Of Students, Parents & Money

If the people whom you entrust on, betray the very essence of their profession, you know that there is something inherently wrong in our upbringing. India as a nation might be very poor and weak to even consider professional ethics but when you don’t, people who believe in virtuous values lose hope. You kill the generous and innocent souls!

No one needs a course on ethics to let them take their professional decisions wisely; At least, not in one of the noblest professions of teaching.

The very idea of moulding a kid may sound very overwhelming to the genuinely interested and concerned professional teacher. However, few of the stakeholders involved in the process essentially use it as an opportunity to milk their innocence and naivety. Everybody party to such crime milks the growing kid to fill their bank accounts. This is very unnerving.

Teachers in our society are looked on as people who will fulfill the greedy ambitions of ignorant parents. The student generally is unaware about almost everything which awaits him in future. Parents and teachers bear a huge responsibility to make him aware and self-dependent. Every kid must learn to gather knowledge, choose wisely and own their decisions. By not letting the students make their own decisions and enforcing upon them some prejudiced career path, parents and teachers are committing a crime.

Few years ago, a teacher was brainwashing one of the kids. His choice of words was very simple, “What will you do with commerce? Take Science for a bright future”. No, he is not a professional counselor nor did he even consider digging deeper into the psyche of the student. He did not care for his likes, interests and aptitude. What is the motive? It is very simple; his bread depends upon students choosing science, getting into the grind of IIT-JEE coaching which generates revenue. This is not only the problem of teachers but also parents. The inordinate aspirations of parents never stop fuelling the mushrooming of test preparation companies. We are a nation which has falsely internalised that education is the easiest way to be rich and have a comfortable life. It is delusional.

If someone is genuinely interested in studying the concepts of rolling cylinders, hanging pulleys, spinning tops and moving cars, let him study science. If someone would like to bury him down under the weight of reaction mechanisms, let him study science. If someone would love to read calculus, let him study science. If someone wants to study science for entry to the hallowed walls of IIT & other elite engineering colleges, prepare him for the uphill but selfishly foolish task. But not if any of the conditions are not fulfilled.

Just for generating revenue or fulfilling your desires through your child, never force a kid to take a wrong career path. Please, don’t tell me that money excites you to commit such a crime and stop justifying it.

What worries me more is that most of the justification for the wrong career advice by teachers is the motivation of earning money. Is money the only motivator for doing things in the long run? Yes, you need money for survival but not anymore than that. You need a satisfying career to earn money from or just use your time judiciously. As teachers & parents, we must not make our kids money-minded scrooges. We need to have a nobler purpose in life.

Please, don’t make our kids a bunch of opportunist sloths. Let’s teach them first the values & ideals needed to lead a happy and satisfying life.



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AAP Story & its Side-effects

Just a few years ago, it was ok to to label all the political parties into one category and collectively dismiss their every action or the lack of thereof. Then comes a man with an ambitious & well-timed action plan to change the political narrative of India. Now, it was cool to support this man’s political outfit, Aam Aadmi Party (AAP). He had everything a thriving middle-class well educated armchair-activist citizens of India dreamt of in a politician; an elite engineering degree from IIT, a background in social work & his anti-corruption vehemence. However, he had already over-stayed his welcome as an anti-corruption hero when he tried to capture a permanent place for himself in the psyche of Indian populace. The sequence of events after that is very well known to almost every Indian on social media. His ambitions never stopped and when reality struck him, he compromised with a CM’s post in Delhi. So, far governance has been zero and activism maximum despite being in power. 

While the political party, AAP was trying to gain political mandate it amassed help from all well-meaning people of India who had been frustrated with rampant corruption. Soon, there was widespread polarisation within the tech-savvy generation who earlier where united in their political ideology. Now people who didn’t support AAP labelled the AAP politicians & supporters as AAPtards and Narendra Modi led-BJP supporters known as Bhakts. Now it was AAPtards Vs Bhakts. Over the past one year AAPtards started getting disillusioned, a portion of support has been lost but not everything has gone from AAP to BJP.  While, it was cool to donate funds to AAP & openly support Arvind Kejriwal it is no longer the same. He has led down a huge fraction of people who supported his initiative. He is now seen as a dictator.

This turn of events is not good for other less-greedy & less-corrupt political outfits, which are many in India. Sadly, not many know about them! These parties would be seen with a lot of cynicism. If things go on the same way, the political mess would always be unsorted & repel young responsible citizens of India. All due to Arvind Kejriwal. 

#TwitterFBwish- Jugaad for a wish

Atheist Alert: You are advised not to read this any further and simply close the tab. Thanks!

In India and abroad, chiefly eastern countries we have a unique custom. We have an innovative and creative Jugaad to bribe and/or please our numerous Gods and Goddesses.
In this age of disruptive innovation, viral marketing, etc. etc. we have something called “mannat” in India (not to be confused with Shahrukh's home). We make a wish and tie something like coconut inside red cloth to an old tree or similar holy object in the temple area. Sometimes just tying a knot of red cloth does no less good. The wish is kept confidential. Finally, when it does get fulfilled you have to come back and undo the tying process and thank God/Goddess.



