There are many meanings of the word AVERAGE excluding the mathematical ones. I’m specifically drawing the attention towards rating someone / something.
In India as we very casually use it, it means anything that is normal and regular and that’s exactly where the issue is.
There are usually 3 tiers in rating.
Good, Average and Bad.
We in India have accepted the “Average” as normal and regular. We do not look for improvements. We’ve stopped looking for Good. We’ve been innovative enough to coin phrases like “Above Average”.
But hey, it’s still not good enough but we do accept them.
Is there a problem with such behavior in a country like ours considering the population? Well, the answer is a resounding YES.
Ironically, with the size and variety available in our country we should be so far ahead looking for the BEST let alone the “Good”. Instead we have lowered the bar and have settled for “Average” because almost everyone behaves similarly and is the new accepted level of performance.
There is a section of parents who pressurize their kids to be the best in whatever they do but that’s such a narrow-minded approach (thanks to the increasing reality TV competition across ages).
Somewhere we push the child so much that he/she then becomes averse to competition and / or succumbs to the peer-pressure and looks at extreme measures like suicide.
On the other hand the majority still only aspires to be like the few who’ve succeeded and are quite satisfied at reaching 1/4th or ½ that level of achievement which becomes the new “Average”.
Encouraging is one thing and false appreciation is another. We as a nation need to identify the difference and tread the sticky path carefully.
Take a look at the students with their school projects (in schools that are into such activities) and look at the quality. There would hardly be one child with an exceptional outcome. Rest is poor imitations of projects that were done elsewhere. Try looking at the cultural activities and the performances in schools. Majority of them would be mediocre with an exception. But that’s precisely the point. With the size and variety, we should be looking at a majority of exceptional quality and innovation (innovation being the key word) vis-à-vis the so called “Average” aspirants.
I’ve used the examples from a school life only to illustrate that this is how early this “average chalta hai” habit sets in.
However the trend is visible everywhere – be it corporate life, civic sense or social behavior.
We’ve just accepted the average.
Yet again, we need to remind ourselves that this is a very sticky path. There is a subtle difference between quest for excellence and sheer competition. Its competition when you do it with others but if one would want to outdo oneself that would be quest for excellence. We should encourage individuals to raise their own bar and not in comparison to others. Each would have their respective strengths and the key is to identify it and helping them excel in that.
It’s time we draw the line and draw it high. Mediocrity should not be tolerated.
Excellence alone should be the new law of “Average”s.
Wednesday, May 12, 2010
Friday, April 16, 2010
Trust v/s Faith
For a minute try and think of what is the difference between trust and faith. This is not one of those puny jokes with a stupid answer. Also as most philosophical talks usually suggest the difference is not subtle either. The difference is quite substantial. I’m bringing this up to put forward a concern. But to understand the gravity of the concern, it is important for us to understand this vital difference.
You place your faith in the unknown or the future. When you hire someone based on the interview, you have faith in them that they would deliver what is expected.
You trust someone who’s been working with you for a while. Faith is future tense or of the occult whereas trust is based on historical data / presence and which is evidently present.
Now… as someone said, would you want to place your faith in the pilot who’s going to fly you or would you rather trust him for having successfully flown many other passengers?
Ok I presume the point is quite clear.
Now think about all the essential utilities in our day-to-day life and try and see if you actually trust them or are forced to only having your faith in them.
I’ll give you some examples… mind you just examples. You would want to do this exercise to all important things / persons in your life?
In the morning, when you brush, do you trust your toothpaste to do its job OR do you have faith in it that it will do what it’s supposed to.
Do you trust your doctor to treat you well OR do you only have faith in them like Demi-Gods?
Do you trust the police force to keep you and your city safe OR are you forced to only having faith in them?
Do you trust the food you are eating in your favorite restaurant OR are having faith in the chef and the restaurant’s hygiene?
Most importantly, do you trust yourself to set all things right OR do you have faith in your God that someday you may not have to go through this exercise?
You place your faith in the unknown or the future. When you hire someone based on the interview, you have faith in them that they would deliver what is expected.
