Leisure and education institutions in India

Education is considered as a formalized institution and it means serious business. Schools and
college are characterized by rigid rules and regulations. It goes without saying that students need
to act under the restraint of discipline.
However, there have been interesting trends, especially since the start of the 21st century, in the
educational system in India. Schools and colleges have realized the importance of holistic and
broad-based learning. Therefore, students are now encouraged to participate in extra-curricular
activities. These extra-curricular activities - like dance, song, drama and other competitions - are
supposedly meant to promote the all-round development of students.
As a result, leisure activities are starting to play an important role in the current education
system. This is further deepened by the advent of globalization (exchange of ideas and cultures)
and the mass media.
These students, who belong to secondary schools and colleges, are often victims of advertising
and popular culture. This leads to a belief that anything thats got to do with popular culture
(here, famous personalities like actors, cricketers, etc) is the best! This belief enables students to
do enough mental homework before choosing a particular college, for instance. This homework
would include a background check of the prestigious alumni (current icons of popular culture) of
the particular college and an idea about the popularity of its festivals and events.
Colleges, in turn, respond to their target audiences in the same manner. Look up any
advertisement of an educational institution: You will find mentions of features like a
comprehensive library, sports facilities, air conditioned classrooms and audio-video rooms. If
you read across the lines, you will observe traces of the experience economy. It may seem that
schools and colleges are creating exclusive, private experiences that are not only unique, but they
are also configured by the system of consumerism. These institutions are in a race to create hyper
real worlds, like those reflected in movie trailers and music videos, to attract gullible parents and
their money.
Furthermore, educational institutes in India, especially colleges, constantly retain and reinforce
this experience economy through various competitions and activities. For instance, debates and
essay-writing opportunities are well appreciated by students alike as it feeds them high doses of
intellectual leisure. Similarly, volunteering in social service organizations through the college
call for a feel good factor among the students which is again, an instance of consuming
experiences. This kind of perpetual engagement is openly encouraged by the State, to protect
their interests. Critical theorists Adorno and Horkheimer spoke about a Culture Industry of
standardized goods of popular culture which makes people passive and mere consumers in the
process. Similarly, it may seem that democratic acts of debates, discussions and film screenings
among student clubs allow for a greater learning, but it still keeps students as mere listeners with

no ability to respond to the various social actors that form the basis of such discussions.
Moreover, the consumption of such activities and events is encouraged to such an extent that the
college very often turns into a full-fledged marketplace where certain pockets attempt to sell
their product (here, an event, discussion or a seminar) to an audience that is already drugged with
an overwhelming amount of experiences.
Leisure in educational institutions is especially legitimized with the onset of festivals and
carnivals. Take for example, how St. Xaviers College turns into a shopping mall of hyper real
experiences during Malhar and how teenage peer pressure sustains and even increases, footfalls
every year. Advertisements of the capitalist economy are plastered all over the college building
to compensate for the currency injections that go into the making of such an event. These
formalized events are classic examples of the construction of the leisure industry, where on the
one hand, you have volunteers and organizers, under the myth of doing something meaningful
(that is, an act worthy for a CV boost), work day in and day out to create a smokescreen of
leisure for the spectators. These spectators, in turn, make themselves believe, that they are having
a great time, when the atmosphere resembles that of a noisy supermarket.
Student clubs and associations encourage recreational activities for unwinding after a hectic
weekday. Sports competitions are organized to keep students engaged. This is slightly
unnecessary, as certain groups of students enjoy cell phone games as an escape during dull
lectures, or better still, bunking class is always an enticing option.
What happens when leisure transforms learning processes in itself? We have iPads replacing
notebooks in schools and extra reading is now done on a computer or a smart phone. As a result,
the notion of study being a hard, serious affair breaks down and is seen enjoyable as it becomes a
genuine reason for more media consumption of more popular culture. Its the same like eating
chocolate with medicinal properties! This is both serious and delicious leisure!
Anyway, throughout the course of this analysis, let us not forget that leisure is, in itself, a
powerful learning tool. Leisure activities help us to broaden our perspectives and understandings.
Take for example; a field trip to a manufacturing factory is definitely more engaging and
experiential than a boring Economics class on Demand and Supply. Leisure is capable of
providing invaluable experiences of group presentations and collective brainstorming that further
stimulate young minds. We take for granted, this subtle quality of leisure activities that make an
apparent difference.
The act of leisure has percolated into the very fabric of education and learning in India. Hence, a
village boy studying under a tree and a postgraduate fellow conducting research in air
conditioned offices, both undergo and utilize varying experiences, but the context remains the
same.

Bibliography:
(2012, August). Retrieved February 2013, from Malhar Local 2012: http://www.malharfest.org/
Culture Industry. (n.d.). Retrieved February 2013, from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Culture_industry
Gujar, A. (2013, February).
Harris, D. (2005). Key Concepts in Leisure Studies. London: SAGE Publications Ltd.
The Experience Economy. (n.d.). Retrieved February 2013, from Wikipedia, the free
encyclopedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Experience_Economy