Where are we heading

Following is my first ever attempt at serious writing. Even though its horribly structured, don't forget to drop in your criticisms at smarak_kgp@yahoo.com

WHERE ARE WE HEADING?

Money Money Money…Its all about money

As the number of millionaires is on the rise, happiness index is going down in our country at a comparable rate. It seems to be a long, rash race for the Indian youth. Long, for US is far. Rash, because everyone seems to be in a hurry to declare supremacy over (nothing less than) planet earth.

The race starts from school life itself. Some parents are sensible enough not to introduce children to the race till eighth or ninth grade. Unfortunately, most others are. ‘Mummy! Its summer vacation’ –‘So what! Amit has already started studying. If u start late, you won’t get time for revision’ . What a far-sightedness! There is a goldmine called IIT out there which, for the time being, is the final destination.

No wonder, many IITJEE correspondence courses have started ‘beginners’ courses’ for the ‘Future IITians’ & ‘Hidden Talents’ of class ninth and tenth. There seem to be a dozen hurdles to clear if you wanna stay in the fray.

First hurdle –secondary exams. ‘Ninety one point one two! Just point two percentage to get into –college! Look how well Amit has performed’ … ‘What? Arts! Are you crazy! Good students take science’ … ‘Mr. Gupta’s son is a complete failure. Look! He used to take five tutions for five subjects and all he has got is eighty two (with a sneer)’.

And then the engineering and medical entrances. After cramming mathematics and biology for nights together, and developing those dark circles, you have finally made it. Behold! The danger of being tagged a failure is still at large. When hundreds of technical institutes are churning out engineers (that’s what they are called) at large and all that engineers are called in US and Australia is ‘skilled labour’, this is not the best time to take a rest. Remember what happened to the rabbit in the rabbit and tortoise tale?

GRE, GMAT and CAT. Parents have the money? GMAT is no problem and life looks green (apparently, it looks) with a start of 100K USD. Back to India on a five day leave for a bride. Parents don’t have the money? Join any of the numerous management institutes in home. Or succumb to parents’ dream of a Swiss bank account and prepare for civil services.

It is surprising to know that 70% of the total CAT aspirants don’t know the scope of management. ‘We have to manage things…things like companies, industries, engineers etc’ ... Dude, which field –finance, HR or Marketing? ‘Well…in which field do you get the best pay package?’.

Civil Services has become more of a chance to the failure to prove himself. Such is the mentality of Indian parents that almost all of them aspire civils for their ward. ‘There is power and prestige beta. You become the king of a district’. Come on Mummy, you know, I know –its all about money. Everything seems to be centred around money, and the youth is restless to have it all in no time.

While NRIs are coming back to India in search of a better life and job satisfaction, the youth is becoming restless to make it to US. Pay package has become a scale to judge job satisfaction back home.

I have just completed summer internship at Tata Steel. Jamshedpur is a nice, small city with many facilities like horse-riding club, boating club and many more amenities available to the employees. Tata Steel has a very conducive work environment and many welfare programmes for the employees. Ten years back, a job at Tata Steel was a dream job for many graduates; not now. In fact, the HR there is worried about the alarming rate of attrition.

I was staying in the hostel of graduate trainees (new recruits) and luckily got a chance to interact with some. Everyone there is in the look out of better opportunities, and better opportunity is gauged only on the basis of pay package. ‘Why should I work here for a slow promotion while the software sector has such nice opportunities. My cousin working in a call centre gets double of what I get’. The sleepless nights and health hazards in BPO industry is no concern.

India has inched up four slots to 128^th rank this year in UNDP’s Human Development Index. This obviously is a measure of education, income and wealth. What really should matter for a welfare country like India is the human happiness index, which is going down. Why is it that number of bespectacled students is on the rise? What can possibly be the reason for premature balding of many people without any chronic history? The prompt answer, without much thinking, is pollution or water.

The questions that need to be addressed by each of us are, “Is this the job I enjoy to do?”, “What’s my aim? Money?” and the big question, “Where am I heading?”