You trust someone who’s been working with you for a while. Faith is future tense or of the occult whereas trust is based on historical data / presence and which is evidently present.
Now… as someone said, would you want to place your faith in the pilot who’s going to fly you or would you rather trust him for having successfully flown many other passengers?
Ok I presume the point is quite clear.
Now think about all the essential utilities in our day-to-day life and try and see if you actually trust them or are forced to only having your faith in them.
I’ll give you some examples… mind you just examples. You would want to do this exercise to all important things / persons in your life?
In the morning, when you brush, do you trust your toothpaste to do its job OR do you have faith in it that it will do what it’s supposed to.
Do you trust your doctor to treat you well OR do you only have faith in them like Demi-Gods?
Do you trust the police force to keep you and your city safe OR are you forced to only having faith in them?
Do you trust the food you are eating in your favorite restaurant OR are having faith in the chef and the restaurant’s hygiene?
Most importantly, do you trust yourself to set all things right OR do you have faith in your God that someday you may not have to go through this exercise?
Wednesday, March 17, 2010
Generation WHY
Culture as defined in the dictionary is a particular form or stage of civilization, as that of a certain nation or period: like Greek culture.
OR
Development or improvement of the mind by education or training.
OR
The behaviors and beliefs characteristic of a particular social, ethnic, or age group like the youth culture.
The most talked about youth culture is the 70s where rebellion and liberation was the keyword. Disco, free sex and drugs were the buzz words. This was a western culture. In India, this culture set in the late 80s.
The lack of media was probably the reason why there was a delay of about a decade for us to catch up.
However, the 90s was a little different, where media presence was growing and the information was free flowing – however to the rich and few. The western culture was being aped in the higher strata of society. The middle-class and the lower strata were confused to see this change and were not able to comprehend, let alone act so. They then interpreted it in their way and came about with a mix of their understanding and what they saw. It was more of a confused generation.
The 21st century however changed all that. Information Technology had a wider audience and the generation called themselves the Gen X. And this was the first time the gap was getting smaller between the western and Indian youth cultures. And this was also the first time the generation culture changed twice within a decade. The 2nd half of the new decade was labeled as Gen Y.
Delve a little deeper and you would notice that the music has changed – From Rock to Metal, Trance and a few more new genres.
The form in which Drugs are consumed has changed.
The mantraof free sex has changed to safe sex.
Fundamental change in the thought process, which is the need of the hour, exists but slower than expected.
The blind aping of western culture stays. And by what can be seen in the media, the change is going to be faster by the day and will not wait to be defined by a certain decade ala "That 70's show".
So, you won't have a show in the future that goes "That First Decade of the 21st Century Show" or something like that.
Let’s just hope that Gen X and Gen Y doesn’t transform to Generation “Zzzzzzz”.
It would be very interesting to have a Generation “WHY”.
A Generation that asks questions, specifically a “WHY”, before they do anything. A generation that questions when they see something that is not normal.
A generation that questions to promote innovation, to bring back the ethics, to do something original and something that is relevant to us. Something that is not just Western.
Why did I have to think about this?
Why did I feel the necessity of having to write and share this thought?
Why am I feeling victimized of a herd mentality?
Why? Why? Why?
OR
Development or improvement of the mind by education or training.
OR
The behaviors and beliefs characteristic of a particular social, ethnic, or age group like the youth culture.
The most talked about youth culture is the 70s where rebellion and liberation was the keyword. Disco, free sex and drugs were the buzz words. This was a western culture. In India, this culture set in the late 80s.
The lack of media was probably the reason why there was a delay of about a decade for us to catch up.
However, the 90s was a little different, where media presence was growing and the information was free flowing – however to the rich and few. The western culture was being aped in the higher strata of society. The middle-class and the lower strata were confused to see this change and were not able to comprehend, let alone act so. They then interpreted it in their way and came about with a mix of their understanding and what they saw. It was more of a confused generation.
The 21st century however changed all that. Information Technology had a wider audience and the generation called themselves the Gen X. And this was the first time the gap was getting smaller between the western and Indian youth cultures. And this was also the first time the generation culture changed twice within a decade. The 2nd half of the new decade was labeled as Gen Y.
