have all kinds of luxuries because of the
advancement in science and technology.
However, we have become materialistic and
individualistic. Now, money is our new god. Lives are not
simple anymore. Pollutions and other problems arise
because of the luxuries that we are indulging ourselves in.

1. Technology Brings More Harm

It may seem that we are living in comfort with all the
technology that keeps on improving, but we do not realize
the harms that the technology has brought us. The
grandchild thinks that it is impossible for their
grandparents to live in comfort with the help of
technology. The child does not realize that because of the
technology itself, the world becomes hotter and that is
the reason why some technologies are created to blind
humans with the fake comfort that the technologies bring
them. For example, electric fans and air cons.
Technological advancements have other setbacks such us
pollution, stress, traffic jams, and destruction of forests,
rivers and hills.

2. Fear
The older generations were God-fearing people and
respected His creation nature. However, todays
generation does not fear God. On the contrary the
poet says that now nature fears you and money is
your new God. This indicates that the younger
generation has become more materialistic. They do
not care for nature but gives priority to riches and
money rather than practicing good values such as
preserving Gods creation.

3. Importance of Preserving Nature

God created nature to preserve life. In stanza 2, the
poet gives the consequences of not preserving nature
-pollution, stress, traffic jams, destruction of forest,
streams and hills. Humans seem not to aware that the
more pollution they make, the more they need to
preserve the nature. In paving the way for
development, forest and hills have been destroyed and
streams have been polluted. This has destroyed the
natural habitat of many species of animals and plants
which help to retain balance in our ecosystem.

Moral
1.AppreciateNature
Stanza 2 in the poem conveys a strong message regarding appreciating
nature. The poet reminds us that during our grandparents time, they
believed what goes around comes around they took care of nature. They
believed that everything in nature was created by God. Therefore, if one
appreciated and respected Gods gifts to mankind, the returns would be
bountiful. However, since the dawn of modern inventions, lifestyles and
priorities have changed. As the poet points out, now nature fears you and
money is your God. This shows that the present generation does not care
and appreciate nature. In fact, they have become more materialistic and
believe that money and riches are more important. In turn, nature has
suffered due to their lackadaisical (unconcerned/ laid back) attitude.
Today, the destruction of forest, streams and hills have shaken the
balance in living cycles. As a result, we are faced with problems such as
pollution, stress, and traffic jams.

2.RespectandLove
Through the question and answer session, we
know that there is mutual respect and love in this
family. The grandparents show patience to their
grandchild by answering his questions. At the same
time they also make attempts to educate and warn
him of the dangers of modern inventions to the
environment and about having good values and
lifestyle.

3.BelieveinGod
The poet reminds us that todays younger
generation is too preoccupied with making money
and maintaining a certain standard of lifestyle and
status. They tend to be extravagant. Such
emphasis on material things has made them forget
God. Thus, they do not fear God. Their need to
believe in God is slowly waning (fading/weakening)
as other objects and material things become more
important.

QUESTIONS:StatewhetherthefollowingstatementsareTrue(T)or
False(F).
The poem is written in two stanzas.

()

The personas are the grandparents and the grandchild.

()

The poem is a modern poem with no fixed rhyme scheme.

( )

The grandchild pities the older generation.

()

The grandparents are happy with the way they had lived.

( )

The younger generation has the same values as the older generation. ( )