Heir Conditioning

Heir Conditioning by M. Shanmughalingam

Grand dad did you breathe

Before air cons were invented

Wasn't it hard staying

Alive without modern inventions

Gandma weren't you flustered

As you fluttered with paper fans

Could you communicate before

Faxes and long distance calls

Became basic necessities?

Grand child 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

(source, Literature component form 1-3)


Summary

The poem talks about the differences on the ways of living of two different generations. The poet uses an interesting way of a question and answer session between a grandchild and his/her grandparents. The child questions his/her grandparents on how they could live without all the necessities they today’s generation could not live without such as air cons, fans, faxes and telephones. The grandparents replay one after another that even though the necessities were not yet invented to comfort them, they could live in comfort as their life were free from pollution, stress, traffic jams, destruction of forests, streams and hills. They warn their child that there is a price to pay when they do not fear God and appreciate nature. They have made money as their God and nature fears them because of the rapid pace of development and the destruction of the beautiful environment.



Stanza 1
In the first stanza the author questions on how in the past people managed to survived without modern invention such as air conditioning, hand phones and fax machines

Stanza 2
In the final stanza the author question on how future generations will live due to today's living standard. The author blames himself (his generation) for all the polutions that occur today and the destruction of mother nature. The highest power today accordint to the author is money and it controls everything (god like)


Theme

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, today’s 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 God’s 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.

Credit:
http://guyup-english.blogspot.com/2011/01/heir-conditioning-by-m-shanmughalingam.html
http://accordingtohomer.blogspot.com/2011/03/i-would-like-to-help-secondary-students.html