Delve a little deeper and you would notice that the music has changed – From Rock to Metal, Trance and a few more new genres.
The form in which Drugs are consumed has changed.
The mantraof free sex has changed to safe sex.
Fundamental change in the thought process, which is the need of the hour, exists but slower than expected.
The blind aping of western culture stays. And by what can be seen in the media, the change is going to be faster by the day and will not wait to be defined by a certain decade ala "That 70's show".
So, you won't have a show in the future that goes "That First Decade of the 21st Century Show" or something like that.
Let’s just hope that Gen X and Gen Y doesn’t transform to Generation “Zzzzzzz”.
It would be very interesting to have a Generation “WHY”.
A Generation that asks questions, specifically a “WHY”, before they do anything. A generation that questions when they see something that is not normal.
A generation that questions to promote innovation, to bring back the ethics, to do something original and something that is relevant to us. Something that is not just Western.
Why did I have to think about this?
Why did I feel the necessity of having to write and share this thought?
Why am I feeling victimized of a herd mentality?
Why? Why? Why?
Tuesday, February 23, 2010
Of Paradoxes and Irony
City where skyscrapers dwell with the slums
Where the oranges are sold along with plums
City where life zooms past in fast pace
Where the traffic crawls through every inch of space
An extreme where the skyline is garlanded with a queen’s necklace
Where load shedding is the hidden face
Where dreams are sold in heaps
In a city that never sleeps
A city that is indifferent to one’s existence
But also a city that stands together when needed respecting every nuance
A city that pays the nation’s one third tax
On the streets where beggars are in hordes and packs
A city where movies are made and stories are told
A city that slaps reality at every threshold
Where money remote controls the emotional tyranny
Welcome to Mumbai - A city full of paradoxes and irony
Where the oranges are sold along with plums
City where life zooms past in fast pace
Where the traffic crawls through every inch of space
An extreme where the skyline is garlanded with a queen’s necklace
Where load shedding is the hidden face
Where dreams are sold in heaps
In a city that never sleeps
A city that is indifferent to one’s existence
But also a city that stands together when needed respecting every nuance
A city that pays the nation’s one third tax
On the streets where beggars are in hordes and packs
A city where movies are made and stories are told
A city that slaps reality at every threshold
Where money remote controls the emotional tyranny
Welcome to Mumbai - A city full of paradoxes and irony
A cocktail of Priorities
“The World is a book, and those who do not travel read only a page.” ~St. Augustine
As per the above quote, I’ve been lucky enough to have read a few extra pages.
These extra few pages have helped me understand a very interesting facet of human beings.
How priorities can change a lifestyle and define certain cities and its attitude.
I hail from India. India in itself is vast enough to write countless books from the experience.
But let’s stick to our line of thinking.
It is common knowledge that India lives in its villages. In its 60+ years of independence a lot has changed cosmetically in the rural parts of India. However, the priorities still remain basic. While you may see apartments, internet cafes, people showing off their cell phones, driving in swanky cars, malls springing at every corner or the fact that all major brands are trying to capitalize on the large consumer pockets, the basics like education, power supply and water supply still leave a lot to yearn for. In a city like Mysore that is supposedly twin city to a major Indian IT Hub Bengaluru (formerly known as Bangalore), the tourist attraction Mysore Palace is lit in its full glory while the rest of the city is pushed into darkness in the pretext of load shedding. Do they promote tourism at the cost of their own comfort? Do they believe that tourism will fetch them enough to get their infrastructure in place? What exactly are their priorities?
Probably, community behavior is defined by such necessities. The word development is abused in such places. In reality, they’ve just grown not really developed.
Born and brought up in a city like Mumbai, I found a lot of practices funny and a lot of questions unanswered. Over a period of time and after travelling quite extensively within India, it was kind of getting clear that development in its true sense is leashed by so called cultural values. The lines and facts are so distorted, people can’t tell the difference between superstition; age-old customs and the true cultural value. Gender bias is another devil that still has its horns and tentacles rooted deep in the skin. But the best thing is we are all together in this mess and we seem to enjoy it. We complement each other and also understand the various cultural nuances – hence we are still a tolerant nation.
