RE : The Other India

Well, this post started off more as a comment on a friends blog post. but then it grew so long, I though I might as well post it up here. Its been pretty long since I blogged, and the cobwebs are yet to be dusted, but here goes.

This is my friends post http://tan-wanderlust.blogspot.com/2009/10/other-india.html

Tanmay, A pretty nice question. And you could see the frustration of having gone through the grind of a non IIT college there.

And Nadu... wise words as always.

Having recently joined the corporate world, let me put my two cents are in. Firstly, there's a reason why something is called a brand - It has proved itself repeatedly over time. So, probably therein lies a part of the answer.

And while you do feel the angst right now, always remember, life does not end at JEE, at your engg placements, at CAT. There always an opportunity to make up. At the end of it all, you will probably realise that the people who succeed, do so not because they graduated from IIT, but because they had spirit in them to go a step further than the rest of the crowd.

Like Nadu said, if you have it in you, you will make it. The industry does not care where you are from , as long as you perform, In a sense, its survival of the fittest.

Vikramaditya posted

"In India , the competition compels the junta to believe that "admission tests" measure ur mettle ....
at other places, it is what you do after getting "admitted" and passing out that matters...."

Well, not true. You feel that right now, coz thats where you are and thats what you can see. Your parents' friends probably compare their kids who went to IIT to you, and you fell its all wrong.

But what really matters is "what you do after getting "admitted" and passing out"

Yup, it does. even in India. It really really does.

And its sad if parents cant see beyond JEE, if they dont have enough faith in their child's ability that they have to measure success in life through the reference of an entrance exam at an age that's probably one fifth of the rest of your life. Its sad if poeple conclude your ability to succeed in life even before you have started that life.

Another thing I would like to say to all my juniors and friends. You may probably think a friend of yours is doing better than you if he is earning more than you. But do remember, this is just the start of your career. If you are doing the right things, even if they are for lesser money, if you are focussed and know what you want and how to go about it, in 10 years from now, you would probably look back and laugh. Coz then is when people will actually measure your success. And then is when you will prove your point.

To go off on a tangent, the other day I was looking to buy some sport shoes.

So I headed off to one of the swankier malls among the many that jostle for space in Mumbai, and I realised something. There were some pretty good shoes in a Bata there, and none of them cost more than 1-1.5k. Next to the shop was adidas, reebok and nike. And well, you know the story. same stuff for 3-4k. I was just chatting along with my friends about this that even though Bata won the Superbrand of India award, still the price difference existed, while I dont think the quality had much difference.

And my friend said, BATA is Indian dude...And we Indians have this syndrome. I mean who would want to wear Bata when u can wear Adidas...Thats way cooler, right?

That sums up quite a lot of the attitude people have. And, to tell you the truth, for most times I am no exception to that.

Sometimes I wonder where, as a country we went wrong.

When you're in love, your heart starts to feel like an overcrowded lifeboat. You throw your pride out to keep it afloat, and your self-respect and your independence. After a while you start throwing people out - your friends, everyone you used to know. and it's still not enough. The lifeboat is still sinking and YOU KNOW it's going to take you down with it,but still u'll follow it...

- From Shantaram

You Are Fortunate If, Your Mom Is 'Mean'

Some day when my children are old enough to understand the logic that motivates a parent, I will tell them, as my Mean Mom told me:

I loved you enough... to ask where you were going, with whom, and what time you would be home.

I loved you enough to be silent and let you discover that your new best friend was a creep.

I loved you enough to stand over you for two hours while you cleaned your room, a job that should have taken me just 15 minutes.

I loved you enough to let you see anger, disappointment, and tears in my eyes. Children: Parents aren't perfect, you know.

I loved you enough to let you assume the responsi-bility for your actions even when the penalties were so harsh they almost broke my heart.

But most of all, i loved you enough... to say "NO" when i knew you would hate me for it. Those were the most difficult battles of all. I'm glad i won them, because in the end you won, too.

And some day when your children are old enough to understand the logic that motivates parents, you will tell them.

Was your Mom mean? I know mine was. We had the meanest mother in the whole world!

While other kids ate candy for breakfast, we had to have cereal, eggs, and toast.

When others had a Pepsi and a Twinkie for lunch, we had to eat sandwiches.

And you can guess our mother fixed us a dinner that was different from what other kids had, too.

Mother insisted on knowing where we were at all times. You'd think we were convicts in a prison.

She had to know who our friends were, and what we were doing with them.

She insisted that if we said we would be gone for an hour, we would be gone for an hour or less.

We were ashamed to admit it, but she had the nerve to break the Child Labour Laws by making us work. We had to wash the dishes, make the beds, learn to cook, vacuum the floor, do laundry, empty the trash and all sorts of cruel jobs.

I think she would lie awake at night thinking of more things for us to do.

She always insisted on us telling the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth.

By the time we were teenagers, she could read our minds and had eyes in the back of her head.

Then, life was really tough!

Mother wouldn't let our friends just honk the horn when they drove up. They had to come up to the door so she could meet them.

While everyone else could date when they were 12 or 13, we had to wait until we were 16.

Because of our mother we missed out on lots of things other kids experienced. None of us have ever been caught shoplifting, vandalising others'property or ever arrested for any crime. It was all her fault.

Now that we have left home, we are all educated, honest adults. We are doing our best to be mean parents just like Mom was. I think that is what's wrong with the world today.

It just doesn't have enough mean moms!

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The idea for this post isnt mine. It was taken from here. Thank You Lioness. For telling me why my mom was mean.. :)

I found this here . Think about it..

What do people mean when they speak disparagingly of "a whore"? Someone who sells her or his body? I have news for you: Unless you're a ghost who still draws a paycheck, you use your body to make a living, too. Ever been nice to a customer you really didn't like, or acted enthusiastic about something you really didn't care about, just because you were getting paid? Congratulations, you're a whore, too. You're just not getting paid as much as I am.

When you're young, your whole life is about the pursuit of fun. Then, you grow up and learn to be cautious. You could break a bone or a heart. You look before you leap and sometimes you don't leap at all because there's not always someone there to catch you. And in life, there's no safety net. When did it stop being fun and start being scary?

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(Quoted from Sex and the City)

Love is.......

My cat reminds me of people 'playing games' in relationships.

I just want to say: "LOOK CAT! You want me to pet you, and I want you to be happy on my lap. Why the hell do you act like you don't want anything- as the cat walks away and neither of us get what they want."

“I trust you” is a better compliment than “I love you” because you may not always trust the one you love, but believe me, you can always love the person you trust for the rest of your life.

Sometimes, we are in love in the idea of falling in love. Loving the illusion of having or missing someone. It's alright to feel happy thru other people, but don't get dependent on achieving happiness by being with someone. Love yourself first before sharing your life with somebody, because if you don't, you will always look for people that you think can make you complete. And in the end, it will make you lose yourself more, bit by bit, piece by piece.