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The other day I was trying to teach my 6 year-old grandson Chess assuming that he didn’t know the basics. As I was trying to explain the rules of the game, he simply brushed me aside and said “Grandpa, I know the rules. Let’s start playing”. I never felt offended by his statement, as he was not meant to be rude. It was an assertion from an impatient but smart and confident kid who knew the rules of the game and considers repeating the same as a waste of time. He was keen on going ahead with the game rather than wasting time on prologues.
I introspected how many times I would have dismissed my dad’s advice to drive carefully, whenever I went out on a drive. I felt it was too rudimentary. It was not being disrespectful but too trivial to hear it repeatedly.
The KBC season 17 in which a young kid participant Ishit Bhatt around 10 years of age was the target of the severest criticism and on line trolling for rude behaviour and over confidence without considering his tender age and innocence.
I watched the episode many times to identify if there is anything rude and disrespectful in his behaviour towards the host Mr. Amitabh Bachchan. I honestly couldn’t find any. An impatient remark by a kid can’t be construed as rude behaviour. However, the trolls pounced upon the hapless kid for his unruly behaviour and targetted his parents also for the “flawed” upbringing of the child. The merciless trolling caused such an intense mental trauma to the kid that he was forced to issue an apology (obviously drafted by parents). The immense joy of seeing their kid reaching the hot seat, quickly turned into a nightmare for the parents due to online abuse. The kid and the parents didn’t really deserve this.
Further, let us also dwell on the charged atmosphere at the set with a few hundreds of people noticing your every move and millions across the country watching you as the camera focusses on you. The imposing presence of host, the inimitable Amitabh Bachchan also makes even a well experienced adults, nervous under such circumstances. However, Ishit was not overawed by the presence of Mr. Bachchan. He was cool in his approach to the game, and replied in an unpretentious way. He can’t be hauled up being unruly, rude, over-confident and subject to severe trolling.
Let us also remember that this Kid Ishit Bhatt has won the fastest finger round by beating his nearest rival in half the time. He took 4.94 seconds to answer the question as against the time of 9.63 seconds taken by his nearest rival. He also appeared to be law-abiding when he told Mr. Amitabh Bachchan that even though he wanted to have a photograph with him, he was not entitled to the same, as he has not won the minimum prize points of 1250000 as per the game rules. However, Mr. Amitabh Bachchan was very kind enough to oblige for a photograph with him. Even when he returned empty-handed, he didn’t show any emotional feelings and walked back to his seat with great dignity and grace. I have seen in certain episodes even some adults breaking down when they returned empty-handed.
As “matured” viewers let us show consideration to the kid and his parents, and not be judgemental. Let us respect the age of the kid, his innocence and his commendable efforts to reach the hot seat against a stiff competition. Instead of finding fault with his behaviour let us appreciate his skill, honesty, confidence and grace in defeat.
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