Despite having been betrayed by every passerby, our culture teaches us to Trust – until betrayed. Guests who just suddenly show up are still considered as Demi-Gods a.k.a “Athithi Devo Bhava”.
Although the urban population and a percentage of our rural population are inching towards nuclear and nano families, on the whole at least the sentiment of a family, relatives and friends is still intact. We would do anything and go to any extreme to help each other. Never mind the bickering and ego trip that follows.
Then opportunity flew me miles away to the other spectrum of the globe. While the USA was truly developed in almost all aspects, they miss some of the other basics.
To put things in perspective, the infrastructure is something India will take ages to get to. The social security system, the civic sense, the chivalry, the public behavior, the way a common man’s life is made simple are all things that every Indian would envy and dream of. Efforts are well rewarded and living in a HOUSE (not a pigeon hole) and driving luxury cars are not really a distant dream. However, like I mentioned, the other basics are missing. Their system does not allow you to trust anyone. Not even your parents, spouse or offspring. Almost everything is prepaid. The concept of “post-paid” does exist but you are entitled only after a thorough credit check and background check is run. They are flocking in hordes towards Yoga, meditation, Ayurveda and other Indian practices, which we seemed to have lost touch with in the mad rush towards westernization.
The standard of living there is so high that labour is expensive. Anything manual is considered Art and has a heavy price tag attached to it. Every parent is forced to work and then look for expensive baby-sitters. They work a little extra so they can afford that very baby-sitter. I’ve come across families who are not sure if they are working to pay for that baby-sitter or are they hiring a baby-sitter so that they can focus on their respective careers.
Considering the fact that geographically India is 1/3rd the size of the US, it still houses 3 times the population of the US. That explains the cheap labour and also the birth of a concept called “Outsourcing”. Is it not priorities that were warped when this concept blew itself out of proportion and has both the parties injured? A decade ago, every corporate in the developed world jumped on to show huge savings. But now, they are at a verge to topple governments to get those very jobs back. India on the other end basked in bubble bath marketing the cheap labour but now the very IT or ITES companies are being blamed for inflated real estate markets or astronomical commodity prices. Resultantly the companies have to adjust their pay-scale to meet the employee’s insatiable needs.
Other developing countries are now having an edge over India not realizing that they will eventually get into the same rut. Let’s just hope that they have their priorities right and learn from others’ mistakes.
Have I made my point? I hope. But this does remind me of another quote:
“Too often travel, instead of broadening the mind, merely lengthens the conversation.” ~Elizabeth Drew
So let’s just stop here and get our priorities right – wot say?
Monday, December 28, 2009
Happy New Year 2010!!!
Sorry Friends, have been busy - but with the new year around the corner, could not stop thinking on these lines J
It’s that time of the year when you will read / talk / hear about New Year Resolutions.
New beginnings, new hopes plans and desires.
What really happens when the calendar turns a year older?
It gives us the opportunity to look back at a year full of events, our deeds and the results it has yielded. It gives us a comparison point so that we can gauge how far have we come since the last year same time. How much knowledge or experience have we gained? How much of success did we taste? What did we gain or what did we lose versus the last year?
It gives us the opportunity to take a look at how we can do things differently in the coming year.
Another opportunity to criticize ourselves and everyone else who did not behave the way we had originally expected. It gives that supposed zeal and enthusiasm to let go of all our emotional baggage and start afresh. And we march ahead with a renewed vigor to conquer the world.
What’s really funny about this act is that in a country like ours, we have these opportunities every few months based on the various regional calendars. And I catch myself wishing everyone a Happy New Year and a great year ahead praying for their wishes to be fulfilled every now and then.
Add to that the birthdays, financial years and the schooling years, yet another occasion where we steal this opportunity to conquer the world.
But come to think of it, this opportunity is given to us every day with the rising sun.
