Alternative endeavors for educated youth

The job security and future of our qualified youth- the society's assets, is the need of the hour. The concerned authorities either need to do the needful or the youth themselves have to find out some alternatives so that they can too start their post education life with honor and without possible frustrations. This write up is provided for the possible alternatives available and hence once the pandemic is over, same can be given some serious thought.

From the beginning since I was exposed to internet, some ideas always sprouted in my mind though nothing solid was performed from my side due to many reasons. I will share few of the ideas.

As all of us know that this age is the age of information technology. Day by day, more people want to buy and get tangible and intangible things   by online. Just few days ago, I read in an article that Amazon owner and CEO Jeff Bezos will probably become the first trillionaire of the world .Know that amazon has 2.5 million active sellers (as of 2019) leave aside buyers, and most of them are common people like us.

Kashmir has rich literature in different genres. How many of our authors know about self-publishing in global platforms. Cannot our youth check with the persons associated with the books as to who owns the copyrights and make a deal with them to sell their titles online in paperback and digital versions? How many of our famous books written by Kashmiri literary legends are available as eBooks on amazon, Google books and elsewhere. I think very few .Know that books especially good ones have readers unlike us who almost hate reading.

Does our youth heard about platforms such  as Smashwords, Lulu, Ingramspark, Kobo, Blurb , Payhip, Draf2digital, Publishdrive and Amazon KDP, to name a few only. I know that many of the above names are almost Greek to the maximum of my dear youth. Can we engage our best minds to translate our famous and good books from and to Kashmiri, English and Urdu languages to sell the same to the readers   of these languages?

Let us come to the other point. We know man is called Hayawan-e-Natiq. Speech has influence provided we express it in the best possible way. Even Allah said in Surah Rahman ayat 4 that Allah has taught man eloquent speech. Nowadays more people like to listen to books what we call audio books. How many of our own authors' books are available as audio books? I think none.

 Amazon's Audible, Google Audiobooks, Downpour, Librovox, Scribd, Overdrive, Hoopla to name a few, are not there for nothing. If we can produce the poetry of our famous poets as audiobooks. And their English translated versions can be an extended step in this venture though some one said poetry is what is killed in translation.

Still it is applicable because we know how much, for example, Rumi is read in the west nowadays via translations of his Masnavi and other treatises. If I am not incorrect, we have our own Rumis, Hafizs, and Wordsworths. World needs to know them and qualified youth need to introduce them. Have a start.

Secondly if above ideas seems bizarre, difficult and strange to take into action and application which, I hope, will not, let us see the further opportunities.

Our youth spends almost half or more of their life span to complete their education. We have many who hold multiple masters, M Phil, M Tech, PhD, PDF and other degrees. Those who know  their subjects very well can create and craft their lectures/ presentations and put it on a website of their own, not just on YouTube for free.

Let the useful knowledge not remain in you as it remains in some books on library shelves. Know that more and more students   switch to online education and seek good educational stuff round the globe .And day by day, same is increasing. World is very big, so is the population and the opportunities are immense.

However, for this you have to polish your communication skills especially English pronunciation.  Besides, you have to also produce quality stuff for which you may need to buy some electronic gadgets. Not like we will use computer mouse to write on the screen which I see some teachers do. Still that is appreciable for a start-up for our own students.

Thirdly, our Kashmir is known to produce some products which are unique to it.Like for example, saffron and Kashmiri handicrafts. I know many are selling them online. But still there is big dearth in it and hence fullest scope in the same. I have heard from reliable sources and may be you too know it that in Indian states, fake Kashmiri handicraft products are sold and that too by Kashmiri youth. How sad? If you provide the original product, your customer will act for you a potential future market. Remmember this.

Furthermore, our wall nut production is the largest in India. Check the price of wall nut kernels on Amazon, eBay etc.  , and see what you can do if you buy wall nuts from Kashmir and get the kernels to sell.  And remember if you are honest with your business, you can defeat your competitors. This I ensure you.

However, I must tell it here that before starting any of the above mentioned procedures, we need to check and study the pros and cons of the same so that our hard work pay us the maximum. I wish authorities or some persons could start some kind of training centres for the same. Those interested who need the learning material on the same can contact me.

Lastly but not least, our female folk is very important to us. They are the ones who are to become future mothers. And if they are healthy, our whole future society is healthy. Unfortunately, health is given the least importance by us all. Though it is pandemic these days. But can I ask how many girls you have seen playing games in playgrounds or elsewhere like our boys are seen. I am not only asking about females who study in schools and colleges and are somewhat involved in the same.

In fact, no playgrounds are for the females even. The concerned authorities are requested to make available some playgrounds and indoor stadiums for our future mothers. Unlike in old ages, when our females used to grind pepper, paddy rice etc. in Kaeaz besides doing other works which acted as a kind of exercise for them. But now what Amir Khan said in his 3 Idiot “pen ki nib se le kar pant ki zip tak”, we have been engulfed with machines.

Furthermore for boys we have gyms too. How many for girls. Only a couple are there in the city, and none in the villages. Is this thing unimportant and unnecessary to think? No, it isn't. .Let our youth think on it for starting to pursuit and endeavour this rare but needful thing. Better if youth do it in a partnership as they say in Kashmiri “akh tae akh go kahh “.

If you help and try to make our female folk health conscious, they will definitely do the same for their present and future children. We are Muslims and Islam has solution for almost everything. Let us have all female staff for this purpose and let males get involved in financing and other managements only, so that evil may not penetrate us thereby.

I hope the subjects discussed above will not only be appreciated, but with the end of pandemic will be taken into application and practice. Allah bless all.