Does drowning babes in technology and luxury make them great leaders? A recent ad for an exclusive play school (Rs 12,000 per month) certainly claims to do this. Its curriculum, displayed under the heading, ‘Exquisite Features’, lists ten gourmet meals, visits to five-star hotels and gold class movie halls. “Children should get exposure to these places so that they are comfortable there later on. We also want them to be gadget friendly,” intoned the marketing exec.

The school offers other unique features for what it calls “future leaders”, like a sensational birthday bash, empanelled paediatricians, psychologists and dieticians. Presumably they would need the latter three after gorging on gourmet meals.

Other star attractions are “futuristic technologies” like Playstation, touch ‘n’ learn systems etc, to make children “gadget friendly”. There are more inducements: fingerprint security, “so that the whole place is sealed and no one can enter.” Completely kidnap-proof.

Will the children reared in this hothouse environment grow up to be Little Legends, as the play school dubs itself, or Little Monsters? Located in West Delhi, the school claims to be the first such institution in India modelled on international lines. The ad neglects to mention anything about life skills, the three S’s most essential for two- to four-year-olds — sharing, self-care and sitting still.

Obviously the promoters are cashing in on demand from a section of the Capital’s parents, focused on producing hi-tech, self-centred sybarites. Like a businessman who recently purchased a Mercedes nearly overnight because his seven-year-old threw a tantrum. The child refused to attend school till it was bought. He wanted to show it off to his classmates.

... contd.