Rather every hour, every minute and every second. You can always choose to let go of your fear, emotional baggage and bad experience and start afresh any minute/moment.
So this theory actually brings us to the conclusion that we humans are basically procrastinators.
We look for excuses or dates to keep pushing things that we should be doing all the time.
By the way, do let me know what’s your New Year resolution?
Wish you all a very Happy and Prosperous New Year! J
Friday, November 27, 2009
The Saga of Struggle Continues...
Once upon a time during our evolution as human beings, someone somewhere discovered that one can be stronger and more powerful than the other.
Thus began the saga of oppression and the fight against it.
Across different eras, we as Humans have witnessed these sagas. The stories of continual strife have been depicted in History but as though it were a story written from a certain view-point.
So quite possible that History is distorted. But the below is just one way of looking at it.
During the princely era, there were kings who amassed all the wealth in the pretext of ruling the kingdom and supposedly taking care of their “Subjects”.
Ever wondered how we were willingly accepting to be called as mere “Subjects”.
It is from those times that we have surrendered to a certain school of behaviour.
Some will rule and the rest will be ruled.
However, there was a very clever division of labour in that era and each person with certain skill-sets was appointed for certain duties.
Education and scholars were respected.
However, education was restricted to only certain sects of people.
A few centuries later, some of the smart (or rather street-smart) farmers turned “zamindars” (with a secret desire to be the king) started to hold more land than they actually should, they started oppressing the not-so-smart farmers.
Mind you, these “zamindars” were also mere farmers.
Yet again, one got to amass and show-off all the wealth and the others were only left dreaming while also being taxed.
Education here had started to lose its prominence since the less fortunate farmers were more concerned about their daily bread, crops and produce. The proverb, “More the merrier” was probably either defined or re-defined in this era. The more hands (read children) these farmers had, they presumed they could cultivate more land in a shorter time-frame resulting in a bigger produce – thereby taking them closer to their dreams. But whether or not that helped them realize their dreams, it did one thing for sure.
It swelled our population and distanced that swollen population from education.
The more this population got distanced from education; little did they realize – that much harder they were making it for themselves to realize their potential and their dreams.
Meanwhile, some smart outlanders who called themselves traders decided to take advantage of our vast diversity and uneducated day-dreamers. Yet again, these outlanders amassed the wealth and we the people were left with our mouths gaping.
Little did mankind realize, that each time a few bragged their wealth – especially by oppressing the others, they were only pushing the oppressed against the wall.
As time went by, to maintain their sanity, some struggling day-dreamers sought the help of religion and began to presume that they were on a path towards redemption and nirvana. However, some of the day-dreamers saw an opportunity of power here and started their own game-plan.
Probably this is where the seeds of religious fanaticism were sown – all in the name of power.
Education at this stage was revived but was now segmented based on religion and cultures. Fortunately (if I may say so) it did exist in whatever battered way.
While we (read Indians) struggled and also contributed in a relatively miniscule way, science elsewhere evolved at a rapid pace influencing the education.
As we see the world today and dig a layer deeper, it would be clear that we still are “Subjects” and are being subjected to various atrocities in disguise, be it political or religious.
Think about it… Each time you sit in the backseat of your car, ordering your chauffeur to take you to your destination, he has this innate desire to sit in your place and at least once, would he have dreamt of you as his chauffeur (dreaming to change his destiny).
Each time you order your maid/servant, the same happens there too.
And you in turn act as if you were their king/queen taking care of your “subjects” subjecting them to oppression and making them realize how rich/fortunate you are and equally how miserable their lives are – all in the pretext of giving them employment.
Their secret desires sometimes overtake their sane minds and pushes them to steal or kill which we call as a “criminal act”. But what really instigated them to do such an act?
Was it their greed?
Or was it our bragging?
Was it our immodest display of wealth and power?
Was it our disrespect to their individuality and sensibility?
We all nourish this dream of power and also try to blatantly enact that dream wherever possible.
We human beings have now evolved into a confused lot.
Although we see sense in following a certain order and rules (made by the governing fellow human-beings for a better society), we choose to presume the role of a king and NOT follow them and make our own rules.
