Text messages are still the rage with marketing guys, and it
is evident from numerous messages which I get from numerous marketers. While
normal mortals like me and you have long switched over to Whatsapp; private and
government organizations still rely on text messages to sell their products or
ideas to us. Recently, there was a flood of messages from the Income Tax
Department urging all and sundry to pay taxes before 31st July.
Private schools have also come on this bandwagon and have started sending
messages to parents. Messages from schools generally include notice about due
date for fees payment, on PTMs, examination schedules, Olympiads, etc. Some
messages can be quite useful, e.g. if a child does not reach school then the
parents may come to know that the child has bunked his classes and has landed
up at the cinema hall instead of the classroom. Some messages can be plain
boring while some can be hilarious. Recently, I got a text message from the
school about which I am yet to understand whether it is serious or hilarious. Following
is the message:
“Dear Parents,
This is to inform you all that dengue viral is going on. So,
please use coconut oil below your knees till your footsteps. It is antibiotic.
Dengue mosquito cannot fly higher than knees. Please keep this in mind and
start using it. Spread this message as much as you can. Your one message can
save many lives. Herbal tips: Kindly keep kapur, long and elaichi in your
pocket too. “
This message is apparently a useful one because it is giving
a warning about dengue. It appears to be on time; unlike delayed anti-dengue
initiatives which the government authorities take. Chief Ministers and Health
Ministers usually get a wakeup call only after news of dengue-related deaths
start appearing in newspaper and on television.
This message urges the parents to apply coconut oil.
Hopefully, school teachers must have conveyed the same message to their
students in classrooms.
This message says that coconut oil is an antibiotic. Thanks to
copy & paste culture prevalent even among teachers, coconut oil has been
declared as an antibiotic. But an antibiotic is of no use against virus; which
dengue parasite is. To the best of my knowledge, mosquitoes belong to the class
Insecta of phylum Arthropoda. An antibiotic is not going to act against an
insect. So, what is the use of applying coconut oil?
I searched Google to find answer. You will land up on
hundreds of sites which write shenanigans about naturopathy and Ayurveda; in
the name of promoting and conserving the ancient culture of India. All these
sites give lot of information without an iota of credibility, i.e. without
proper reference.
Mosquito repellant creams and some other concoctions work by
masking the body odour of humans. But coconut oil is unable to do this.
This message also urges to stuff the pocket of a student
with spices; as if the student is going to cook biryani in the school. I fear
that the school may start selling packets of assorted prices and may make it
mandatory for all parents to buy the packets for their wards. Schools will
charge very high price for such packets, and parents will not be allowed to buy
spices from the market. This will be a new revenue stream for the school; that
too in the lean season. Schools have already made hefty amount of money at the
beginning of academic session; by selling books, notebooks and uniforms for all
occasions. But earning more money in the mid of the academic season must be the
brainchild of school management with great business acumen.
A school is the place where we send our children to study
and to learn certain aspects of life. All modern schools are expected to
instill knowledge through scientific methods. They are not expected to
brainwash the students with myths about whatever culture they believe in.
As an instant reaction to this message, I planned to meet
the class-teacher. I wanted to argue with her about futility of sending such
messages. But my wife advised me against doing so, because she fears that this
will hamper the scores of my son. I had no other way than to surrender to my
wife’s commands.
