“Doing a B.A in International Relations & Affairs only has scope in the Western countries. In India you need to do engineering or become a doctor to create a successful career”. Statements like these are a minor glimpse of what everyone told me when I broke them the news of my return from the USA where I chose to do an offtrack subject as my degree. I was skeptical while I was pursuing it because of the same background noise which never seems to stop even if one does do engineering, as the chatter then turns from advice on what companies to work for and where to pursue the MBA. Yes, India is a booming engineering/technology based country but it has always been an Arts oriented country. Our temples and scriptures are full of philosophy, anthropology, inter-kingdom affairs and so on, you get my point. For a country that has been tied to so much arts for the last 5000 years should not neglect the young generation that wants to pursue such subjects.
I took a bold step by coming back to India, while my subject did have visible opportunities in the US, but why should I underestimate the chances India can create? I for one do not regret my decision and while I may not have a clear path right now at the moment I have faith in my capabilities and in the system of India. In all honesty, I am content being a little lost right now, a little anxious and a lot eager to open all the doors I can open. In my opinion, there is nothing wrong in being lost right after graduation but it is essential to use this time to ‘Really and I mean really’ find oneself. I am currently working to make our nation a conglomerate of progressiveness while clinging onto our roots because accepting progressiveness does not equate to giving up our traditions. Traditions are meant to be updated constantly and only once these are accepted will society really progress.
I came back in the hopes of making this progress in society even if it is at the grassroots level. Any level is still a level and any positive work will always go a long way. For the people who did not understand why I came back and why I did not go the “Dollar” route this is my answer to you. I came back to struggle in India, because struggling with my own people and rising above the struggles of society outweigh any amount of dollars that the US has to offer.