We tend to indirectly ask “Why should I listen to you? Why don’t you listen to me?”
Historically, we have been trained to “Be Ruled” while nurturing a secret desire “To Rule”.
So you see we really are neither proper rulers nor proper followers.
Thus began the saga of oppression and the fight against it.
Across different eras, we as Humans have witnessed these sagas. The stories of continual strife have been depicted in History but as though it were a story written from a certain view-point.
So quite possible that History is distorted. But the below is just one way of looking at it.
During the princely era, there were kings who amassed all the wealth in the pretext of ruling the kingdom and supposedly taking care of their “Subjects”.
Ever wondered how we were willingly accepting to be called as mere “Subjects”.
It is from those times that we have surrendered to a certain school of behaviour.
Some will rule and the rest will be ruled.
However, there was a very clever division of labour in that era and each person with certain skill-sets was appointed for certain duties.
Education and scholars were respected.
However, education was restricted to only certain sects of people.
A few centuries later, some of the smart (or rather street-smart) farmers turned “zamindars” (with a secret desire to be the king) started to hold more land than they actually should, they started oppressing the not-so-smart farmers.
Mind you, these “zamindars” were also mere farmers.
Yet again, one got to amass and show-off all the wealth and the others were only left dreaming while also being taxed.
Education here had started to lose its prominence since the less fortunate farmers were more concerned about their daily bread, crops and produce. The proverb, “More the merrier” was probably either defined or re-defined in this era. The more hands (read children) these farmers had, they presumed they could cultivate more land in a shorter time-frame resulting in a bigger produce – thereby taking them closer to their dreams. But whether or not that helped them realize their dreams, it did one thing for sure.
It swelled our population and distanced that swollen population from education.
The more this population got distanced from education; little did they realize – that much harder they were making it for themselves to realize their potential and their dreams.
Meanwhile, some smart outlanders who called themselves traders decided to take advantage of our vast diversity and uneducated day-dreamers. Yet again, these outlanders amassed the wealth and we the people were left with our mouths gaping.
Little did mankind realize, that each time a few bragged their wealth – especially by oppressing the others, they were only pushing the oppressed against the wall.
As time went by, to maintain their sanity, some struggling day-dreamers sought the help of religion and began to presume that they were on a path towards redemption and nirvana. However, some of the day-dreamers saw an opportunity of power here and started their own game-plan.
Probably this is where the seeds of religious fanaticism were sown – all in the name of power.
Education at this stage was revived but was now segmented based on religion and cultures. Fortunately (if I may say so) it did exist in whatever battered way.
While we (read Indians) struggled and also contributed in a relatively miniscule way, science elsewhere evolved at a rapid pace influencing the education.
As we see the world today and dig a layer deeper, it would be clear that we still are “Subjects” and are being subjected to various atrocities in disguise, be it political or religious.
Think about it… Each time you sit in the backseat of your car, ordering your chauffeur to take you to your destination, he has this innate desire to sit in your place and at least once, would he have dreamt of you as his chauffeur (dreaming to change his destiny).
Each time you order your maid/servant, the same happens there too.
And you in turn act as if you were their king/queen taking care of your “subjects” subjecting them to oppression and making them realize how rich/fortunate you are and equally how miserable their lives are – all in the pretext of giving them employment.
Their secret desires sometimes overtake their sane minds and pushes them to steal or kill which we call as a “criminal act”. But what really instigated them to do such an act?
Was it their greed?
Or was it our bragging?
Was it our immodest display of wealth and power?
Was it our disrespect to their individuality and sensibility?
We all nourish this dream of power and also try to blatantly enact that dream wherever possible.
We human beings have now evolved into a confused lot.
Although we see sense in following a certain order and rules (made by the governing fellow human-beings for a better society), we choose to presume the role of a king and NOT follow them and make our own rules.
We tend to indirectly ask “Why should I listen to you? Why don’t you listen to me?”
Historically, we have been trained to “Be Ruled” while nurturing a secret desire “To Rule”.
So you see we really are neither proper rulers nor proper followers.
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