By Rohit Singh:
Everybody is born an artist, full of imagination, holding an aura with a personalized style of execution. Then education and learning sets in. And I am not talking about the “Art of Pedagogy” — I am taking into account all types of learning, every input to our senses. All the inherent primal instincts that are defined to be “bad” are meant to be suppressed, the desires being selectively chosen according to the social status a person belongs to. S/he isn’t aware of money being a powerful force as yet. S/he can live his life for the time being, yet not for too long. The primal instincts have to be tamed somehow. And they are, in fact, in most of the cases. The jugglery begins, and the “subject” is suddenly expected to adhere to a specific protocol, a rigid agenda, provided with a list of To-do and Prohibited. “Taare Zameen Par” the movie has already shown it beautifully. I will not delve into it anymore.
Yet, another important facet that a child seems to lose while growing up is peculiar, and some might not even recognize this to be true. S/he turns to ‘Cost-Benefit Analysis’, in every sphere of life. It could be money, hobbies, passion or even friendship. He is programmed to do that, subconsciously by the “all-pervasive” society. That is the way things have always been. S/he is smart enough to know about his most favoured stream of studies, yet societal forces push her/him to look into the opportunities available in the profession before making a choice — the market demand for his skills are an important factor — something that is increasingly coming to be identified as “scope”.
Pardon me if I made any offence to the crystal-clear minds out there, they must be having an elaborate plan about the next day or even the next decade. I am concerned about the lesser mortals here, including myself. The trap starts to build up in any case, as he is expected to continue and support his decision made at every nook. It must have been his passion in the first place! How can he afford to be so confused in his life? Ridiculous. Today, there is a multitude of confused youth, workers not satisfied with their jobs and students disillusioned with their area of expertise. So many people can’t be imbecile to lack enough clarity. Or we might be missing something.
I can never choose between Black Currant and Butterscotch until I have tasted both. I reckon that there are too many flavors out there to try, but life is meant to have a learning curve, at different stages and ages. The single thing that remains to be ensured is a constant money flow. For that we have our professors who treat their bodies as vehicles for their precious brains. The whole world is concerned about survival and money, and rightly so. After this responsibility, we have just to ensure that our taste buds remain sane enough, and they continue to distinguish between Black Currant and Butterscotch. Life will not be drudgery that way perhaps, which would probably equate to a better lifestyle, a meaningful horizon and less frustration to vent. We are told that money isn’t the only thing; we just have to discover the remaining parts!