IMPHAL October 10: The titular king of Manipur Meidingngu Leishemba Sanajaoba shared his concerns about the present trend of children education which has totally ignored the significance of inculcating traditional and cultural values.
He was speaking as the chief guest in the felicitation programme of Dr Mangsatabam Nalini Devi who recently completed her research on `Meitei Angangi Mahoushagi Mashanashing`™, the traditional children games of the indigenous Meiteis, at Hotel Classic today.
While stretching on the importance of play in the holistic growth of children, to imbibe both social values and physical fitness, the titular king said modern education system has led to obsessive bookish knowledge burdening children unproductively.
He said he was of the opinion children deserve the leisure play time to relax and learn normal socializing and inculcate the cultural values.
He explained the rich moral lessons engrained in the traditional plays aimed at instilling cultural practices among the new generations.
`There is shrinking space for group plays in our modern neighbourhoods. However we should recognized the importance of reviving such traditional games else it will fade away as a thing of the past,` he said.
In addition to futuristic and holistic development of the physical and mental health of children, it will also enhance their identity rootedness and help preserve our rich culture and social relationships, he further said.
`We need to bridge classroom based education with social mores,` he said while appealing to all to promote our traditional plays/games.
The function organized by the Centre for Social Development and the Women Action for Development was also participated by Kh Norendro, president, CSD; Wangkhemcha Shyamjai, president AMWJU and Dhanabir Laishram, social scientist as the president and guests of honour respectively.