Okay. So I have no clue of what I am gonna write, but I do know that I want to write. Earlier today I had thought of saying stuff that I had in me but the point that i wanted to emphasize doesn't seem worth it to me anymore. There is a lot to be said but probably will have no coherence of any sort.
First things first. MBA. So you begin by becoming a part of this rat-race of trying to get into a great B-school because u suddenly think this is made for you or because everyone is doing it or because you are fed up of what you are doing or because money lures you into it. And mind you, this is after you joined a rat race 4-5 yrs back when you ran to get into an IIT or an SRCC because back then that seemed the right thing, or the thing everyone was doing, or the thing that you were "made for". OK, not digressing from where I was, you start to run this race and you realize oh your pretty good at it and you get these occasional ego boosts when you do better than most in so called "tests" (I am afraid I don't know WHAT is it they test though). And here it is. You have cracked it. Beaten thousands of people to get into that coveted B-school, the one you dreamed of. Or maybe you think you could have been at an even better one. But whatever, now that you're in it, you're in it because you thought it was good enough for you or as was in my case , you thought that it doesn't really matter because you will be you whether here or at a slightly better place.
So here you are among around 200-300 of the brightest minds in India ( or so you like to think and so do the ones who selected you) and so happy and proud of yourself that you have finally achieved something big. Well, the game has just begun. Or I may say it never ends.
So its the same old story, another rat race , this time for grades - "relative" grades I might add and jobs which have place for only the best ( or again the ones they think are the best). Only this time its a competition between fewer people but all exceptional in their own ways. So is it easier? or is it tougher? I' ll leave that for you to decide. But its a rat race for sure. And then slowly you realize there is nothing really special about what you are doing, its just the usual stuff you have been doing all your life- the so called "quest for knowledge" which for the major part of it ( read 99%) is spent in trying to beat the other and not really learning anything. Of course there are exceptions who don't really bother about all such "materialistic" things but then whatever who cares.
There is a lot more to be said and a lot more to be written but it shall be written some other time. For now the question is where does this really end? Or does it ever even end ? I fail to understand. And the irony is if you choose to not run the rat race , you are thrown out of the whole system, out of the whole scheme of things, because you aren't "fit for the course". You aren't a competent enough rat if said in simple terms.
Very nice post. I could not stop reading till I finished it[and that took me whole of 1 minute and 37 seconds].. :)
ReplyDeleteThe Main problem is that bright students in India do not Think what they want to do in life. Their main objective[apart from the obvious fame,money,power] is to show everyone they are the best. Have you wondered why its only in India that people continue to concentrate only on engineering+MBA, and other streams are dying out due to lack of quality?
If only people did what they liked, instead of doing something which others are doing. But this is life.
Rat race mein aayein hai, toh daudna toh padega :( :(
ReplyDeleterat race to hai hi....probably the winners later have to undergo some transformation so as not to remain rats anymore!! :)
ReplyDeleteGreat post sire
ReplyDeletei hope i know what i am doing
Its bad.. But not all that bad.. U can still choose to do something different and stand out in the crowd; not just to win the rat race but to do what u really want to :)
ReplyDeleteSince the last one month, I've been having the exact same thoughts. Just didn't get motivated enough to pen them down. When I initially started with the course, it was like a breath of fresh air. Now that I've settled in, I realise it's really not different from any other course. I don't know how things work at your end but the extreme amount of overloading by way of assignments/projects coupled with a lot of emphasis on marks has dampened my spirit. Not that I'm buckling under pressure or that I feel I cannot match upto those who still cram, vomit and score, it's like doing a postgrad becomes meaningless for me since I really don't see any extra value being added. People might call me cynical but it's not like I feel I'm wasting two years. It's just that I feel I'm not really getting that extra learning I'd hoped for. I wish you all the best. This too shall pass and hopefully things become slightly rosy.
ReplyDeleteThere is no rat race..else I wouldn't be doing this right now..reading and commenting... :) for some, this rat race is what they want at present,that's their motivation..BM guys hate the word 'motivation' and so do we..I'll say something..Stoners live and stoners die..but in the end we all get high...live life king size...my thoughts----some ppl run for pleasure..some stroll...let's live with what we have...no utopia..btw bahut achcha hai..ek saans me padh gaye hum pura ka pura..kal milte hain mess me ya TV hall me ashes dekhte hain..good night
ReplyDeleteRat race is here to stay. Infact, it is going to be worse after you pass out of college. When you get a job, you will find yourself competing against people for promotions, higher increaments etc. There will be instances wherein people will be chosen over you for promotions just because they ur boss' pet.
ReplyDeleteThe difference between the rat race in college & the one in office is that in college u work hard or do some "rote learning" to get what u want whereas in office, luck is going to play pivotal role & that’s worse. These days, children are exposed to the rat-race at the age of three for getting admission into a school….lol.
I strongly feel that people should be interested in what they are doing. If people do engg/MBA out of parental pressure or out of herd mentality, they are really not going to enjoy the "competition" (People who pursue the course they are really passionate about will not it view it as rat-race, they will prefer to call it a competition :P ..Frankly speaking, when I read this post, I thought it was just another grumbling by a B-school student who is frustrated by the amount of hard work he has to put in till I read uthfull’s post….sorry :P…. Its a pity if things are that bad. I guess even I would be fed up if that was the case.)
Enjoy what you are doing or pursue stuff that u are really passionate about, but just ensure that you are the best at it. :)
Pranshu:
ReplyDeleteHonestly,while reading I couldn't believe you are saying so and so. Toh i'm suprised a bit.
Well, yes it is a rat race if you see it like that and there's no end to it. Still, how we handle this rat race, it all boils down to that. It's easy to say and than to do but i hope it will get better for you.
@Neha.. it is indeed me saying all this, but it isn't necessarily an indicator that I am fed up of this or something, its just that the expectations you have from this course isn't really met when you actually pursue it. It in no way changes what I wanted to do or I am going to do. I will still do things as I had always planned to..still take the paths i choose to. This is a general opinion on what actually happens, or what i feel happens :D
ReplyDelete