In this auspicious occasion of Diwali, I also want at least one wish to get granted. I cannot travel to such mannat-place, though. I have come up with another Jugaad. I’ve wished for something and planned to keep it confidential. I have posted something in a discreet way like tying a coconut wrapped inside a red piece of cloth.



I would again post about my wish if it is fulfilled and let the world know what my wish was. In this way I would thank Facebook and God. Even you can fulfill your wish like this. Just post on Facebook or tweet something related to your mannat and you can use the hashtag: #TwitterFBwish. When your wish is fulfilled just let the world know about it. Simple, ain’t it?
Happy Diwali and Prosperous New Year (Vikrami Samvat 2067). May Goddess Laxmi shower immense wealth on you.

(image : http://www.flickr.com/photos/anuj1191/3520965493/in/photostream/)

Joys of Bribery, Blogging and Racist outlook

“You cannot enter this room with this ticket” says the lady attendant outside an Indian Railways’ “Upper Class” AC waiting room.
“I know that madam…how much should I pay for 2 hours” I replied squeezing my eyes and widening my mouth.



"I want either less corruption or more opportunity to participate in it"

This was how I bribed a woman for the first time in my life and after doing that I actually felt quite good and this was the first time I initiated the bribery. Bribery doesn’t mean splurging money on every paan-spitting lousy sarkari babu (clerk/official/peon) but efficiently tipping off poorly paid government employees so that your work is not hampered. Bribing can be embarrassing but it’s a win-win situation for both the parties. I would like to mention that I'm not in favour of corruption, it's detrimental to the smooth and democratic function of the society...you can read my take on this from here (Cynicism of an Average Indian and the "Vicious Circle of Corruption")

This all happened during my recent visit to the southern city of Chennai during Good Friday and Easter Sunday Holidays. It was my maiden trip to South India.

I have been born and brought-up in eastern India and am likely to be prejudiced about other parts of India but I did notice something about the south Indians in particular. Indians in general are corrupt and unhygienic but south Indians are hygienic and north Indians corrupt.
I’ve earlier announced my voluntary retirement from blogging but I revoked my decision (after public gatherings, suicides and hunger strikes to resume blogging). There is a thing about blogging which gives you an alter ego. People like to call you by your blog name, they mock your blog, it’s always you and your blog, these things always motivate a blogger like me to keep on writing.

Recently, our college had its Gymkhana Elections for the highest student post, the Vice-President. I decided to sideline myself from all the hullaballoo of these elections but ignoring someone is not easier than being indifferent. Candidly speaking, I do not know what powers the VP of our institute possess and I don’t even intend to acquire the knowledge, I simply don’t care.

To quote one of my comments
“I know people who campaigned for one, supported the other and voted in the favour of the third; to top it all, they shook their hands with Celestine(VP, IIT KGP Students Gymkhana) after he won...true spirit of KGP :P”

Share your grief, excitement, disgust and whatever emotions you have about my return to blogosphere…

Cynicism of an Average Indian and the "Vicious Circle of Corruption"

“A cynic is not merely one who reads bitter lessons from the past, he is one who is prematurely disappointed in the future.”
- Sidney J. Harris
Poverty, corruption, illiteracy, malpractices have found an irreplaceable place in the high-school social textbooks. These words have an everlasting effect on the immature minds and mould them into cynic about Indian bureaucracy and political system.
Ask any young educated Indian about politics, legal system, government officials or college professors, he will have only one word to describe and that is “hopeless” that too with a disinterested look on his face.
The problem lies in our system which resists “change”. Indian people should start believing that change is the law of nature. Due to this mentality, the vicious circle of corruption goes on and it has an aggravated trickledown effect on other government machineries. A young undergraduate student goes to bank for a loan and he is asked for various documents, names of which he has never heard of before. After a span of few years when he is in his twenties he wants to get a driving license; for that he has to bribe. Same thing happens when he gets whims about “foreign-soil” and its glamour and luxurious lifestyle, he has to fill the pockets of policemen and give few 100 rupee notes under the table to the passport agent. After spending 3-4 years in abroad, comes back and gives civil services examination, qualifies in it and immediately gets into power; and now the vicious circle takes a half revolution. The coming few months are spent in saying no to “corruption” but as we all know it hardly happens that a public servant escapes the pressure of the boss or the greed of quick and easy money. He also supports his actions on the grounds that he has given it, so it’s the time to take it back with 200% interest. His hunger never ends and soon the vicious cycle of corruption is completed and it always goes on.



Even if few people do succeed to remain honest in their profession their self-respect and dignity is hurt. There is a funny incidence about a newly-appointed IRS officer who is being offered “posting in a good place” by a peon of his office. I mean there is no way a self-respecting person can handle this insult. (No pun intended)
While vicious cycle of corruption follows its periodic motion it irritates the common man and his beliefs are reinforced and he turns a poor cynic Indian. He gradually forms a belief system that Indian system is hostile towards change. In addition, the overly obsessed Indian mindset of “extrapolation without proper analytical reasoning” even worsens the situation prevalent in our country.
This has to change very soon in India. However, I doubt that to completely bring corruption, poverty and illiteracy to a tolerable level it’ll take at least 20 more years even if we start working from right now.
Let’s uproot the cynicism within us and plant a seed of hope and vision in ourselves.


PS: The IRS Officer, I mentioned in the post is Arvind Kejriwal.

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