"Wake up, Sid", "Koi to chal zid bhariye.....", "Be a rebel........"oh! what a dream it was, well I was dreaming a mega dream, a dream of changing everything bad(no, not all things are bad after all). But it was just a dream, a dream I dreamed many a times, a dream I know I can never realize.
Where am I heading after all? What am I doing with my life all these years? Do I need to introspect? Is there a meaning of this life? May be there is, being 1st in class, getting the best education, scoring 80% marks consistently, getting into a premier engineering/medical/MBA etc.etc. colleges, securing the best(in terms of pay, anything else doesn't matter) job in campus, earning the highest salary among friends(is there any friend remaining?), satisfying all material pleasures (money can buy anything, yes any damn thing on this earth), getting the best appraisal from boss (hook or by crook, I need it for "fast track career growth"), also have a sophisticated partner to take care of(she has very little demands:), but it always seems to increase - oh God Almighty! had the prices of shares I bought increased with such intensity and consistency, may be actually her demands would have appeared very little to me).So whats wrong in all these? After all I am successful in life. But I need more, this is nothing as compared to what I can achieve, I have to run faster, I have to stretch myself, compete (haven't I read all these in my MBA classes - competitive advantage, stretch goal, winning every time etc.).
Nevertheless I am successful, rich, why shouldn't I think big? India is booming, we all say it will achieve 10-12% GDP growth by 2012 (so what - that still majority of Indians leave below BPL, do not even have 2 full meals a day, so what - when still we have one of the highest infant mortality rate in world, so what - when still most of our countrymen do not have access to primary education and health care, so what - when still we rank in the top deciles in corruption index of the world, so what - when still our mothers and sisters are subjected to violence and exploitation at home and work, so what....................what not?).Who cares man, I am happy, I enjoy life to the fullest (sure, happiness is in boozing, happiness is in letting life drift, happiness is in discotheques, happiness is in bed (pls. don't misinterpret:), happiness is in spending more than I can possibly earn, happiness is thinking only about present, who cares about past or future - isn't it?) Why should I remember the past - yes the past when my mother used to nurture me in my childhood to protect from all evils, when she used to save money every possible way thinking of my future, when my father used to work overtime to cater to my demands, send me to the best school, so that I become successful in life. What an irony, I am successful, but I hate my past, my present is so exciting, why to think of my aging parents, their job is done (yes, now I don't need them rather they need me). But the best of education has made me so selfish that I do not even have time for them anymore, they are like burdens to me today.
Alas!! what has education, degrees, management fundas, money, GDP growth, economic liberation, globalization done to me - my family is in shambles, there is no stability, no sanity, no equilibrium anywhere, my whole world is at war. And this war is more devastating than any world war ever, this is a war of greed, of hatred, of jealousy, of competition, of self-destruction. My friends, please stop, this earth is too beautiful, the human race is still too young, please do not hasten our end so soon, have some mercy on us, on our children, on our mother nature, come back to normalcy, come back to sanity, give peace a chance, pleaseeee.......
Yes, I have such dreams where I will be the savior, but then it is only a dream. When I tell it to others I am ridiculed, I am told "U idiot, think about ur self, get back to work". Ha ha ha, get back, where to go back - the road leads only in one direction, self destruction of human race in the face of greed, inequality, injustice, cruelty. But after all who am I to say? I am here to get my job done, to get my share of the pie - that is what modern day education, modern day family values have taught us all. So, welcome friends, we are not changing because we want our end to come soon, we are in a big hurry to succeed after all. The Porter's, the Friedman's have taught us to grow our businesses as fast as we could, by killing competition - these are great people, so shouldn't we follow their instructions, of course we should, cause we want our end to come soon, na!!!!
Where am I heading after all? What am I doing with my life all these years? Do I need to introspect? Is there a meaning of this life? May be there is, being 1st in class, getting the best education, scoring 80% marks consistently, getting into a premier engineering/medical/MBA etc.etc. colleges, securing the best(in terms of pay, anything else doesn't matter) job in campus, earning the highest salary among friends(is there any friend remaining?), satisfying all material pleasures (money can buy anything, yes any damn thing on this earth), getting the best appraisal from boss (hook or by crook, I need it for "fast track career growth"), also have a sophisticated partner to take care of(she has very little demands:), but it always seems to increase - oh God Almighty! had the prices of shares I bought increased with such intensity and consistency, may be actually her demands would have appeared very little to me).So whats wrong in all these? After all I am successful in life. But I need more, this is nothing as compared to what I can achieve, I have to run faster, I have to stretch myself, compete (haven't I read all these in my MBA classes - competitive advantage, stretch goal, winning every time etc.).
Nevertheless I am successful, rich, why shouldn't I think big? India is booming, we all say it will achieve 10-12% GDP growth by 2012 (so what - that still majority of Indians leave below BPL, do not even have 2 full meals a day, so what - when still we have one of the highest infant mortality rate in world, so what - when still most of our countrymen do not have access to primary education and health care, so what - when still we rank in the top deciles in corruption index of the world, so what - when still our mothers and sisters are subjected to violence and exploitation at home and work, so what....................what not?).Who cares man, I am happy, I enjoy life to the fullest (sure, happiness is in boozing, happiness is in letting life drift, happiness is in discotheques, happiness is in bed (pls. don't misinterpret:), happiness is in spending more than I can possibly earn, happiness is thinking only about present, who cares about past or future - isn't it?) Why should I remember the past - yes the past when my mother used to nurture me in my childhood to protect from all evils, when she used to save money every possible way thinking of my future, when my father used to work overtime to cater to my demands, send me to the best school, so that I become successful in life. What an irony, I am successful, but I hate my past, my present is so exciting, why to think of my aging parents, their job is done (yes, now I don't need them rather they need me). But the best of education has made me so selfish that I do not even have time for them anymore, they are like burdens to me today.
Alas!! what has education, degrees, management fundas, money, GDP growth, economic liberation, globalization done to me - my family is in shambles, there is no stability, no sanity, no equilibrium anywhere, my whole world is at war. And this war is more devastating than any world war ever, this is a war of greed, of hatred, of jealousy, of competition, of self-destruction. My friends, please stop, this earth is too beautiful, the human race is still too young, please do not hasten our end so soon, have some mercy on us, on our children, on our mother nature, come back to normalcy, come back to sanity, give peace a chance, pleaseeee.......
Yes, I have such dreams where I will be the savior, but then it is only a dream. When I tell it to others I am ridiculed, I am told "U idiot, think about ur self, get back to work". Ha ha ha, get back, where to go back - the road leads only in one direction, self destruction of human race in the face of greed, inequality, injustice, cruelty. But after all who am I to say? I am here to get my job done, to get my share of the pie - that is what modern day education, modern day family values have taught us all. So, welcome friends, we are not changing because we want our end to come soon, we are in a big hurry to succeed after all. The Porter's, the Friedman's have taught us to grow our businesses as fast as we could, by killing competition - these are great people, so shouldn't we follow their instructions, of course we should, cause we want our end to come soon, na!!!!
Nice Blog. I am not starting the comment with "I like it", but I really like it. I liked the way you have touched each and every minute details of a corporate life and expectations.
ReplyDeleteKeep it up man!!!!
I know Saks, our likings are so similar after all, but unfortunately very few others are like that:)
ReplyDeleteNice article Satra. But I feel that not all corporations are necessarily evil - at least when they start out - check out http://www.kiva.org/ led by an Indian president - would like to work for this company some day - seems like they are doing some good work by wrapping a nice business idea around a social cause.
ReplyDeleteGood one. unfortunately in today's context people are too preoccupied even to read and realise the message conveyed here!!!
ReplyDeleteI fully agree Balaji, but maybe some messages are not meant to be read neither meant to be understood, but only give joy to the writer, let the world give a thumbs down, I will express my views come what may:)
ReplyDeleteThanks Saptarshi, my intention was not to criticize corporations, my intention was only to ask people to hold back for a moment and introspect, thats all
ReplyDeleteThe essence of this writing is probably very easy to realize, but, definitely very very difficult to articulate and far more difficult to imbibe in today's life. The way you presented here simply makes me feel proud of you!
ReplyDeleteThanks sushovan, will try to articulate more such pent up feelings in near future
ReplyDeleteWell depicted the thinking of common successful corporate (even they don't realize what real success is all about).
ReplyDeleteBut it's true...there are men who thinks beyond this circle of "SELF"...else we wouldn't have survived so long.
I really liked the way you illustrated the feelings of modern corporate in a touchy way… We really need people of 2nd kind more and more...whose thinking not only revolves around "SELF" circle but goes beyond that…and help the young generation to become the back bone of our country rather becoming only self centered.